Life is Short, Live It Well

"In this short Life

That only lasts an hour

How much – how little – is

Within our power."

Emily Dickinson

Your time and energy are precious,

and they are running out.

The trick is not to chase them - they are already here.

The Way is Presence.

Tuning in & Choosing.

Your potency lies in knowing & focusing on what is meaningful to you & with in your control & letting the rest be.

The serenity prayer sums it up

"Grant me the serenity to accept the things I can't change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference."

Ponder This

What's one thing you worry about that you can't control?

What's one thing you whinge about you can't (or won't) change?

Whats one thing that distracts you from what really matters?

What's could you use your imagination for that's better than worrying?

What could you use your words for that's better than whinging?

What could you focus on that's better than being distracted?

What would it feel like to make the shift?

"Don't Rush, Don't Wait"

"Don't just stand there, do something."

also

"Don't just do something, stand here (tune in & choose well)."

Act from a place of Alignment.

When we rush we often do so from a place of impatience. Guided by emotion or thought stream that can seem very compelling but is often impulsive & reactionary.

While impulses & reflexes serve a purpose they can often be the fastest way to a poor choice.

Reactivity makes it easy to miss subtleties that could make for wiser ways.

Procrastination, though can be a killer of dreams & action often beats anxiety.

Sometimes we don't know until we go and it takes action to expand our point of view and access wiser ways.

A simple (not always easy) way to thread the needle between rushing & waiting is

To become deeply present and tuned in.

To open to the moment and your experience of it.

To move from a place of intentionality, curiosity & sensitivity.

To move toward the best outcome.

This takes practice, awareness, agility, empathy, courage & compassion.
It takes a willingness to slow down, pay attention & respond.

PRACTICE THIS

*Tuning In & Being (in the “gym”) -Meditate on Stillness, Silence, Non Reactivity.

This is a practice of deep listening.
Of noticing thoughts, feelings, impulses, sensations and tendencies without being controlled by them.

Choose a place where you can rest in stillness, commit to being still for the duration of the practice & notice what it’s like.

*Tuning In & Choosing (in the arena) - STOP

When you find yourself in a moment of rush

STOP

Slow down

Take a deep breath

Open to and observe your experience

Proceed Purposefully.

GHOSTS, GUIDING LIGHTS & GUARDIAN ANGELS

"The excuses the once held you back become fuel for the new you."

Your experience & potential is rationed by well reasoned illusions.

Unexplored fears, self righteous knowing, pre-conceived notions.

Through mindful awareness & humble curiosity these "ghosts" come to be seen as what they are.

Illusions.

You realise you are more than you think.

Each time you remember "I am more than my thoughts" the ghosts become guiding lights.

An invitation to self discovery & growth.

As you start to live with the guiding light of mindful awareness, seeing beyond initial impulses & conditioned thoughts, the guardian angels of wisdom, compassion & courage offer you guidance.

The ghosts that once held you back become reminders.
Reminders of your capacity to overcome, reminders of your wholeness, reminders of your limits and your limitlessness.

This is a great gift.

Ponder This

*Think of a time you knew you were right & turned out to be wrong.

*Think of a time when you were sure you couldn't but you did.

*What's something you know that's holding you back?

Is it possible to notice another way?

TIME FOR SOME ACTION

"Sure, at some level, every experience in life boils down to your interpretation of it.

And if you can shift your mindset, then perhaps you can turn a negative experience into a positive one.

But life is not a hallucination. You still have to deal with things. A healthy perspective can lessen the burden, but so can taking action.

A problem that is solved is one that you don't need to mentally reframe."

James Clear

We have a saying in the gym - "you don't have to feel ready, you've just got to be ready."

Sometimes the fastest way to change your mind is by taking action.

By doing the thing that you imagine you have to mentally prepare for.

TRY THIS

Choose one thing you know you "should" do that you keep putting off.

Do it as soon as and as well as you can.

Notice what it's like to have taken strong action.

Rinse & Repeat.

COMMITMENT

“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness.
Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans.
That the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves, too.
All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred.”
William H Murray

Commitment -real commitment is a choice.
One choice that informs all other choices until that commitment is fulfilled (or you decide to uncommit).

There a 3 types of commitment

FUTURE FOCUSED
A commitment to make a change, to new way of being, to reach a certain goal.
“this is who I’ll be”, “this is what I’ll do”, “this is the vision I will move toward.”
We empower our Future commitment with planning & preparation.

