Archive for Life & Thoughts
Avatar
Posted by: | CommentsWell after all the hype about the film Avatar, I must say that it was one of the few films that I’ve seen that did not disappoint.
I went to see it with my wife and we were both blown away. The World ‘Pandora’ was the setting and the indigenous population, were those who were very much at one with their environment. They lived in such harmony with the surroundings and respecting nature and each other that it portrays a peaceful oasis that seems unreal.
It is no wonder when in contrast with our own World, with the violence and negativity that we get bombarded with on a daily basis that many people few a bit despondent after watching the film. There has been reported in the Press and online forums, people becoming depressed after watching the movie as they really want to live on the World Pandora and be a Navi, to live in a different way.
It’s a great film and one I think brings hope to people and opens their eyes to what can be (in the movies anyway) and for me more importantly, it gives people a glimpse of what they would like and takes them away from the materialistic life most people lead.
In actual fact, there are probably still a few indigenous populations remaining who still live pretty much how the Navi people live, the tribes of the Amazon forest, the native Indians of America. But no doubt, these cultures are slowly dying out and being driven out by the ‘developing’ Worlds in the name of ‘progress’.
It almost seems ironic, that real true progress is to honour the ways of the old, respecting nature, our environment and each other as human beings. This is what governments are striving for are they not? Strange that to try and ‘progress’ Society and to save the human race we are moving away from doing what needs to be done. Just my own thoughts!
Welcome to the Year 2010
Posted by: | CommentsWho would believe it is 2010!
Looking back on the past decade, it’s been quite amazing at all the things that have not only happened in my own life but around the World as well. Certainly on the one hand, time seems to pass so quickly, yet so much happens within that time.
As we enter 2010, I am often reminded of those who believe that the year will be quite a big one for many people. The Year 2010 is supposed to be important in terms of numerology, but it also takes us closer to the exciting and uncertainty of the Year 2012, a year of great change and increased consciousness around the planet. There are many theories about what may happen in 2012 but lets focus on the Now and understand that there is a great deal of living to do before we get there!
Of late I’ve not really taken time out for myself, to slow down and take time out from the chaos of life. This is one of the things that I have made a commitment to do this year and one that I’ve intend to keep. Though the year has already started and New Year seems so far away, it is already quite busy. One of my strategies is to take time out each day to meditate and visualise all of my goals for the coming year. I also aim to go through ‘A Course in Miracles’ and to post my thoughts and reflections on each part that I read. A Course in Miracles is a well-known spiritual book and one that I bought many months ago with good intentions, but it has just sat on the bookshelf all this time.
To start things off, we watched ‘The Secret’ again just to remind ourselves on the teachings of the Law of Attraction and its a great thing to do every now and then. I find watching such DVD’s, reading books and chatting to like-minded friends a great way to energize myself and keep myself on track to mainting a healthy perspective on things.
Before I forget, that is something else that I’m planning on doing. To get all my like-minded friends together every month or two and have a good catch-up. It’s something we’ve done before and I find the energy really great and I feel really motivated afterwards. So bring on 2010!
1st Anniversary
Posted by: | CommentsWell, what a year it has been so far. Time does seem to go very quickly when you are living life but if you take a moment to look back and reflect on all that has happened in your life you may well be surprised at how much has actually happened.
This weekend is our first wedding anniversary and I’m just spending the whole weekend with my wife. We’re not doing anything too grand, just enjoying each others company and spending some time together. Certainly when we reflect on all that has happened in our first year of marriage, we are often blown away at how much stuff has gone on for us and how our life plan has changed and evolved.
Also during this festive period, with Christmas coming up, it is especially special as it is a time for friends and family. I love Christmas, not only because of all the festivities, but everyone seems to be so much more happier! It’s like when the sun comes out in London, everyone is instantly lifted, you can feel the change in the air, it’s quite palpable.
What is more, there is still tiem left in 2009 for more news, more about that in a later post, but for now, there are lots going on still so enjoy the party period and love your friends and family!
Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff
Posted by: | CommentsWell, it’s been one of those weeks for me, one where I dwell and dream about our future plans and all that we are striving for but one in which I cannot see the path. This has been getting me down and stressing me out and it’s all me that is creating it and I know it.
