You may feel stressed-out when waiting in a line at the bank or the post office, when driving in traffic or along an unfamiliar route, when facing a deadline, or when having an uncomfortable conversation.
You can even experience stress reactions as a result of anticipating or remembering such events.
Though these stresses seem fairly minor, they can cause all sorts of symptoms, such as muscular tension, headaches, insomnia, gastrointestinal upset, and skin conditions. Long-term stress can also be a factor in serious diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and dementia, particularly if you rely on unhealthy strategies to cope with stress, such as smoking, substance abuse, overeating, or overworking.
One of the gifts that mindfulness offers is helping you recognize that there are choices in how you respond to any stressful situation.
Viktor Frankl, psychiatrist and holocaust survivor, describes this eloquently: “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom” (Pattakos 2008, viii).
Even amidst Frankl’s imprisonment, he found ways to provide comfort and healing to those around him, underscoring that, with awareness, everyone has freedom of choice how to respond. The key is awareness.
Of course, conditioning is a powerful force that can make it difficult to change. Just as water finds the path of least resistance, you’ll tend to fall back on habits because in many ways this is the easiest course to follow. This includes habitual ways of seeing and reacting.
To help provide motivation for the challenging work of turning off your autopilot and resisting habitual reactions and behaviors, mindfulness activities such as Mandala art , meditation or breath awareness will help you explore how stress is impacting your life.
Becoming truly aware of the stress in your life and how you interact with it is a necessary first step in choosing new responses that will serve you better.
Let me ask you today – Are you aware in the present moment? And from a scale of 1-10 how aware are you?
(Adapted from the book- Mindfulness Stress Based Reduction workbook)
Hey folks ! Time for Navel meditation that can be done by a beginner as you focus your breath on your belly and your breathing.
Inner Journey’s of lifelong evolution often begin simply….
No matter how complex the goal or desire we have nurtured in our souls, the first steps we take are nearly always basic and uncomplicated.
This inner cave or Navel meditation, a creation of the Taoist tradition and the oldest form of meditation recognised in China and India, is a simple practice suitable for those experienced in the art of meditation, yet it is also a wonderful introductory meditation for novices.
It utilizes the natural rhythms of the breath and the regular movement of the abdomen as a means to focus awareness and rid oneself of extraneous thoughts.
As you concentrate on the breath, the chaos within reveals itself, allowing you to gently train your mind to accept stillness as its natural state.
Step 1 : To begin, assume a comfortable and natural seated position–either cross-legged on a cushion on the floor or on a chair with your legs facing forward. Maintaining an upright, balanced posture will ensure that you are physically centered and prevent fatigue.
Step 2 : Now Close your eyes and relax your body gradually, starting at the toes and ending at the crown of the head. Take a moment to note any physical sensations you are feeling, such as the hardness of the floor under your legs or the weight of a piece of jewellery.
Step 3 : When you are relaxed, breathe through the nose at your natural pace. With each inhalation, draw air deep into the abdomen, allowing the area surrounding your navel to rise and fall. Gradually focus your attention on the sensations caused by the inhalation and exhalation of breath.
Step 4 : You can feel the air flowing in and out of the nostrils as well as the expansion and contraction of the abdomen. If you find it difficult to concentrate on both sensations, concentrate only on the movement of the navel area.
Step 5 : As you endeavour to commune with the breath, you may notice that your mind strays- do not attach any significance to your thoughts. Simply bring your attention back to the flow of air into and out of your body and the rise and fall of your navel.
You can slowly and steadily come out of this meditative state and roll your shoulders, move your fingers and toes and become aware of the environment. Hope you enjoyed this meditation .
Different individuals have different feelings on what makes people happy. Some would say it’s getting a raise. Others would say it’s having a marvellous and meaningful life. There have even been rather a few who have more particular answers pertaining to their personal life.
All of these answers strike a chord, naturally. While everyone has their own belief, some universal matters like the ones below might be conceived as what makes individuals happy.
1. Family and friends
Among the things that make individuals happy and pleased is the company of loved ones and friends. The emotional back up these individuals give you is priceless.
