~

This month marks two years since my blogging debut.  It has gone by very quickly and I have enjoyed posting and learning things of an online nature.  It has also been educational for me from a personal angle and this has certainly been the case over the last twelve months in particular.  As a result I have evolved and am ready for new pastures and new ways to explore life and all it offers.  Ready to delve further within and see what comes up or comes out; ready to see what I can let go of so as to be ready for what I can receive.  I am excited.

I would like to become more creative in what I do and to branch out into other areas and see what happens.  With the blog, I have decided to focus a bit more on two areas: mindfulness and productivity.  This carries on from what I have been blogging about over the last two years but sort of streamlines it a bit more.  The blog was always an ‘exploration of how to find a happy medium between the internal and external aspects of who we are as a whole human being’ and whilst it will still be that it will be less broad.

As I have been dabbling into both these areas for some time my awareness as well as their importance has grown and together that has brought me to the changes I would like to make.   I am really looking forward to broadening my own knowledge in both mindfulness and productivity as well as passing on things which I trust will be useful to you and help you on your own journey as I move along on my own.  To define the changes to the blog I will be altering the blogs name to Mindful Productivity [mindfulproductivity.net].  This will take place in the next few weeks or so as I have to work out how to do it all first   I would also like to change the theme a bit so I can use more photos etc.  So stay tuned and we can see how it all turns out together.

If you have any comments about the changes or things you would like to see on the blog please leave a comment as I would like to make it as good as possible.

Enjoy

.

photo by bikehikedive via Flickr

other posts you may like:

Some of life’s rythyms

Are internal possessions cluttering your space for potential?

The external journey is so passe

Look for the oneness in others today

.

Around about this time of year, my thoughts often start to wander as I begin to recall what I have accomplished during the year and if there is anything I would like to put extra energy into and finish up before the year is out.  With you know what fast approaching, it is a good time to get jizzed up about any projects that you may not want to carry over to the new year or have to bother with during the coming festivities.

We all need a bit of a boost every now and then and with only nine days before December begins it is a great time to flick the old inner switch for a bit of extra motivation/power.

I really enjoy all the stuff that goes on during December and try to make the whole month about catching up and doing nice things with friends and family – sort of like a bonding month.  Of course other more mundane things still need to be accomplished but even with those I try to imbue a sense of seasonality into them – after all, it is about enjoying life and not just going through the motions.

photo by fRandi-shooters via creative commons

Some previous postings you might like to read:

Life is in the doing not the having

Delight in all the turns of your life

Simplicity Thursday – 5 things to do whilst boiling the kettle

In the silence are all the answers you seek

20 ways to make life harder

.

.

Expectations are slippery characters.  In themselves they are fine but it is how we attach ourselves to them; or them to us, which imbues them with a power which can be hazardous.   In one way they can be good in another not so good.  The good way with expectations is not to hold on to them too tightly, not to incorporate them too deeply into the part of us which resides in the physical world.  Savour an expectation, feel it arise  within and visualise its outcome, let the  mind know this is how we would like things to be.  Expect good things of our self – to be and do all that we believe is possible [and then some]……. then set the expectation free.

What we expect is usually what we get, though sometimes not in the form we expected.  If we do not get what we expect then we must not be disappointed or downhearted.  Expectations send out a message to the universe that this is what we want or think we deserve; yet if we do not let go of them, they cannot go forth to do their work.  They will not come back to us for they never left to be fulfilled.  However, by fearing our expectations will not be fulfilled we doom them to failure by not  letting go of them.

Expectations must be taken on board then released, that is their way, the way.  Expectations are powerful and can have a positive effect on our life, yet if we do not set that power free it turns inward.  It builds in us and consumes us as the weight of increasing unfulfilled expectations are pilled higher and higher upon ourselves, by ourselves and our inability to release them.   They are made to move, to be free and to wander – their energy doing its work in freedom.  They do not operate when caged; they are inhabitants of the open.  They only like to rest upon our thoughts momentarily before taking flight again to spread their goodness.

~~ So by all means enjoy your expectations and have high ones but remember you do not own them, they will do you the most good by letting them go.  They are like a summer breeze, touching you for a moment so you can shape how they flow but always and ever they are free flowing.

Enjoy

Photo by: lucyfrench123

You might like reading another post I wrote on expectations

Great Expectations?

Some other postings:

Happiness, fulfilment – what’s stopping you?

