Concentration

Are you waiting for something to change before you can feel good about yourself? Maybe you think: "I'm too fat. Once I lose these 20 pounds, then I can like my body again." "I'm not where I want to be in life. Once I get that promotion, then I can feel like I've accomplished something." "My kid isn't doing well in school. Once we get her back on track, then I know I'm being a good parent." "I hate being alone. Once I finally meet my life partner, then I can feel complete." Did you know that whenever you have a thought like this, you are looking for a reason to love yourself? And did you know that not loving yourself will keep you stuck in whatever conditions you don't want? But wait a minute," you might say. "What's wrong with trying to be better? Aren't you supposed to be all about improvement?, self-improvement?" Yes and no. Resisting what you're experienci...

   Good morning to everyone, this morning I wanted to give you a gentle reminder to think a little less about managing your problems and a little more about managing your mindset, and the aid of morning meditation will help. Why I meditate in the morning. The thing about meditating is that over time it helps to increase your ability to concentrate and focus, especially on what's important to you and your life. Meditation is also journey inwards, a journey of self-discovery or, in fact, re-discovery. Meditation is the time taken for quiet reflection and silence, away from the hustle and bustle of daily living. Taking time out enables us to come back to a centered place of being. In our modern world, the pace of life is growing ever faster and we are losing touch with our true inner peace and power. When we no longer feel grounded, we can experience ourselves pushed and pulled in many different directions. It is at this point that we start to experience stress and...

What you focus on grows. Stop managing your time. Start managing your focus. How am I making meaningful use of this scarce and precious day? This morning after a 20-minute meditation I asked my friend whom I was meditating with, "are you ready for your day?"  She replied, "I'm off today, it's been a busy week so I took the day off". This leads me to a reminder about being busy or over-busyness, which is an epidemic if you ask me.  Too many of us are so filled with work or we fill our calendars and our social media feeds with various kinds of busyness, oftentimes just to avoid being bored… to avoid being exactly who we are, exactly where we are. The instant we feel a bit idle, we run off in the direction of the nearest shiny object or comment that catches our attention. And in the process, we not only miss out on the serenity and beauty that exists within ourselves, but we also miss out on experiencing that same serenity and beauty in th...

  Most of what makes an experience so magical is that we are  experiencing it at just the right moment. Over the past few weeks maybe months, I've had quite a bit of change in my life and the chain of events have just been spinning and spinning in my head at the serendipity of it all, so this morning I finally got around to realising the occurance of things and I began to smile from ear to ear. One of the most extraordinary functions of the human brain is—it thinks for us even when we’re not consciously thinking. Really! how is that possible? Well, the scientific answer—which can breed curiosity about—is that our brain is a sophisticated parallel processing system capable of intuitively assessing and reacting to data that our conscious mind is never even aware of. But I dont always want or need a scientific explaniation for every little thing that happens in life. When just the right thing happens at just the right moment, I simply want to beli...

One of my favourite books was written by Byron Katie, A Mind at HomeWith Itself, I highly recommend it. Every now and then I have to give myself a reminder to remember, many of our biggest misunderstandings in life can be avoided if we simply took the time to ask, “What else could this mean?” A wonderful way to do this is by using what I learned tp call a reframing tool, I initially picked it up from listening to Byron Katie, which I now tailor through my coaching work with others. I call the tool The story I’m telling myself. Asking the question itself—“What else could this mean?”—can help reframe our thoughts and broaden our perspectives, however using the simple phrase The story I’m telling myself as a prefix to troubling thoughts has undoubtedly created many “aha moments” for mtself, friends and clients in recent times. Here’s how it works: The story I’m telling myself can be applied to any difficult life situation or circumstance in which a troubling thought is getting...

The other day, I was visiting Taplow court and they had a day of lots of kids coming and doing activities, chanting etc. It was a lovely experience and one of the experience consisted of me being amongst a group of young kids in which the question was asked about fear, courage, and change. The funny thing is I have just started working with a couple female singers and one becuase she hasnt sung in over 3 years lacked confidence standing in front of the mic and performing. So here it is, what I'm resonating with today is 3 reasons to embrace change The truth is, living is a risk. Happiness is a risk. If you’re not a little scared and uncomfortable sometimes, then you’re not doing it right. Don’t worry about mistakes and failures, worry about what you’re giving up when you don’t even try. Worry about the life you’re not living and the opportunities you’re forgoing, as you merely exist in the safety of your comfort zone. The singer that feard standing in front of the mic ca...