You probably don’t enjoy being smothered by your mother or your father, but attending family reunions or getting together for a picnic or a cook out once in a while hearts up your happiness level. Having individuals around you that you love, trust, cherish and care for makes you feel that you’re not alone.
2. Giving back
Assisting others, whether in small or big ways, elates a person’s spirit like nothing else. Doing something for nothing may be completely opposite of what you’ve been taught, but acts of generosity & unselfishness always leave you with feelings.
Sharing your wealthiness or time with others puts you in the position to encounter the same positive energy back from other people. Likewise, making a difference in someone else’s life has a way of returning to you.
3. Meaningful work A job with an elevated salary isn’t always what makes individuals happy. As a matter of fact, these jobs often make individuals miserable (unless your heart is in what you do). Regrettably, not everybody can afford to go after their dream job. And not everybody finds meaning in their work. You may try to correct for this by volunteering at hospitals or environmental campaigns in your spare time. By discovering meaning in what you do, you’ll feel accomplished and have a purposefulness.
4. Freedom It’s impossible to become truly happy when you don’t have even a small ounce of freedom in your life. Whether it’s being able to convey yourself creatively or being able to make a choice for yourself, personal freedom is crucial. Suppressing yourself only generates a lot of damaging emotions and discontent.
5. Success Who doesn’t prefer to succeed? Individuals who have accomplished personal or professional success in their life are more prepared to go after other goals and try fresh experiences. They become more contented with the centering their life is taking and are generally happier in the long-run.
The principle of five elements is important to the concept of Feng Shui as they work in certain ways in accordance with the rotation of the Productive and Destructive cycles. All five of the elements correspond with a certain color and some of the elements will use more than one color. Here are the five elements and their corresponding colors:
Wood
The Wood element represents growth, development and planning. This element resides in the East and Southeast areas of your space. It is associated with the brown/green color spectrum and the columnar shape.
Fire
The fire element represents expansion, enthusiasm and transformation and provides energy to things that are career related. It will also assist you in being recognized in your achievements. This element resides in the South, Northeast and Southwest areas of your space. It is associated with the red, orange, purple, pink and strong yellow colour spectrum and the triangular shape.
Water
The water element represents easiness, abundance, freshness, calm and purity. This element can be used in the North, East and Southeast areas of your space. It is associated with the blue and black color spectrum and wavy lines.
Earth
The earth element represents stability, nourishment and protection in relationships. It can be used in the Northeast, Southeast and Center areas of your space. This element is associated with the beige and yellow color spectrum and the square shape.
Metal
The metal element represents accuracy, clarity and efficiency and can be used in the West, North and Northwest areas of your space. This element is ideal for your home or business and is associated with the white and grey colour spectrum and the circle, oval and crescent shapes.
Developing an attitude of heartfelt and sincere Gratitude for all your current blessings unleashes the ultimate power for obtaining many more. Give thanks each day and you will see how being grateful for everything you have today can create great changes in your life.
“Thank you” – these two simple words can change one’s life. With the problems that we may face every day in our lives, these two little words are often the most neglected words each day. We always see the worst in life that is why we never become truly happy.
Expressing your gratitude or even being thankful about the things you have is really important. This will change your entire life – the way you see life, the way you handle your problems and the way you cope with the daily challenges.
Gratitude means counting your blessings, thankfulness, acknowledging things that you receive and noticing those simple pleasures in your life. The moment you wake up in the morning, say a little prayer, giving thanks to another life given to you. Gratitude means learning to live a kind of life as if things were miracles, and it also means being fully aware on continuous bases about how much you have been given.
Gratitude also shifts your focus from the things you lack in life towards great abundance that is now present. It is also good to note that psychological and behavioral research has shown the most amazing improvements in life brought by the practice of gratitude. Bring thankful and appreciating life and the things life offers you makes us more resilient and even happier.
Resilient in the sense that no matter what challenges and difficulties we experience, we know that life is not cruel to give us something that we can’t bear. It gives us strength with the belief and the mindset that no matter how many problems we may encounter, the blessings we receive are much greater than them. Gratitude strengthens relationships, reduces stress and improves health.