Life is in the doing not the having

Last Monday’s post was my most successful yet – comments and hits wise that is and possibly one of the most  successful in a helpful way too – unfortunately that doesn’t come up on the analytics .  I would like to thank everyone who released emotions which they no longer wished to carry the full weight of and trust that in some small way it has made you feel lighter and added to your inner growth.

I will take a guess here and surmise that for some of you a fear had to be overcome to place a comment  and I wanted you who did over come a fear to know that last Monday I had a fear too.  It wasn’t in writing the post as only I was seeing it, yet as I went to push the publish button I hesitated, I doubted myself and quavered.  My last  post was different from my usual Monday sort, a move away from my comfort zone.  I could feel the build up inside me, I was a bit scared and put it down to maybe it wasn’t a good time to do a post like this  – what if I offend someone, what if no one comments, what if this and what if that…

As I sat there thinking whether ‘to publish or not to publish’ I began to wonder if maybe the feeling was just plain old fear; fear of doing something differently, of expanding, of growing.  Which one was it?  Then I remembered a piece I read in a magazine about a woman who had come through an experience of cancer.  When asked what positive had come out of her experience she said she would no longer waste another day not feeling totally liberated to be whoever she wanted to be.  Then I thought of all those people who have done great things in their life and often when asked, they too, say that they had to over come personal fear.

I decided then it was just plain old fear so proceeded with finishing off the post.  All the while the feeling kept chipping away, but I pressed on reminding myself not to succumb to it for it was only trying to keep me living a ‘small life’.   By the time I had finished doing all the extra bits like picking the picture etc it was too late for fear to grip me fully.  I had walked through it and was already on the other side with enough inner oomph to push the publish button.

~~ When I feel fear rising within I usually picture it as a wall of sheer muslin type curtains [hence the above picture], don’t ask me why, it’s just how it appears to me.   Obscuring what I want to see, do and be yet at the same time powerless to hold me back if I choose to move forward.  The curtains offer the illusion of resistance but really there is none for it is all self imposed.  So I picture myself walking through them and feeling the fear/curtains gently waft over me as I pass through.  No harm can be done as the fear is weightless  in comparison to the motion of me moving forward – both physically and mentally.  The fear becomes insignificant.  Only not moving forward stops me from being all I can be as only not moving forward stops you from being all you can be.

Which of your fears will you walk through?

Enjoy

Photo by independentman

Other postings you might like to read:

Delight in all the turns of your life

Simplicity Thursday – 5 things to do whilst boiling the kettle

In the silence are all the answers you seek

Quotes

I usually put a few quotes up on Twitter during the day but sometimes I come across excellent ones that are too long to change into 140 characters.  Here are some that resonate with me and maybe will with you too:

You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage – pleasantly, smilingly, non apologetically to say ‘no’ to other things and the way to do that is by having a bigger ‘yes’ burning inside  ~Stephen Covey

~~

What you are, so is your world.  Everything in the universe is resolved into your own inward experience.  It matters little what is without, for it is all a reflection of your own state of consciousness.  It matters everything what you are within, for everything without will be mirrored and coloured accordingly ~  James Allen

~~

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.  Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking.  Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice.  Most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.  They somehow already know what you truly want to become.  Everything else is secondary ~ Steve Jobs

Photo credit: umjanedoan

Enjoy

A few of my other posts you might like to read:

You don’t have to save the world

Do you live a quantity or quality life?

Honouring your core values

In us all there is a great power – a power no one else has.  Whether we feel confident, shy, ambitious, unmotivated etc it resides within.  It is the power of choice.  To focus and choose what we want to do next, what to put our concentration on.  Only we have the power to choose what to put our focus on.  We can choose to focus on what we like about our life or what we don’t.  Whatever choice is made will be expanded on.  What we focus on expands, it’s a universal law, the way the world works.  We aren’t far along the path yet to know why but it does, but it does – this I fully believe.  No matter what is going on in life we can always choose to focus on the positive aspects of the situation.  This we have complete control over, this no one can take from us.  Yes, it can be hard to make these choices especially in the midst of turmoil or feeling cruddy but they are there for us to make. When we concentrate on the good aspects of a situation we say to the universe ‘this is my world’ and the universe will increase it; likewise if we focus on the not so good parts.  So if we focus more on the good in our lives then our concentration will be there and we will start seeing that aspect of our lives increase.

Change your thoughts and you change your world ~ Norman Vincent Peale

Enjoy

image credit: Editor B

Other posts in the logos coaching blog:

10 free ways to enhance your life

Our choices make our life

Take at least a small step each day

How this is done is personal and you should do it in a way that makes it important to you; in a way that carries meaning.  Whether it is big or small is beside the point as it is the symbolism that it carries for you which is of importance.