PRESENT MOMENT
Committing fully to the task at hand, to walking the path, to executing with excellence.
We empower the present moment with intentions, focus, effort & a practice mindset.

SUSTAINED
The capacity to stay committed over time.
Continuing through set backs, resistance, boredom, doubt, failures and fears.
We empower sustained commitment with patience, perseverance and passion.

TRY THIS

Plan and Prepare
What it is you’ll commit to this week?
What steps will you take to honour this commitment?
When will you take those steps?
How will you prepare yourself and your environment to make the plan most likely to succeed?

Practice Presence
When it comes to doing the thing -
Get clear on your intentions - what will you bring to the moment?
Harness you attention & effort - what will you focus on? what skills will you practice? how much effort will you make?
Commit to doing the best you can in the moment - reflecting later on how you could improve.


Reflection & Resilience
At the end of the week, after a rest, reflect on the week that was -
what did you do well?
how could you improve?
Reconnect with your commitment, your vision - is it still strong, are you willing to recommit this week?
Then with the notion of making next week a little better than this one - repeat the process.

STRESS & STRESSORS

“Men are disturbed not by things, but by the views which they take of things.”
Epictetus

Stressors are a inevitable part of life.
Particularly if you have people & projects that are meaningful to you.
How you respond to stressors determines whether they become stressful or just another challenge to work with.
This can be the difference between feeling stressed and feeling fulfilled, the difference between burning out and burning bright.

Choosing how to prioritize and respond to stressors can help you avoid experiencing “stress”and embrace life’s challenges with a sense of purpose & strength.

Noticing when you are experiencing “stress” gives you the opportunity to regulate so that you can step out of reactivity and into a calmer, wiser state.

PONDER THIS

1
What stressors (challenges) are you likely to face this week?
How will respond to those challenges?
Why is it meaningful to you that you respond that way?

1a
How do you notice when you’re stressed?
What’s one wise thing you could do to feel a little less stressed in that moment?

1b
What’s one behaviour you could eliminate and one habit you could begin that would allow you to handle life’s challenges more skilfully?

EMBRACING STRESS

“Stress is not what happens to us. it's our response to what happens. And response is something we can choose at any moment.”
Maureen Killoran

Stress can rob you of being at your best for your people, projects and passions.
If you’re able to embrace stress it loosens its grip on you and you’ll be more able to engage with the challenges of life (stressors) more skillfully.

On Monday 5th of April at 10am Sydney time we will be running an
Embracing Stress Workshop
sharing some tools and insights to handle stress compassionately and embrace stressors purposefully.

Click here for the link

Catching Ghosts

"Inspiration is merely the reward for working every day."

Charles Baudelaire

To be inspired is to feel the grace of god, potential, genius, possibility arise inside of you.

To have felt, or even imagined, inspiration is to have stumbled upon a treasure.

The way to unlock that treasure is not by waiting for it to re-appear - but by working diligently so when it comes you catch it.

The work you do when you're "uninspired" creates a habit to take best advantage of inspiration when it strikes.

Answer This

What will you work on this week (even if you don't feel like it)?

When will you do it?

What resistance might you face?

How will you overcome that resistance?

At the end of the week reflect ......

What was it like to do what you said you were going to do (or not)?

What was it like to harmonise words thoughts and actions (or not)?

Noticing Beyond Knowing

“In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's mind there are few.”
Sunryu Suzuki

If the cup is full nothing more can enter.

Knowledge is power

But if your knowledge stops you from listening, limits your thinking or stops your from opening your mind/heart

Then that power is being used against you.

Ponder this

If you could free yourself from “knowing” what might you notice?

PERCEPTION SHAPES REALITY

“It is not primarily our physical selves that limit us but rather our mindset about our physical limits.”

― Ellen J. Langer

& tune into life!!

Remember Legends

How you perceive the world (& yourself) shapes your experience.

One aspect of mental fitness is the practice of seeing stress, challenges & obstacles as opportunities.

When you do this consistently you are much more able to accept situations as they are & orient to what is possible, positive & purposeful rather than being stuck in resistance.

One practice that is super helpful in reminding us that we are more than our initial reactions to a situation is to STOP-ing.

Next time you notice you're stressed or facing a challenge take a moment to …….

S - stop -or at least pause for long to enough to ....