 7 things to stop doing to yourself when things dont go quite as planned I met a friend at a local coffee shop this morning.  She brought her work laptop along so she could show me some of her latest digital art designs.  As we chatted and scrolled through her artwork, the laptop suddenly started making an unhealthy buzzing noise, then the screen flickered on and off and finally cut off completely.  And as we both stared at one another in disbelief, the funky aroma of fried computer circuits filled our nostrils. I quickly grabbed the laptop off the counter to inspect it and the problem instantly revealed itself.  The bottom of the laptop was soaking wet and an empty, spilt water cup rested against the side of her purse just behind where the laptop was sitting.  In the midst of us chatting and shifting the laptop’s 17-inch screen back and forth, we somehow spilt a cup of water the barista had inadvertently placed on the counter behind the screen, w...

 I remember speaking with a friend and her saying today is a new day, I said mmm what signifies this as a new day? Well she had been experiencing some unfortuante things at that time and to her it was the end of life as she knew it however as it all began to subide she, at one point decided that today was the start of a new begining. In actuality, no matter what day it is on the calendar, today is always a new beginning, for all of us. And we can prevent the wrong thoughts and beliefs from taking over or control as we move forward with our lives. We can train our minds to make the very best of the present moment, even when our circumstances may seem like its not the best at that perticular time. All it takes is... Practice. Daily practice, every morning. Now I'm no hypocrite, I dont practise every morning however most mornings I do but I have bene practising for well over 10 years to begin my day with clarity of mind and being conscious and aware of my behaviour, in...

When you're longing for love, the wait can seem eternal. And completely out of your control. Meeting people out in the real world doesn't seem to be working, so you set up an online profile and get really pumped up about the possibilities. So many dates, so little time! Yet you soon find out that people don't answer your emails, or if they do, they fade out. And when you do set up a date with someone, you become hopeful - maybe even really excited - only to realize within the first 5 minutes that there's just nothing there. A few weeks into it, and you feel like you've been run down by a truck. Why is this so hard? And the really scary feeling: "What if I NEVER meet anyone?" So I ws reading this article and I thought oh my gosh I totally went through developing myself and practising loving myself fully, its quite difficult really however I came across this article and I am totally resonating with this this morning. Have a read. ...

Most people struggle through life simply reacting to events around  them; I know I do, not all the time as I am quite aware, but sometimes I still react - however most people react, being oblivious to the fact that they helped to create those events themselves. Like a ship tossed at sea, they see themselves being knocked by external  circumstances, a tiny object subject to the whims of chance. But here is the reality, Whilst I agree that many were born as victims of circumstances, I don't believe that they have to STAY that way.  Often we don't have a choice about being victimized, but we do have a choice about STAYING that way and using it as our excuse not to live the life we desire or have a better quality of life. As you go through your memory banks and being honest with yourself, you will realize what areas of your life you have been living in the 'Victim' level of Awareness.  The trick is to become aware of these levels...

Wth today's busy busy lifestyle we get caught by so many distractions it makes it really difficult to get things done and completed, one of the many challenges we face is being able to concentrate and focus. So here are a few tips I thought I'd share to help you focus and concentrate. Focus on one thing at a time.  Place your mind on whatever you're doing in the present moment.  Think about how you act when you're engrossed in a thrilling movie or a new romance and try to duplicate that experience.  If you don't feel passionate about a particular task, look for some meaningful aspect or motivate yourself with the desire to complete it in less time. Abandon distracting thoughts.  Your mind will wander. Remain aware of your thoughts. When you notice a distracting thought, decline to pursue it. Return your attention to your chosen object. Repeat this as often as necessary. With practice, it  will  get easier. Meditate.  To enhance your prog...

Hey guys, so what I'm resonating with today, how to keep your attitude up when life seems to bring you down or state otherwise, how many of you go through this type of dialogue “I’m exhausted and so very tired of all the anxiety, negativity and stress. Too often my mind is consumed with draining thoughts, and every muscle in my body seems tense. It hurts. I don’t want to feel like this anymore. I don’t want to feel like I live in a whirlwind of constant pressure and exhaustion. I don’t want to just ‘get by’ day-to-day…  I was quite shocked to hear someone say to me, expecting negative things to happen to them has been their way of approaching life. If you expect the worse you will be prepared for the best, can relate in any way at all to that, if so I say it’s time to revamp your mindset. Our minds are incredibly powerful. It can bring us down or lift us up at a moment’s notice. How we think about things literally changes everything! That's why one of the most imp...