Gratitude

Today I want to write on gratitude and how important it is. Practicing gratitude in our daily lives cultivates positivity and also activates the law of attraction.

Law of attraction is very simple and basically means that you attract what you put out so if you are being grateful for what you have in your life you will attract more of the same and vise versa if you're cultivating negativity into your life you will also create more negativity.

Think about those days we all have where everything seems to go wrong. We start the day with something bad happening and then think "it's going to be one of those days" and  then the entire day turns out that way. This may seem like a curse but if you think about it another way if we weave positive thoughts and gratitude into our day we can also create a positive environment for ourselves and the world.

I also believe in Western society we have an ongoing obsession with what we don't have and want as opposed to what we already have. We are forever thinking, I want that new shirt, house, car, bed. We are also always thinking I wish the house would just clean itself, I wish my husband/wife/kid was around more often, I wish I could be like him/her. The list goes on but you get the picture. If we stop for even just one moment in our day and think I'm grateful for: the roof over my head, the food in my belly, the love that surrounds me anything that comes to mind really I guarantee you will feel pretty darn good about yourself. If you really can't think of anything start with being grateful for your breath because we really take this simple yet crucial need for granted. There is no life without breath!

I currently practice gratitude by having a chat with my husband at the end of the day by asking him "what are you grateful for today?" He has his turn then asks me. If he isn't around I just ask myself and list the things out in my head. There are a myriad of ways you can practice gratitude in your daily life, you can keep a gratitude journal where you list even just one thing per day or even a week of what you are thankful for, you can look in the mirror and ask yourself, you can blog about it, you can ask your partner as I suggested above. The possibilities are endless so get creative.

One of the best things about gratitude that I have found is when you feel you have had an awful day. If you stop and think during the course of the day what you are thankful for then you quickly figure out that it really hasn't been that bad after all.

So to finish my blog this week I want to share what I am grateful for today:

My breath
My health and my loved ones health
My house
The beautiful sunshine
My baby boys smile
My baby boy
The sleep I got last night
The fact I get to do what I love every single day
My husband working hard for us
My able body mind and spirit
The wonderful people in this world
My car
Our financial wealth

I could keep going but will stop there. Honestly though it is such a simple exercise and requires less effort than meditating, exercising, eating well and all the other things we scold ourselves for not doing so give it a try for a while and let me know how you go.

Oh and for those interested here is a link to a gratitude meditation: http://www.chopra.com/agnilight/nov09/podcast

Love and light
Lucy

The power of taking responsibility

The other day I was giving some advice to a friend and he told me it was the best advice he had ever received in his whole life so I thought I would share to others. Of course, I can't take full credit for this advice as it is something that yogis have been teaching for thousands of years and most religions have their own version as well.......

It is three little words: "I am responsible," three of the most empowering words you can use in your life and what I believe can be one of the most important tools we can use to connect with our higher selves.

I used to place my happiness into the hands of others be it my partner, friends, family, my job. I was constantly outsourcing my happiness by blaming others when I didn't feel at my best. "It's your fault I'm unhappy because you don't spend enough time with me", "its because my job is shit" and even "its the city I live in, that's the reason I'm down." By using all these excuses and not taking responsibility for my own well being i was at the mercy of external circumstances. I would sometimes feel fulfilled when all the stars and moon aligned and everyone and everything in my life did what I said I wanted but it wasn't sustainable and the majority of the time I was miserable.

So I took my well being into my own hands and said I am responsible for all that happens in my own life, i am responsible for eating well, staying fit in body and mind and loving myself. It felt good and still does. All of a sudden I didn't have to wait for others to fulfil my needs, I wasn't in a constant state of anxiety trying to get everything to go a certain way. I didn't need to change jobs, or move cities or end my relationship (thank god cause I ended up marrying the guy!.) I realised it all exists inside us, everything that you will ever need to be content is inside you right now in your heart where your true self glows like the coals in a fire. I'm not saying I'm perfect and remember to take responsibility for everything all the time but it does help when I get caught up and upset to remember that I just need to take a step back, breathe and assess the situation and take whatever responsibility I need to. 

Taking responsibility can be very difficult and can often mean swallowing our pride, quieting our ego and seeing where we have room for improvement. However it really is worth the discomfort. One might believe that by taking responsibility we are disempowering ourselves by lowering our walls and becoming vulnerable, but it is the key to personal growth. By admitting we are responsible we are taking the power into our own hands, by admitting we are responsible we are saying to ourselves and the world that we can do something about it. By admitting we are responsible we are holding the keys to change in our own hands and not leaving it in the hands of others.

So try it, even just for a day and see how it feels. When you feel the urge to blame someone or something else  instead look within and see how you can take responsibility for whatever it is and how you can make a small change within yourself to make the situation better.

Love, light and blessings,

Lucy  

First blog post

I have decided to start a blog! Recently I have found I feel like I have a lot to share with the world along the lines of spirituality, parenting and life in general. I feel respectful of each and everyone's paths so rather than bombard people with all my ideas I figured a blog means that they can read it or not and everyone is happy :-) Also I believe that this blog will provide a space for like minded people to come together and share their ideas and thoughts on what makes this world such a fabulous place to be a part of. So onto my first topic..................

The minds desire to control.

Control ourselves, control others, control our finances, control, control, control. Even writing those words makes me feel tight in the chest. This is because it is not our true hearts desire, it is our ego or our mind trying to take charge of our lives and when our true selves aren't being heard pain, stress and disease often come about.

Think about it for a minute, Control often leads to stress and anxiety. For example someone's wedding day, a day you are trying to plan every minute detail of, for every situation or possible outcome. This induces huge levels of stress for many a bride and/or groom to be. Another example that i have found in my life was trying to control my son by imposing a strict routine. When he wouldn't comply with my ideas of how things should be it was awful and really created more problems than it was worth as I was always stressing out about what he 'should' be doing rather than enjoying what he actually was doing. When we let go of control and listen to our heart we feel an inner peace, calm and the sense that everything is as it should be.

So how to let go of control? As well as regular meditation and healthy soulful living the best idea is to surrender. When you feel that anxiety rising up because something isn't going the way you had planned, surrender to the moment and allow things to just happen. Surrender to yourself. Be ok with things happening spontaneously. We only control our words, our thoughts and our physical actions, never the outcomes or the consequences and we can never control people other than ourselves. We can influence others but we cannot control their words, thoughts or actions. Does that give you a sense of relief?

I will share a guided meditation with you which helps to let go of control and is where i first heard some of the things i have written about. It is from The Chopra Center which I love as it is a wealth of positive energy and amazing resources. Enjoy.

http://www.chopra.com/library/med12

Love and light to you and all those you love.

Lucy