DAY 2 How do we access our choice-fulness?

Yesterday we explored the automaticity that we all live in, the absence. And looked at “presence” as a choice..

Lets start today with a practice. For a minute, just tune into your breathing – feel your inbreath and your out breath. The sensations that accompany the breath, where you feel the breath most vividly. Don’t change the breath, just notice the breath with detail noticing of the sensations that accompany your breath…

Exploring Mindfulness together.. DAY one.. Choice

Last week, I had the opportunity to give a talk on mindfulness. I would like to share some of this with you, and perhaps go on a reflective journey together? So, over the next few days, you will see a series of posts that relate generally, to mindfulness and then a more specific exploration of some of the attitudes that are embedded in this way of being..HOW to BE in the world.

Keeping Fit??

Most of us are in some way pre-occupied, occupied and think often about physical fitness, exercise, keeping fit, eating well (even though we may not really..). It’s physical fitness, strength, vitality and resources that occupies us. Yes?
Have you ever wondered about building strength and vitality in other areas of life? What about the mental, emotional and spiritual dimensions?

Manage Stress – Restore Energy

Merriam-Webster defines resilience as:

1. the capability of a strained body to recover its size and shape after deformation caused especially by compressive stress
2. an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change
   (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/resilience).

The start and end date. Its the dash that…

Looking around, it is hard to ignore the pace of the world. Drivers in Johannesburg, mums in carparks, people at the grocery store – going at breakneck speeds! Or is it me? Everyone is in a rush to get somewhere. Yes true. However, I can’t help but think how do we put the “brake” on? What’s the rush? By the way, questions that I ask myself all too often!

Choose to do one thing

I am so mindful these days about how busy, active and frazzled most people in my world are. Traffic, schedules, meetings and even “holidays” can place us constantly in the “doing” mode vs the “being” mode. Reacting constantly to the environment, obligations and diaries creates an external locus of control and a lack of centeredness, balance and equilibrium. The operative word here – REACTING i.e. a “created automaticity” – moving mindlessly from one task, appointment, activity to the other.

Wellness and leadership

Two seemingly unrelated topics you may say? What is the intersect between wellness and leadership? And why does it matter?

Enabling Awareness – Lets Talk!

So much has been written about the art and science of communication. As human beings, we communicate ALL the time – even when we are silent. Without belabouring the history and techniques of different ways of getting our ideas across, I thought I would share some of my own personal insights in one of the most powerful skills that we need to have in order to allow some of “our world out” and the rest of the world “in”

Writing for your health?

When was the last time that you took a pen to write – either in your journal or perhaps a letter to someone? Living in a society that promotes paperlessness often means that we use our smart phones or tablets to write. Personally, I find this challenging, because I often get distracted by an email, text, notification of some sort. Ok. Ok! So, maybe am not so “focused”!

The Neuroscience of Change..

Do you want to change something? To move? To Shift?

Have you had limited success till now? Falling back into old ways which make it hard for you to create a lasting impact.
There is a reason for this. The human brain is hardwired in a way that resists change. As we learn and become “ourselves” we create neural circuitry that makes “unwiring” really challenging. Most times this serves us. Imagine needing to learn how to drive a car every time you get behind the wheel, or a bike, or a computer for that matter.

Whose looking after you?

Medical Professionals are one of the most overlooked people with respect to their own HEALTH and WELLness? Their jobs involve great human compassion, time, dedication. While physically demanding, you also have to have great mental, spiritual and emotional fortitude too! This is why so many medical professionals suffer from exhaustion, demotivation and eventually burnout.

New year?!

Today, on the first day of 2016, I feel “reflective” about the significance of a “New Year”. While I see extensive celebrations, fireworks taking off, champagne being popped & am so grateful to witness and be a part of this happy time with friends and family, I find myself reflecting on what exactly the New Year (in general) means for me and our society at large.

Day Five: Making it count. Managing stress

So, now that you have some insight on the way in which you can be at cause over your biology and neurology, is it possible to use some of this to manage one of the biggest causes of dis-ease of our time? Stress. By now, I am sure that you can guess that the answer is indeed a resounding YES!!

Day Four: New brain? Teaching an old dog new…

So, we’ve spoken about genes, the environment, and getting to the core – the cause. Is there more, that we have at our disposal, to use, in order to “show up” differently?

Evidence in neuroscience is showing that by shifting and moving, by thinking differently, we are able to “wire-in” new thoughts. As we discussed yesterday, this changes the neurochemistry and the genetic expression of the body. Performing tasks, and thinking in the same way, day in and day out hardwires only certain neuronal pathways.

Day Three: It’s in your genes? How do we…

So, you always thought : “I was born this way”, “It’s in my genes”, “I can’t change this”. Partly right. A lot of information and coding is in fact written in the DNA. However, new studies in the emerging field of epigenetics is showing that the environment is also very important, in determining HOW those genes are expressed. It is this environment, around the cells of the body, which is directly affected by your thoughts – which trigger the hormones and biochemistry we spoke about yesterday. The body is in fact, the most incredible apothecary in the universe – its chemistry can be changed in the flash of a thought!

Day Two : The mind, body and spirit? Changing…

The mind, the body and emotions are what we are born with – the instincts to think, care and experience. As we ‘grow up” we are conditioned to focus on the intellectual – the mind, at the expense of looking at our bodies and our emotions. Heres an experiment – close your eyes and think about something pleasant.

Let’s Talk – mind, body & health.

Today, I start a 5 day blog that will explore the intriguing concept of mind and body and its effect of life and health in general. Join me as we look at some of this together. The topics that I will cover are

Day One: Your created reality. Blue or green lenses?
Day Two : The mind, body and spirit? Changing your biochemistry.
Day Three: It’s in your genes? How do we show up?
Day Four: Neuroscience. Teaching an old dog new tricks?
Day Five: Making it count. Managing stress

Going Within for powerful relaxation and balance.

What you need to feel good, whole and together, may be closer to your reach than you think. You may not need to go to the pharmacy, juice your veggies or climb the mountain. Our bodies, an intricate, and most intelligent system of energy, links and flow, is with us here and now.

Charting the waters => using your own personal compass…

My attention and thought has recently settled on “personal dilemmas”. Much of this, because I see my own reflection a few years ago. Some of my symptoms – confusion, “my mind is driving me nuts”, “I’m just not sure”. Now, as I look on, I can almost sense the racing minds – 160km/hr on the highway! One thought leads to another, and another, and another. Before you know it, your brain is swimming. The outcome – exhaustion, fatigue, discontentment. The cause – misalignment. Gandhi said true happiness comes when what you think, say, do and feel are in alignment. What does this mean?

Define your thoughts and you define your world

I have recently become increasingly aware of how much influence our thoughts have on defining what our world looks and feels like. They create the background and ambience to our entire living experience. In this state of heightened awareness, I have becoming increasingly mindful of how I can change my perspective of the world by consciously choosing to think and see things as they are rather than how I think they are.