Once you develop an attitude of a sincere attitude for all the blessing you receive, this unleashes the power for you to receive even more than you already have.
Having the feeling of gratitude essentially means taking nothing for granted and giving thanks about the abundance in life that you have obtained. Gratitude actually fits in with abundance in various aspects. As a famous writer says, “ A lot of people are trapped in the state of poverty by having lack of gratitude.”
An Abundance Mindset always goes with gratitude because we can always attract great wealth as well as abundance with the power of gratitude.
Today I want to reward you with a free gift of a Gratitude Mandala Sheet Design and free ebook on how to develop Gratitude – Register here https://forms.gle/8AkFuMsjBv8qy4bK9 to receive your free Copy on how to be grateful and drawing a Gratitude mandala design!
Who ever thought dreams can make you insomniac, like literally insomniac? Thousands of questions and doubts in our hearts, we take a leap of faith just to find the internal contentment. But sometimes, we just become too hard on ourselves. We forget that we have our limitations. The burden of dreams is like carrying an entire world on your shoulders. You must let that warrior inside you rest for a bit.
Not a long time ago, I was interviewing Lopamudra Banerjee, an entrepreneur, and a fitness coach. As soon as I made the announcement, I received a flood of messages in my inbox for Lopa to share her entrepreneurial journey. She is one brave soul. But I will tell you why this interview was a lot unique then what we see all the time. Lopa gave us all something to think about. From a sales professional to a personal fitness coach turned health entrepreneur, her journey says a lot about what happens when you choose to not take a break. Meanwhile, we hear people talking about breaking your limits and giving up everything for your goals, she shared the darker aspect of dreaming and overdoing things.
So, as per my rendezvous with Lopa, I will tell you what I have learned about the dreams and working too hard on yourself. Also, please do visit my Instagram page to find my interview with Lopa, and don’t forget to comment and share your thoughts on dreams. Also, please feel free to share your experience and how you found your warrior spirit.
Phase One: Opportunity knocks
When opportunity knocks our doors, what a time of merriment it is. You are filled with a reviving energy and you are ready to take the world down. But have you planned things the right way? Planning is an essential part of any journey. Do you just take a vacation to a place unknown without even checking the weather of the place? No, everything that we do, requires planning. Deep down we know going without plan is a lot adventurous and we all want to feel the thrill. But a smart person will always be prepared beforehand, so that when the weather is all stormy, they have a safe shelter.
Phase Two: Nobody tells it is going to be stressful
The actual story begins in phase two. Meanwhile, it is great that you are following your dreams, but the stress is just going to take a toll on your mind and body. It is going to break you and will make you feel helpless. If you are young your body will support you longer in the journey, but eventually depriving it of the needful rest, fun, and peace, you will notice your will starts to wither. The worst part is, you lose the quality at which you were always performing.
For many of us, it is important to give our 100% in whatever we do. But when you face work overload, are you still sure you will be able to keep up the quality? For any person quality is something which we all want to achieve. I am one of those people. Lopa is one of those people. You might be too.
It is essential in these times that we understand our limitations. We have to reinstate the lost balance. Sometimes, in the hurry to catch up with your dreams we leave behind the beautiful moments. We compromise our time with family to work hard. And in the end, we have to make do with whatever little connections are left with our loved ones.
Just like our body, the mind needs to rest too. But how to do that? It is constantly thinking, calculating your next move. Are things in your control when you are already juggling thousands of things at a time. In my conversation with Lopa ,I understood how badly restless she was while managing her growing business. It got her worried when a client did not get the results she promised. Though she never lost the business, it was too bad for her self-esteem.
As a result, things start to fall apart. Brick by brick you are back to square one with the burden of broken dreams. You must realize the importance of rejuvenating yourself. Resting your mind. Investing your time in knowing your limits and realizing when you are overdoing it. Empires aren’t formed in days or months, they take years. When we increase our pace, we forget we don’t have the energy to do it all ourselves. And also, you don’t have the resources to manage it.
