Think Love Be

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Meditation is a matter of experience. It is not a set of moral values. It is not sacred in and of itself.

It is a WAY---
a way to be fully present,

to be genuinely who you are,

to look deeply at the nature of things, and to discover the inner peace you already possess.

It does not aim to get rid of anything bad, or to create anything 'good'.

It is an attitude of openness.

This kind of attitude is mindfulness.

There is nothing that can be directly experienced other than the present moment. Everything else is just a conceptual rendering our our thoughts. .....

Enjoy this beautiful image I took of a sculpture garden in the fruitful Hawkesbay in New Zealand.

It was a drizzly day but we still ventured into the garden on this winter's day; with the fresh air and light rain on our faces, soft grass at our feet, serene surrounding. This is the kind of direct experience, with all my senses, that awakens me to the now.

Shining bright isn't always easy, moving through the shadow can be hard, working on yourself can be daunting, but it's so worth it in the end.

One of the most important things in mindful living is to learn how to stay open to feelings without having to act on them.

What this means is we learn to apply meditative awareness to all of the feelings you naturally possess as a human being.....and you know there are plenty, and sometimes complex.

So....allow yourself to feel your heart long enough and fully enough so you begin to know what you truly want.

Do not fear the darkness, know that if you eliminate the darker emotions, the joyful ones all also be beyond your reach.

Sit with the fullness of emotional reality.

Society often worship the god of 'busyness'. We would rather be doing something, whatever it is, than 'doing nothing'.

We tell ourselves that it's better for us in our work to rush around to get more done

but our brains thing we are running away from a predator.

Personally, I saw that mindfulness helped me get more, not less, done.

It helped me to do things better because I panicked less and could think more clearly.

It also helped me to decide when it wasn't right to do more,

to be able to say 'no' more frequently when my energy levels are low,

and when I recognisedly that I would not be able to do the work justice,

or when it wasn't appropriate to take on whatever it was.

Can you see how this can help you too?

Happy Friday everyone, end of another working week..

hope you all have a little time set aside for yourside to recharge,

whether it be an uninterrupted cup of tea early in the morning,

a refreshing walk in a place that inspires you,

maybe staying a little longer in bed ,

or quality time with your loved ones.

Unfortunately, many people view self-care as a luxury, rather than a priority.

Consequently, they're left feeling overwhelmed, tired, and ill-equipped to handle life's inevitable challenges.

It's important to assess how you're caring for yourself in several different domains so you can ensure you're caring for your mind, body, and spirit.

A very important part of the practice of Mindfulness is not to be dualistic.

Shunryu Suzuki, a Japanese Buddhist priest, writer, poet, philosopher, and founder of the Sōtō school of Zen in Japan said that

"our "original mind" includes everything within itself.

It is always rich and sufficient within itself.

This does not mean a closed mind, but actually an empty mind and a ready mind. If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything"

I feel that by doing this you open up all possibilities in life in that moment, making life so much more interesting and wonderous.

Indeed I although we try to become experts in particular fields or areas, but then we might find that we've lost the joy we felt when we're beginners.

Can you remember the way you felt when you just learned how to do something you love? .... like riding a bike, making a cake, playng your first song on the guitar, your first time performing on stage..... etc

So I think it's essential to try to keep my beginner's mind. If I forget the beginner's mind, I'll lose the joy of living and doing and being.

This photo I took while out on the Taupo lake, here in the North Island of New Zealand reminds me of the silence we enjoyed just drifting on the calm surface on a beautiful crisp winter's day.

Silence in our lives is often under appreciated , and silence when with company can be especially hard for some that want to fill the gap with words or sounds.

Mindfulness helps us to be comfortable with silence, and with silence comes effective listening.

Effective silence also means we can skillfully decide when if and when to bring an end to the silence, adding something valuable to that moment instead of filling the moment with empty words.

Do you struggle with silences?

In our life, there are a lot of weeds in our minds. Some of them might make you feel low. But how can you deal with them?

If you think the weeds as just weeds, they might become just that for you, something that is hindering and a nuisance.

But if you consider them as your mental nourishment, they will add depth to your life.

Often we are so caught up in wanting to give the right answer, and so afraid making of mistakes and failures, that it might be useful to think of the practice of gardening or even meditation, is a process of growth in time.

The mistakes we make are not waste but nourishment from which we grow as learners in anything in life.

