Power-Ups

It is no measure of health to be well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society. - Jiddu Krishnamurti We often impose on ourselves unrealistic expectations, or values that are not our own, that we accept from outside of ourselves and try to live in our life. Aside from the reasonable amount of compromise and the dance of human relationships that is necessary to co-exist together, outside of this, living solely on what other people value does not serve us very well. A lot of this stems from, as you would well suspect, advertising and indoctrination from the medical/pharmaceutical and fitness industries which envelopes the industrialised world. Most would consciously deny any effect or manipulation to the fact that many of their thoughts  may not actually be their own , whilst their subconscious mind drives them to depend on suckling the sickly teat of the consumerist, immediate-gratification society. This is demonstrated by  actions ,  purchases , thoughts, and what they hold ...

Love is our essential nutrient. Without it, life has little meaning. It's the best thing we have to give and the most valuable thing we receive. It's worthy of all the hullabaloo. - Martin Luther King Jr. Over the years, many cultures have written and analysed love and formed it into this  complex, indefinable, and often elusive  thing. There is no topic that equals the number of poems, songs, and books that have been written about it. Is love as hard to pinpoint and define as we are led to believe? Is it just that something magically takes place when we connect with some people? Do we like to hold on to the mystery so that somehow we don’t lose the impact or exhilaration? Or  could it be that it is not love that is that complicated, but all the ‘add-on extras’ that we as adults join to this powerful emotion? Let’s leave the ‘suitcases’ at the station for a moment and break down this thing called love . Basic Elements of Love I am a firm believer that  love is an act...

Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing themselves. - Leo Tolstoy We often think that if we could just control what somebody else thinks, says, does, and how they perceive us or the world, we would feel peaceful, and happy, and be our  ideal selves. In reality,   the only person we need to focus on is ourselves – what we think, say, and do, how we perceive what’s happening around us, and what we are doing to deal with it.   I do mean DEAL with it too, not just push it under a rug and avoid it. When we are aware enough to move out of the “I know” mindset, to learn how to be happy with who we are and where we are at, and prioritise some key new concepts, we will be struck by  how simple and straightforward it is to experience true emotional well-being . Concept One - Expanding your worldview  (instead of living through a one-sided perspective) Meditation Most people’s idea of what meditation is and can be is quite limited. To meditate ...

A healthy mind breeds a healthy body and vice versa!                                         - Zig Ziglar   With the alarming rise of obesity and many products coming onto the market offering overnight weight loss, there is an increasing focus on putting into place good nutrition and health practices. This is a time when a lot is being invested in re-educating children and adults alike on what food has a positive or negative effect on our bodies. This is very important, but after we have got on top of our physical bodies,  what are we feeding our minds?  What would our brain’s diet look like if we wanted to give it a full overhaul? Depending on the food we eat, it will either nourish us or draw from us. This works exactly the same way with our mind.   “As we think, so shall we be.” Positive thoughts affect both our mind and body by creating a greate...

"The secret of your future is hidden in your daily  routine ."  For as long as I can remember, I have set New Year's Resolutions that I have (surprise, surprise) not been able to stick with.  Things like lose 20 kilos or cut out caffeine.  This time around, I thought I might take a different approach.  Again on January 1st, I made 13 resolutions, that I will endeavor to work through, however, already just three weeks later, I realise how hard it is to get these larger goals into play.  So today I have started to break down my resolutions into mini-resolutions.   I took a photo, which is a habit I'm trying to start (I want an album with the whole year in it). Rather than saying that “I am going to cut out caffeine”, I have made the commitment at the beginning of each day to give up caffeine for ‘today’.  Today I made a commitment to make my bed before I started any work.  I made this goal and felt good about it.  So again, as my p...

“The greatest discovery of my generation is that man can alter his life simply by altering his attitude of mind.”     As a teacher, I learnt very quickly that times tables, and repetitive learning of information would not catch the attention of my students, and I decided to adopt the lost art of storytelling back into my lessons.    I was filled with joy to see the students sitting forward listening in their chairs and asking questions and pondering some of the very important questions of life.  This taught me very quickly that there is always more than one way to look at a situation and sometimes it is worth looking outside of the box to get the answer that we need. Often life can seem like it is moving very quickly, with lots of decisions, yet very few real options.  This is where we really must take the time to take a few deep breaths and in fact give ourselves the space and time to reflect on the important aspects of life. When thinking about the...

To the question of your life, you are the answer. To the problems of your life, you are the solution. - Joe Cardare Isn’t that wonderful? It IS all about you! It’s all about who you are and what you know, value, and believe in. Everything you need to know to be the person you want to be is right there within you. Socrates said: "True insight comes from within" When you know more about who you really are, you have all the answers. Unfortunately, human beings are really good at giving away their power. We can often look externally for the answers, looking for approval from others in one shape or another. It is amazing the lengths we will go to, to avoid taking personal responsibility (we may not consciously realise this is what we are doing, but it often is). We look to our friends, family, counselors, a book, an expert, or even a ‘psychic’. Now that is not to say whether or not these are good resources. A friend or family member can be an excellent sounding board as you work t...

S.Y.S.T.E.M.  Save Yourself Time, Energy and Money  A Roman Catholic priest, an Anglican priest and a Baptist preacher were standing near a river conversing when the subject of which church was nearest to the teaching of God arose. The Roman Catholic priest said that of course there was no argument that the Roman Catholic Church was. They were descended directly from the Apostles; in fact Peter was their first Pope. He said in fact so close are we that I can even walk on water like Jesus and he preceded to walk on the water to the other side.        The Anglican Priest said the Anglican Church was very similar in origin to the Catholics and he too demonstrated his ability to walk on water like Jesus Christ. The Baptist preacher said that he could not care where their origins were; he studied the word and preached it purely, and without any embellishments. Since they could walk on water he should be even better at it. He took one-step forward and sunk kne...

"The secret of getting things done is to act!"   I personally like to keep things simple.  If the process is to long, I won’t tend to get through it.  So often with self help guides to getting things done,  they have so many steps that by the time I have spent an hour working out what I need to do, I really don’t feel like doing anything with it. This in mind, I thought I would share with you the 5 steps I take when I want to get something done. Get A Routine  –  Get into good routines; over time it gets easier. Think about what you need to achieve in a day. Reward Yourself  – My philosophy in life is to work hard and then celebrate a job well done.  Reward yourself when you achieve each small step, even the easiest ones, such as calling a gym to check the prices, or making your bed. Plan For Fun  –  You won’t be able to stay motivated if your life is all about work and no fun. In your timetable, make sure you commit to doing ...

“Always focus on the front windshield and not the review mirror.” ―  Colin Powell Driving a car looking in the rearview mirror is a recipe for disaster. Likewise, driving backward or reversing is dangerous. It is important to work on changing the directions of the front wheels and the back wheels will follow. Imagine you are about to go on a road trip from Western Australia to Sydney.  You have packed the car and filled it with petrol and you and your passengers are ready to head off. You have chosen to start this trip of an evening so that there will be less traffic on the road. You have many decisions to make regarding your trip. The first thing you need to think about is what setting you to have your headlights: 1) Sometimes we have our headlights turned off and we can’t see the road or we get off course or hit a roadblock. 2)  Sometimes we have our lights on low beam, so we can see a little way ahead, but it is a slow journey and we don’t see all the s...