So have a think over the next day or so and see what you would like to do.  If you are working or busy on the 31 December you still have time afterwards or even before to do something or you could imbue your whole day with the spirit you wish to mark.

A few ideas to get you thinking:

Make a list if you like of all the great things that happened to you during 2009 as well as all the things you achieved then congratulate yourself.

Cook a nice dinner for yourself and family or friends and chat about the year you have all had.

Do something that you wanted to do all year but never got around to as a send off to the year and to remind you in the coming year to get on with things.

Go for a drive somewhere and take in how wonderful nature can be and sit for a while and remember your year.

I am sure you will have some other fantastic suggestions of your own that are personal to you.  Whatever you decide to do, do it with your whole heart.

Enjoy

.

Other postings:

Simplicity can be simple

Our choices make our life

Honouring your core values

.

image by Hectorir via Flickr

ALMOST FINISHED BOTTLES

It’s very easy to accumulate an array of bottles of different fluids and creams over the course of a year or so.  As new bottles and jars are bought they get put to the front of the cupboard or are favoured because they have a nicer smell and the old 75% used ones slowly get pushed further and further back until they have been covered and are now out of sight.

THE TASK

Keep an eye out this week for all the almost finished bottles and jars of stuff you have around the house:

~ Shampoo and conditioner

~ Toilet cleaner

~ Perfume (great room or car freshener if you no longer like to use it)

~ Hand creams or face creams

~ Floor cleaner

~ Multi purpose cleaners

~ Face scrubs

~ Toothpaste

~ etc etc

.Make a point of using all these up in the next few weeks.  You will be surprised at all the extra space you have in you cupboards when they are gone

Enjoy

.

Other postings:

Simplicity November tip #5

5 steps to change a non useful internal possession

Take at least a small step each day

.

All things have energy to them and that includes people, all material objects as well as non material things.  You’ve heard the sayings ‘you could cut the tension in the room with a knife’ or ‘that house has a lovely feel to it’ – these express energy that, whilst it cannot be seen, it can be felt.  Feeling something is as real as touching it.

By surrounding yourself with positive energy you enhance elements within your life that move you towards that which you want to achieve.   You place yourself in a stream if you like of energy that you go with and not against in fulfilling your purpose in life, in living in a way that makes you joyful.

Look around your home, at what you do or have, who you spend time with and see if there is someone or something that you are feeling energy from which no longer helps you to live the way you want to from now on.  If something is not helping you live according to your purpose/ your goals then it is hindering you; it is stopping or delaying you from it.

All journeys come down to the choices we make.  Take a moment today and remove at least one thing that is not helping you on your journey of finding or living your purpose or adding joy to your life.  It might be something small like a pile of old newspapers or it may be larger like making a decision you have been putting off.  Whether small or large it is a step towards the more meaningful and joyous life you deserve.

In doing one small step each day or week towards living as you truly want, you are closer than you would have been had you not.  Small steps gain momentum and before you know things are different.  There is no rush, time is meaningless.  Moments only carries the value we give to them and if you are not living in a way that brings you true joy and fulfilment then you are not living – you are only existing.

Enjoy

Related postings you may also like reading:

• Are internal possessions cluttering you space for potential?
  
• Work is life and life work; it’s all balance
  

.

Why do many highly successful people (in a monetary sense) no longer find the same level of satisfaction in acquiring objects?

Why does a child no matter the monetary wealth of its parents seem so excited by everything they receive?

At the end of your life what will it be that gave you a sense of worth?  What will you feel when you are sitting in the rocking chair kind of knowing that it may all be coming to an end soon?

Will you be happy at your achievements or will you be dissatisfied?

Will your achievements or disappointments be material or emotional?

We never really know how long we have to do what we want to do, so it is important to live each day to the best of our abilities, to be thankful for what and who we have around us.  Whilst we can plan to a certain extent and roughly work out how we would like things to go; we can never really say for certain how it will all turn out.  All we can do is move in a direction that calls us and treat all things with the respect that is due them, for they too, like us, are on their own journey.

.

I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it’s not the answer ~ Jim Carrey

.

The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it ~ Henry David Thoreau

.

Life is the sum of all your choices ~ Albert Camus

Every individual has a place to fill in the world and is important in some respect whether he chooses to be so or not.  ~Nathaniel Hawthorne

.

Truest life is when we are in dreams awake ~Thoreau

Related postings you may also like:

Honouring your core values

Are you living your true self 24 hours a day?