"A monk decides to meditate alone.
Away from his monastery, he takes a boat and goes to the middle of the lake, closes his eyes and begins to meditate.
After a few hours of unperturbed silence,
he suddenly feels the blow of another boat hitting his. With his eyes still closed, he feels his anger rising and, when he opens his eyes, he is ready to shout at the boatman who dared to disturb his meditation.
But when he opened his eyes,
saw that it was an empty boat, not tied up, floating in the middle of the lake ...
At that moment, the monk achieves self-realization and understands that anger is within him;
it simply needs to hit an external object to provoke it.
After that, whenever he meets someone who irritates or provokes his anger, he remembers;
the other person is just an empty boat.
Anger is inside me. "

Thich Nhat Hanh See Less

This has been something I have been working on....being bit of a 'type A' kind of personality I notice I tend to jump into action fast , and this may not always serve me in the best way possible.
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There are times we need to be comfortable with the pause, the pause to be without action, to be deliberate with our pauses until the right action arises almost by itself.
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In this way we are acting with a clarity in our minds to really move towards a life our heart wants.
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So remember, you don’t need to throw yourself into starting something. First NOTICE. Notice what condition your condition is in, before moving forward. FEEL the entirety of your being. Settle into awareness of aligned integration with nature and THEN begin.
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Do you struggle with staying in the 'pause'? Did this help you?

Have you heard of mindful eating?
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Mindful eating has been used to treat many things; eating disorders, anxiety, depression, food related behaviours.
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One of the most important way to help us engage more mindfully with our food, I find, is to incorporate our senses in a way that brings your attention and awareness to what you are eating.
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There are many other ways to enhance mindful eating habit-- but for me, one of the best ways that works involves appreciating the beauty of what is served in front of me... the colours, textures, composition. And as I enjoy these things I am making eating an intentional act rather than acting on automatic pilot.
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When we can be more mindful with our eating we are assisting our digestion which then helps with a whole lot of other healthy outcomes, and avoid emotional eating too.

When we can finally understand the human condition, we understand we are all made of the same fabric.....so we will feel compassion instead of blame or condemnation where there once may have been.
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When we can forgive others and ourselves, and be willing to embrace or accept the constant change in our world, inner peace and health will belong to us.
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The suffering you go through is the same suffering I go through when experiencing the same kind of thing; whether it be loss of a loved one, losing a job, making a mistake, speaking infront of hundreds of people, illness etc

As well as enjoying the cute picture of my adorable fur baby, here is a little challenge for you to do today:
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write a list of all the things that fill you up, lights you up, sparks joy.
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Then pick just one thing off the list that you can commit to gifting yourself today.
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That's it! Ready, Set, Go!

It is only when we pause for long enough do we really see the truth of the present moment in order to learn from it, and be able move on.
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The more we can tune into our inner wisdom in this way the more we can grow, feel, and follow our true north.
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It is simply in learning more about ourselves that we have power and influence over what happens next by acting in this moment.
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So pause, learn, and move on.

This was a moment captured by me as my husband and I were on our way to the airport after a beautiful bush walk in one of the most amazing reserves in the world, in the South Island of New Zealand.
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There really is nothing quite like connecting with our inner nature through being an observer of the natural elements.
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The world in which we live, is crying out for humans to recognize the interdependence that exists between all life forms.
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Nature-based mindfulness is a something I am a big believer in, to enhance our daily lives.
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An example of how you can do this:
Walk and Notice
Take a walk and notice the beauty that you see, a gratitude and appreciation practice that can elevate your mood.
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Take the time to really look at your favorite tree, explore a park, and notice something new, a practice that will spark creativity.
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Gaze at the shapes that nature has created, as well as spaces between them, reflecting on what is between forms because that is just as important as the objects themselves.
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And don’t just walk, take some time to sit in nature.
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And as you sit, consider stepping out of clock time and connecting with nature’s time and rhythms.

Did you know when we use our words to make judgements of others, we are often also using that same critic in us to tear ourselves down? !!
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The thing is-

it is only when you have compassionate understanding and insight into your own suffering,

you begin to be better at understanding and communicating with others in a way that shows the same kind of loving kindness you have for yourself.

So many of us have the fear of being seen, as we had decided at some point in our lives that our authentic self was not enough. Think back to a point in your life that you decided you "failed", or that who you were not enough. What happened? And what does the younger version of yourself need to hear- can you tell her/him this?

This is a great way to tune into some of the most important values we would like to embody in our own life.
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The more we are clear on what are values are, the more committed we are at maintaining that integrity to our own true path.
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So do this for yourself today. Just pick one quality you would like to act on today, and sprinkle this into your daily activities in a way that brings more meaning to them! Have fun with it!!
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And if you need help to find what your real personal values are or you are confused AF about where your true path lies, you know where to find me!