I’ve tried various things to get myself out of this state but found it difficult. Only today I have started to read one of my old spiritual books which I really got a lot out of. “Conversations with God – Book 3″ by Neale Donald Walsch has been a great book for me and given me many insights that has brought clarity and gave me a sense of peace when I first read it a year or two ago.
Today I started reading it again on the way to work and have found after a short way into it that I am starting to remember the purpose of life as I believe it and one which I have forgotten. In other words, I’m starting to get out of my own made drama and and regaining a good and healthy perspective. It’s realigned some of my thoughts which have kept my mind quite clear and focused.
I guess one other event that has contributed to all of this is the one year anniversary of the death of my dad this weekend. We had a little ceremony with my family and it gave me time to reflect and remind myself of the promises and determination I had at time of his death that time is short and that I just need to go and do the stuff that I want in life and not to sweat the small stuff. Even things like jobs, mortgages, all of these things to me are some of the ’small’ stuff in life and not things that are really that important in the scheme of things.
When I think about what is important in life, it basically boils down to family and experiences. Family is very important and though they can be frustrating at times, they will always be there for you. Experiences are the core for me. There is so much to life that it’s a shame to just stay in a small place and see only the most superficial aspects of it. My wife and I are planning on doing some travelling and experiencing more of this World that we live in. We also haven’t planned how we are going to achieve a lot of the stuff that we desire in our lives as we are trusting in the process.
The key thing for me is to keep some decent level of perspective and don’t sweat the small stuff, at the end of the day, if you lost everything like your job, house, car etc, what will you be left with?
Plan for 2010
Posted by: | CommentsIt’s interesting how human emotions can make you feel different all of the time. My wife and I do try and live our lives as authentically as possible and being true to ourselves. In areas that we have not achieved this fully, we have plans and ideas about how to achieve it. Certainly we have a lot of big changes in our lives for 2010 planned and when I think about it, it is really exciting but also quite daunting and scary at the same time.
Most of the time it’s great to have an idea of where we are heading and a lot kind of depends on how things pan out between now and then. If I think too much about the future and what we are planning on doing, I sometimes over-analyse things and start doubting myself or our approach to life. There is a lot to be said about putting your intentions out there for what you want or wish to achieve and then living in the Present moment as much as possible. Being Present certainly gets you more focused and hopefully enjoying the journey to where you are aiming for.
This is not an easy thing to do, certinaly not for me anyway. I love dreaming and thinking of all the amazing things that we have planned for the coming year. However, this does detract me from the Present moment and being grateful and having gratitude for the things and life that we already have. Looking back, I do find that I can realign and refocus myself if I read spiritual books as I can easily get sidetracked into the ego side of things. A degree of it is fine, but it’s very easy to get myself drawn into the drama of everything when in fact, there really is no drama, it’s just me creating it in the first place.
Trusting in the process of the Universe that everything works out as it should is also a great way to keep Present. Certainly my wife is much better at that than I am. I find my brain works overtime and certainly my left-brain tends to try and work everything out which I know and believe is counter to how it all works. Knowing something and doing it are two very different things!
I should look to my wife more when my mind starts to get a bit overloaded in working how things will pan out. I guess one way of looking at it is that if I try and work everything out and plan it all, then it takes the fun and spontaneity out of life. Yes, having written this post, I will endeavour to read more spiritual books to help remind me and keep me on track in our goals and the way forward.
A Busy Week!
Posted by: | CommentsThe past week has certainly been a busy one for us. First we had our Chinese Wedding anniversary! We got married (Chinese Wedding) on the 23rd September 2008. To celebrate, we went out into London and had a lovely walk along the Thames. This was followed by a feast in a Chiense restaurant in China town. We both a had a huge meal which included lobster! One of my all time favourite seafoods. Earlier on in the day we had bought some theatre tickets to see ‘Calender Girls’ and after eating we rocked up to the theatre and were told that our seats had been upgraded due to the upper circle being closed for some reason! Great news for us as we had paid for cheaper seats and now had premium ones. The show itself was superb and had a mixture of laughter, tears and everything else inbetween. It was really good. I was a bit nervous at first entering the theatre as there seemed to be no guys and just a load of women, I felt really out of place! Fortunately when we actually sat down, there were a few fellow men who looked equally uncomfortable but at least there were a few of us around!
