Be Zen Now

It's ALL an inner story.

What story are you living right now

I am currently reading Stephen R. Covey's, "7 Habits of Highly Effective People". I've committed to reading this book for two hours per day so that I have a way of ensuring I get all the way to the end.

On this Mothering Sunday, I am mixing my reading from the book, with surfing the web as Stephen refers to different ideas I want to investigate a little further.

So far my surfing has led me to The Guardian Newspaper's article on 'Thomas Kuhn: the man who changed the way the world looked at science', Wikipedia's entry on Whig History, Time's article on 'What British People in 1776 Really Thought of American Independence' and each time I surf I stop the timer on my Fitbit watch so that I keep to my promise to myself for a two-hour read.

It may take me the rest of the day to read but I will have thoroughly enjoyed my relaxing 'Mothering Sunday'.

I am always at my happiest when I have a good book that allows for a great travel experience.

What do you enjoy doing when you have the gift of time? x

Starting my day with the Balance app for meditation is very calming. I love Ofosu's voice as I close my eyes and focus in on my breathing.

There is an option to meditate for 3, 5 or 10 minutes and so far I have chosen 5 minutes. Afterwards, I am all set up to begin my other daily ritual: 750 words (link in comments).

These two things mean that I begin my day just right.

What do you do to begin your day?

Switch off.

Do it for a prolonged time.

Be Zen now.

# # #

Working on something and having patience is important.

Just having patience without action is inertia.

I’ve spent some precious moments inside this virtual world of Facebook, popping into groups and reading other people’s posts, sharing my thoughts via comments left and having a very pleasant start to my day.

In one of the posts I read, I was touched by the following line, “Humans never set. We are always changing” and to put that into some sort of context, the post was touching on the idea of ‘Imposter Syndrome’. Now, I’m not an expert on this syndrome, but it seems to me that it is another way of describing self-doubt.

And the line quoted above made me smile at its simplicity. For if we are always changing, which I believe to be true, even when you are doubting yourself, or feeling yourself an imposter, you are also changing, evolving, morphing into something new. What today may make you feel like an imposter, may on another day make you feel like an expert.

The truth is, it’s okay to feel how you feel. Just knowing it’s ever open to change and move through it.

Another post I read, was one of my own in my memories. And guess what it was about? SELF DOUBT.

Seriously!

Because of this amazing stroke of coincidence, I decided to copy and paste it below...

FB Write Live

Self-Doubt, he's a pernicious little fellow and younger cousin to Fear. He seems little but at times can be very damaging.

I have to say, I haven't yet made friends with him. He turns up, unwanted, and starts whispering nasties in my ear.

I tell him to go away but he doesn't take the hint. And believe me, I'm never subtle!

I know really, that Self-Doubt is just my own limited thinking. It's the brain's way of keeping me safe.

The idea here is that if I listen to Self-Doubt, I won't do that thing I really want to do. Self-doubt will convince me not to. I will, therefore, remain the same. And as I remain the same, I am kept safe. Limited.

Obviously, this is me being very simplified, but needless to say, Self-Doubt gets in the way of change. My personal change and transformation.

He has lots of ways he uses to try and trip me up. One of his favourites is 'comparison'.

He'll dangle someone in front of me - they are doing that 'thing' I want to do. They are further on in their journey than me, but Self-Doubt doesn't allow me to see that right now.

Instead, he just shows me how competent they are. He shows their shine, their talent, their ease - and then laughs in my face as I struggle to learn, to find my shine, to acknowledge my talent and to create an ease around this new thing, while looking gangly and awkward.

Ah, yes - it's hard to befriend Self-Doubt. But what if you do? How would that change your response to it?

By writing each day here on FB, Self-Doubt has shown up countless times for me. He often begins by raising questions, which at first seem quite harmless. Like:

"So, what you gonna write about?"

This is a good question but I admit, I often don't know what is going to materialise before I start writing. However, if I haven't got an answer, Self-Doubt, then follows up with more questions, which are less friendly in their tone.

"What? Haven't you got anything to write about? Who's going to want to read your ramblings? Who do you think you are? You know you're probably annoying people by now, don't you? And he goes on and on and on.

Fortunately, I have taken to personifying this pernicious little fellow. This helps because even though the thoughts are mine and taking place in my head, I can now separate myself from them. If you know what I mean - and if you do, great, that means I'm not so crazy after all! 😉

As the tirade continues, another part of me - an older, wiser part of me - looks down on my little Self-Doubt imp and strokes him on the head.

She - yes, my older and wiser self is a She - then takes the time to thank him for being so concerned. She acknowledges that she knows he is trying to keep me safe, but that it's okay - writing on FB isn't likely to harm anyone. And no one need read these ramblings if they don't want to.

She goes on to say, in her most loving and soothing of voices, that SAFE is no longer an option. Expansion and transformation are the new order of the day for Jules. She is ready to grow and this takes place through creative action. The FB writing serves a purpose.

Jules is sharing her own unique path to self-discovery and part of that is owning that she must make friends with self-doubt. He is silenced - at least for now. He's not really convinced we're friends yet. And truth be told, neither am I.

***

If you have joined me in my ramblings and possibly even enjoyed them, I'd love it if you shared your own thoughts on Self-Doubt.

Maybe you have some useful ideas to help with befriending him.

Or maybe, you'd just like to share some of your crazy too.

❤ ❤ ❤

(Picture from my personal gallery. It brings me back into the attitude of Be Zen Now)

Take control of your thinking.

Notice the thoughts inside you. What is your internal chatter like? Is it helpful, positive and encouraging, or the reverse?

It's time to notice the direction your thinking takes you in. Spend today noticing. Catch your thinking as it happens. Just notice. You don't need to judge your thoughts. Just become the witness to them and be curious.

Here's some ideas that might help:

- Does your thinking create obstacles?
- Does your thinking put you down?
- Does your thinking get into internal arguments?
- Does your thinking take you back in time?
- Does your thinking take you into a scary future?

Just notice for today.

That is all.

And if you like, comment below about what it was like to just notice.

Sending you love right now - in this present moment. ♥️

(Image free from Pixabay)

The Power of NOW is where the magic is at. ❤️

The nameless is all around you. You breathe it in. You dance through it, in it and within it. It is the way.

♥️

The secret is saying ‘YES!’ Allowing yourself to walk on the path; believing the adventure, with its ups and downs, is no more than the right experience for you in every moment. Take it in. Breathe it in.

Say ‘yes’ to it all! ❤️

I’ve been trying to figure out how long I’ve been receiving messages from the universe. It’s been a long time. Definitely longer than my youngest’s lifespan (12) but possibly not as long as my eldest (20).

I like the note below even though I have spent lots of times ignoring it and making things more difficult. I think it makes things a little more fun. Just thinking that makes me smile and acknowledge the playfulness.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy! Have you ever spent ages believing something is difficult and then - p**f - just like magic it suddenly is the easiest thing ever? That’s how easy it is.

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