T - take a deep breath (or 3)- this can help down regulate your stress response (even just a little bit)

O -open to/ observe you experience - what are you thinking? how are you feeling? how are you experiencing your body? what impulses are present? what does the situation require of you?

P -proceed purposefully. How would the best version of you respond to this situation? What attitude would best serve you? What action would best serve you?

STOP-ing becomes much more available if we practice each of its components on there own.

Stopping, slowing down, taking moments to pause throughout the day can help us break autopilot & notice the state we are in.

Taking a deep breath- as a meditative practice for 3 - 30 minutes daily can be powerful tool for training attention and shifting your state

Observing your body via body-scans can deepen you relationship with your body and help you "get out of your head".

P - doing the deep work of knowing your purpose & priorities, who you want to be, how you want to live - will empower you with a guiding light you can orient to as you move through your day**.

TRY THIS

1. make time for a 3- 30 minute meditation on the breath &/or a body-scan meditation (guided practices here)

2. Take time to pause throughout the day and tune it with your experience - notice thoughts, feelings, the body & the world around you.

From this space of observation choose a skillful response.

3. notice how you perceive certain situations and ask yourself if there's a "better" way of framing it that you can orient to. 

**If you want to explore your Vision & Values join SOUL Sanctuary this - we will be doing a live call on Wednesday to uncover some of these guiding lights.

BEYOND BELIEF

"Coursing through every civilization are the myths that shape what its people come to believe about reality and possibility.

Some of them are healing and some damaging.

Some are easy to recognize for what they are.

But some are more subtle, more pernicious, permeating the substratum of culture and the marrow of the psyche."

MARIA POPOVA

remember

Our Beliefs shape the way we see the world.

Some beliefs are chosen, they are convictions that you orient too in moments of strength & devotion & fall away from in moments of weakness & distraction.

Most beliefs we don’t even notice, they are products of how you make sense of your culture & conditioning

If you can notice the habits of mind that shape the way you see the world then you have an opportunity to see beyond the limits of belief to the possibility of a better way.

PONDER THIS

What is a belief that is holding you back?

What’s it like to observe this belief?

If you were to let go of this belief what might be possible?

If you didn't belief it what could you see?

What is a belief that if practiced and made real would influence you in a positive way?
What can you do today in service of that belief?


Are you open to seeing beliefs that are currently invisible to you?
How might you see them?

BE YOUR OWN GUIDE

“He who cannot obey himself will be commanded”
Nietzsche

If we are not careful our tools become our masters.

One of my Brothers asked me about a self lead meditation practice.

This is an empowering step in our meditation journey - when we choose to free ourselves from the guidance of an app and tune into ourselves instead of our phone.

Here a some simple instructions to cultivate your own practice.

TRY THIS

Choose a simple practice - breath into your belly**

Commit to it for a certain amount of time (time within practice & schedule for consistent practice).

Set a timer and do it - breath into your belly.

Every time you notice you’re doing something else -come back to breathing at the belly

If you notice frustration, impatience, doubt, boredom, bliss, joy, peace name that as part of your experience & come back to the breath at the belly.

If you notice that you’re constantly distracted & find it hard to focus understand that -this is the work, this is the way.
Gently and firmly come back to the breath at the belly.

When the timer goes off take a moment to reflect on the practice.

What did you notice?
How does it feel to have practiced in this way?

Have a mindful day.

**The simplicity of this practice is what makes it “hard” for many of us to commit to - but the sensitivity & equanimity that arises from the practice can have a profound impact on how we relate to ourselves our people and our projects.

Building a Meditation Habit

Mediation is simple practice & a profound teacher, but building a habit can be tough.

IS YOUR ATTITUDE ON YOUR SIDE?

"But if you are engaging in spiritual practice your attitude is very important, it bleeds through all our practice; it may be the key conditioning factor in your study.

So you need to pay attention to it, and to cultivate it in a particular direction."

Zokestu Norman Fischer

"Set" is the mindset we take into our meditation practice.

Theoretically it doesn't really matter the mindset we bring into practice - if we stick with it the practice it will do it's thing.

But practically it can be very helpful to cultivate an attitude that supports our practice.

This is true in meditation & in almost any practice we engage in.

PONDER THIS

Before you engage in a task - be it meditation, training, connecting with family

What attitude might support me in this moment?

HOW WILL YOU RESPOND?