At the weekend after we had a friends wedding in Wiltshire, a lovely part of England. The wedding itself was amazing and we were invited to the ceremony itself. We left on the day and as soon as we got onto the M25, my wife had realised that we had both forgotten to bring our wedding oufits with us! We had the following week off work so had packed everything else but the wedding outfits!
As a result we had to turn around and then drive through London again! Not the most relaxing task at the best of times. As it turns out, the M25 was completely jammed probably due to an accident, so if we had continued, we certainly would have been stuck for a while. Anyhow, we managed to get back home pick out stuff up and then drive out again. Because of the detour we unfortunately missed the main part of the ceremony itself with the exchanging of vows but we caught the very last bit of it! Oh well, things happen.
Following the wedding, we spent a couple of nights in Glastonbury. It’s a spiritual place and somewhere we had always wanted to visit. It was a very historic place and I was quite surprised. We went to the Abbey which was some ruins set in some large grounds, it was also where King Arthur was said to be buried. It was a very relaxing place and nice to walk around in. The Glastonbury high street was where a lot of the spiritual type shops were. I was amazed at the number of these shops, at every corner there was some store selling crystals, spiritual books, psychics, tarot readers etc etc. We usually love these shops but this was sheer overwhelm! There was a small spiritual fair going on which we attended. It was here that I had my aura photographed. It was very interesting and I was really surprised when the guy asked me if I had some injury to my right shoulder becuase there was an ‘energy’ weakness there. Wow! Of course I had broken my right collar bone and though I am no longer wearing the sling, it is still recovering, so I was quite impressed with that. The lady there also mentioned something about me being quite psychic or intuitive and whether I did much energy stuff. The answer was no apart from my meditations and readings. It was then that I bought myself a moonstone crystal. I read on a chart that it was one of my birthstones and can help to increase psychic awareness.
Alison my wife, she had an iridiology reading and was recommended some dietary changes. I guess that probably means more vegetarian type foods! Bring on the lentils!
At the fair I also bought myself a tibetian singing bowl which is something that I had wanted for a while. The lady selling them goes to Nepal whenever she can and imports the bowls to sell over here. Her website is: http://www.yakyak.org.uk/.
Of course we also walked up the Glastonbury Tor and then visited the Chalice Well which is a 4 acre gardens with natural springs and the Chalice Well. The garden grounds were beautiful and extremely tranquil. It was said that Joseph of Arimathea went there. The water was drinkable and you could take some home ina water bottle. Of course I washed my moonstone crystal in the water!
After our fun trip to Glastonbury, we spent a few days with our families before returning to London with a final late birthday dinner with some close friends.
So, overall we had a great trip, busy but very much fun. One last thing for me to do is to book my followup theta healing session!
Dancing Lesson?
Posted by: | CommentsWell, slightly misleading title but this post was inspired by a programme on TV at the moment called ‘Strictly Come Dancing’. Ok, no the the best TV but not bad entertainment which doesn’t require any brainwork!
Anyway, one of the winners of a previous show came back on and peformed a dance. The presenter asked him if he had any advice to give to the current contestants and he said, “enjoy the journey, you will never know when it will end”. Wow, great advice and great advice for life as well.
It has been said many times by those in the know that as you journey through life, you should be Present in the moment and enjoy the journey. So often we are caught up in the dramas of life and are always thinking of the future as we strive to achieve or to get somewhere in life. Most people either live in the past or future.
This means that people tend to look to the past and dwell on things that have come and gone. Perhaps remeniscing about what could have been or how good or bad something was in the past, or blaming things that have happened in the past on your current circumstances. The flipside to this are those people who are constantly striving and looking to the future. They are so focused on moving forwards that they miss the living in the current moment.
And this is the crux of it all. To live more peacefully and with less stress, you should spend most of your time in the Present moment, enjoying each moment of your day. There are many experiences that could easily be overlooked if you are not in the moment. Life is more about the journey rather than the end itself, because at the end of the day there never is an end. There will always be more.