These beautiful reaching trees, in a part of a track my husband and I venture through on our weekend walks always gives me a sense of how powerful silence can be.
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In this modern era of go go go, we often forget how much we can benefit from being still and silent.
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If we can befriend silence, we are indeed befriending ourselves.
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Through silence we learn to communicate with ourselves, tuning into the open awareness of our own habits, perspectives, internal dialogues, and triggers.
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Through silence, we will discover if we are truly moving towards the direction we want.
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We will also notice not only our own actions, but also how these actions affect those we care for the most around us.
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Silence is essential for self-awareness and self-knowledge. So it is key to growth.

...And in between the amazing and awful it's ordinary and mundane and routine.

Breathe in the amazing, hold on through the awful, and relax and exhale during the ordinary. That's just living heartbreaking, soul-healing, amazing, awful, ordinary life. And it's breathtakingly beautiful.”

This quote by L.R Knost is just such a beautiful yet physical reminder of how to mindfully respond to all of life.
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It reminds me that it is what we do that determines how beautiful we want to make of it; as we experience the great, mundance, and the not so great experiences of this human life.

"Mindfulness isn't hard, we just need to remember to do it" Sharon Salzberg
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Somehow, Mika always remembers to do so 😄
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Happy hump day everyone!!! Remember to incorporate a little mindfulness today, just like Mika! 💗

Did you know when we practise mindfulness where we intentionally direct our attention inwards and cultivating awareness, we are essentially activating the prefrontal cortex, which is the "manager" of our emotional, fight/flight amygdala, and calm this primitive part of the brain?
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It can literally sculpt your brain and shape your mind.
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Now, go enjoy that cup of tea with your undivided attention, engage all the senses, and when your mind starts wandering just notice it and bring your awareness back to the cup of tea.
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So start shaping your brain one sip at a time 😉

Happy Sunday everyone!
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Remember " You don't have to try so hard to live each day to the fullest. Each day is full all on its own. All you have to do is notice."-- Emma Rose Tait,

A pause is a way to suspend all activity, where we are no longer working towards achieving any end goal. We stop asking "What do I do next?", and instead to reawaken our attention to our presence in the now.
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We may pause to sit down to meditate, go for a walk in the nature, or even a conversation by letting go of what we were wanting to say by being fully present with the speaker and their perspective. You could even try it now. Stop reading and sit there, doing "nothing" but to just be with whatever you are experiencing.
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Even though a pause is finite, and we go back to doing whatever we were doing but we end up doing so with an increased presence and hence more ability to make choices that are in alignment with our heart.
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So, for example, instead of advising our friend, we listen;
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instead of yelling at our kids to turn down the tv, we choose to calmly speak to them about why it would help with your phone conversation;
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instead of taking a bite out of our chocolate mindlessly, we choose to savour each square or decide to take a bath instead.

The Dalai Lama once said "We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we can make peace with ourselves".
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I love this photo taken on holiday in a cute little waterfront bach half an hour from where I live.
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No matter how captivating or tranquil a place is it can be difficult to experience deep fulfilment without the presence of inner peace or self-love.
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The kind of self-love and acceptance that comes from realising you already have all the power you will ever need to realise inner peace and happiness.
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But isn't it so liberating to know we are always able to choose how much peace we bring into our own inner world? And that choice can happen each and every moment, creating freedom for us to just BE.

If you are resisting the flow of life, you are resisting the natural flow of who you are.
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Often we try to cover up our vulnerable space or emptiness we feel by clinging so tightly to something to fill that hole.
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But it is only by loosening our grip on the things we hold so tightly, like our job, boyfriend, friendship, image; we can begin to see our own light shine through and heal us to become whole.

Sometimes all you need is 10 seconds of insane courage...
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I can't quite remember where I heard this from, but it was so memorable for me because it gave me simple clarity, and things no longer looked so hard anymore.
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If you look back at certain moments in your life, you might see that all it took was 10 seconds of "seat squirming" courage to start something meaningful in your life.
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At those moments, instead of being led by all the excuses our minds were giving us, we can take a deep breath and jump right in.
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When we know in our hearts this moment of choice matters--Be stronger than your strongest excuse.

There have been plenty of moments in my life where I have felt lost....
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and in these moment I have found one of the most helpful and impactful ways to find my compass again is to re-center myself with this thought in my mind.
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