"Focusing is a choice.
Refocusing is a skill."
Michael Gervais

Distraction does not equal failure - as long as you refocus
Falling of the path does not mean you're a failure - as long as you come back to the path.
Not living up to your standards sometimes is ok - in just means you have standards that test you.

Loosing your way is part of the journey.
It's almost inevitable.
How you choose to respond is the defining factor.

PONDER THIS 
When you loose focus this week how will you respond?

BONUS QUESTION
How will you notice you're loosing focus before it's lost and what will you to re-align?

SOUL SANCTUARY IS A COMMUNITY OF KINDRED SPIRITS SEEKING PHYSICAL, MENTAL, SPIRITUAL FITNESS. Click here to join.

COURAGE TO DREAM, COURAGE TO FAIL

"Nature loves courage.

You make the commitment and nature will respond to that commitment by removing impossible obstacles.

Dream the impossible dream and the world will not grind you under, it will lift you up.

This is the trick.

This is what all these teachers and philosophers who really counted, who really touched the alchemical gold, this is what they understood.

This is how magic is done.

By hurling yourself into the abyss and discovering it's a feather bed."

Terence McKenna

What would you commit to if this were true?

If there were such a thing as magic.

If obstacles were removed

If the "abyss" was a featherbed

What would you commit to if the universe was on your side?

Perhaps an even more powerful question if what would you commit to if it wasn't true?

What would be worth the risk of failure?

WHAT WOULD LOVE DO?

"We look forward to the time when the Power of Love will replace the Love of Power.

Then will our world know the blessings of peace."

William E Gladstone

WHAT WOULD LOVE DO?

Sometimes the loving act is to push,

Sometimes the loving act is to pull back.

Sometimes love listens deeply,

Sometimes it leads courageously.

Sometimes love is passive.

Sometimes very active.

Sometimes love shares

Sometimes it holds back.

Real Love always moves it's target toward wholeness & wellness

even though it doesn't always feel like it.

What would love do right now?

Is not an invitation to take the easy way out it's a reminder of the, sometimes hidden, force that empowers you to do what you believe to be right (even when you don't feel like).

TRY THIS:
Next time you feel stuck or are unsure of what to do, next time you need guidance, next time you feel exhausted or overcome by emotion ask yourself

WHAT WOULD LOVE DO RIGHT NOW?

DO NOT WASTE THIS LIFE (FORCE)

“To learn to be always in a state of meditation means never to let your vital energy wane."

Suzuki Shosan

Your time and energy are precious

- and they are running out.

Your people, your projects and your potential need you.
How will you show up for them?

PONDER THIS

What can & will you do this week to cultivate & honour your vital energy?

(Put a different way - What will you do to build & restore your energy? How will you use that energy?)

ARE YOU IN THE ARENA OR IN THE CROWD

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.

The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena,"

Theodore Roosevelt

Anytime you strive for growth, for change, for greatness (whatever that means to you), you are likely to hear critical voices.

Some of those voices might be real, others perceived, often the harshest & most cutting critical voices come from within.

Doubt, despair, fear & judgement can be the catalyst for harsh words, warnings & criticisms about your ability to shine.

These critical voices, whether real or perceived, can make it a lot harder to do the work it takes effect positive change.
They can hold you in more comfortable, familiar ways of being.

The question is what is worth overcoming these critical voices for?

What arena will you step into?

What is worth the risk of failure?

What is worth the price of success?

If you were filled with courage what would you do?

What can you do this week to make that happen?

MAY MY HANDS BE SERVANTS OF MY HEART

"Now is the time to get serious about living your ideals.

How long can you afford to put off who you really want to be?

Your nobler self cannot wait any longer."

Epictetus

Blessing comes from prayer.

The most potent kind of prayer is action, hard work.

The most empowering blessing is to work toward a worthy ideal.

To answer the call of your soul, your heart, you conscience.

PONDER THIS

What's one thing you you could do in the next day or so that is an expression of who you really want to be?

SET & SETTING

"The more disciplined your environment is, the less disciplined you need to be. Don't swim upstream."
James Clear

In a blue print for greatness we talk about Preparing yourself and your environment to help make your plan come to life.

In meditation, and many other healing modalities, we talk about set & setting, the state of mind & environment we practice in.

In the kingdom of Soul-train we set up the gym so that a workout flows seamlessly.

By taking the time to organise your environment, both internal and external, to support your discipline you make it easier to access you genius, step into flow and perform at your best.

PONDER THIS

How can best prepare yourself and environment to be at your best this week?