That is not to say do not look to the past or think about the future, it is saying that life itself does not reside ‘there’, life is Now, it is the Present moment. Slow down a little, actually observe life happening, enjoy the trees, nature and have gratitude for all the good things that you currently have in life. This will help you to stay Present and actually enjoy the journey of life which is what it is all about.
Help the World by doing what you love
Posted by: | CommentsOne thing that I have always believed in is that you should always follow your passion in life where possible.
Often I forget my own beliefs when I’m caught in the day to day act of living life. It is something I often think about and consider but is it something that I practise? Well, I often read other peoples blog posts and one in particular was talking about being in service to the world by doing what you love.
If you consider this you can see that there are many truths to it on many levels. After reading it, it made me consider my own situation. Am I following my passion? I would say that I am but perhaps not quite in the way I imagine is perfect.
Having had a walk in the park today, I have had more time again to reflect. What is stopping me from just going for it and doing what I want to do? I think the answer is fear.
I recognise that it is an ego-based sense of insecurity, and fear of will I have enough money to live and survive on. Taking a step back and looking at the situation I can reason to myself, what is the worst that can happen? This sense of insecurity I can also see as being false and not something that is real. It is more of an excuse really, a procrastination strategy that I’ve fallen back on time and time again. It is the excuse that we all use and the excuse that keeps me where I am today.
As I consider things, I get more and more confident that these excuses are just not good enough and are not serving me. They are more internal barriers that I need to put aside within myself, or at least come to peace with.
For now, things are in motion, times are changing and the status quo just won’t do anymore, not for me anyway. Be assured that plans are afoot and 2010 will be a year of adventure. I will live a more authentic life.
The Nature of Money
Posted by: | CommentsI had some sort of insight on the subject of money the other day that I would like to share here, even just for the purpose of clarifying my own thoughts. When I think about this insight I find it difficult to express it, it is more of an internal knowing. I’ll give it a go anyway.
Money is a very emotive subject for many people, no less for myself. With lots of past experience of debt and the feeling of insecurity it can cause, it has been a big area of my life thoughts. Not always the most positive of thoughts but culturally also, money plays a large role.
The insight came to me when I was considering about having theta healing, a therapy that I had heard lots of good things about and wanted to have a go. The session was more expensive than I thought (£75) and I was reluctant to go ahead and book an appointment. After a short delay, I decided to take the plunge and go ahead. It was a great session and was really glad I went ahead.
It was then when I had decided to go ahead that I had a moment of clarity or understanding about the nature of money. It’s all relative!
Now, I always heard some people talk about money in various metaphors such as money is just a form of energy exchange. I understand that saying this but never really internalized it as truth.
My insight came when I was thinking about what if I didn’t have enough money to keep me going after paying for the session. Again the sense of lack arose. However, it dawned on me that the theta therapist I saw charged £75, she could easily have charged me £30 for her services. Yet, she would still have done the same thing. It is all relative. It made me realize that I too could achieve what I wanted (financially) just as easily. I could charge someone £100 for my services but then charge a friend only £50. I would still be doing the same thing and providing the same service. The £50 service would not be half as good as the full fee service. So what is different? Why would I charge one fee rather than another? Well, it all depends on what I wanted.
This idea is not about self-worth or what the market will bear but more about what you want to create in your life at any point in time. if I was a therapist, I could charge someone £100 and be happy with it, then next time £50 would be ok because that was all that I needed at that time and I would be happy with it (of course your pricing would be consistent for the clients). So, for doing the same thing, different amounts could be charged for it, but the value delivered would be the same.
I’m not sure it any of that made sense but in summary it is about money being relative and having no value in itself. I know that I can create what I want/need at any particular point in time. With this ‘knowing’ comes an inner sense of peace around the subject.
Stay on the path, life is toooo short…so live it!
Posted by: | CommentsPlease remember that life is about living and should be fun and exciting. Anytime you feel as if life is a drag, then it is a sure sign that you are not quite on the right path. Listen to your inner guidance and intuition as it will show you the way.
Here is a thought for you, thought for the day if you like.
“When you trust you will find. When you find you will discover. When you discover, you will find joy. This is life.”