Phase Three: Rejuvenating and Restarting Again
You don’t have to give up on your dreams. Take some time out of work and start working on your peace of mind. In the end, don’t forget you wanted to achieve this all to attain a great degree of self-contentment.
Understand where things are going wrong. Make a list of things that you will like to change from the last time. Start working on them. Choose wisely what and how much you want to work. Work exclusive if necessary. In the end entrepreneurship, job or business are not just about money, they are about gaining that expert badge.
If you have landed up on this blog searching for some wellness tips then you are in the right place !
Whether you hold a full-time job or work as a freelancer, work from office or work from home, stress is a real issue that every working professional has to deal with sooner or later. As the work culture gets increasingly complicated and employees are expected to work more for less; it’s now more important than ever to find your own recluse.
Relax, if you’ve been feeling stressed out lately from all the workload, just follow these simple tips for a quick fix.
1.Take frequent walk breaks: With the constant pressure coming from the weight of the world around us, it’s quite easy to feel bogged down and depressed. This is why one must break away from work once in a while even if seems impossible. A short walk break in the home itself can give you a fresh perspective on things and how to get things done, which is essential for clarity and mental fog .
2. Take up an art or hobby No, we’re not going ask you to abandon work to visit a studio for a 30 minute art or decoupage session. All you have to do is some simple art strokes or sketching in between work to feel refreshed and relaxed! Or dance around when no one’s looking to bring back peace of mind.
3. Read a book : Working on the computer , especially from home, can get very monotonous at times due to lack of social interaction. In that case, it’s always a good book from a great author is welcome!
4. Take up a touch therapy based activity : Post work Activities like gardening , clay , Pottery , makeup classes are so therapeutic and connects you to your souls essence and your true nature. It also boosts your happy hormones ! Once in a while , do take up whatever is therapeutic to you!
Uncertainty is jarring. It stops you from following your dreams. It leaves you with no courage to walk the road you have always wanted to explore. And worst of all, it leaves you helpless and subjective to circumstances. Gradually, you start making up for inner peace by finding comfort in the cozy materialistic life you have weaved. But when your soul is suffocating; how much do you think you can hold up?
In my brief discussion with Suruchi Shah a life coach and entrepreneur, we explored various emotional and mental hurdles a person encounters during their self-discovering journey. One thing that inspired me to my core was the role of ‘Ikigai’ – the Japanese philosophy in transforming Suruchi’s and thousand others’ life.
Eager to learn, and share the knowledge what I found out, I dedicate this blog to ikigai and its role in achieving our goals. But, before we go further, do catch my exclusive interview with Suruchi Shah on my Instagram page. Needless to say, it will help you gather the courage to take the first step towards your dreams and how to mentally support yourself throughout your journey.
Ikigai for finding your passion
What is life like when you are not following your dreams? Probably mundane, unfulfilling. Each day waking up to an ear-piercing alarm clock you want to smash on the ground, peering through beady eyes and cursing the day ahead, how do you propose to change your situation. Why do we inflict so much pain on ourselves? Just because of fear of failure. It is downright sadistic.
It is our moral duty to keep ourselves happy. Work towards finding a reason to get out of the bed. And do one thing each day that makes you happy. At the end of the day, you would be able to answer your soul that you have done something that is taking you towards serenity.
Ikigai is nothing but finding that very reason. This Japanese art of living was formulated to help people find balance within themselves, connect with others and the world. It opens up huge possibilities for personal development. Ikigai emphasis on starting each day with positive thoughts. Switching between moments to chid away anything negative that stands between you and your ultimate goal. Simply put, it is not about how you finish your day; it is about a positive start.
Ikigai for finding courage within
Positive thoughts have a huge impact on our lives. They help you in creating a good mood and generate happiness for yourself and others. Each day when you wake up, no matter how cranky you feel force a good mood on yourself purposefully. It will motivate your body to work towards your dream the whole day and keep discouragement at bay.
It promotes focus. It will channel your energy, and allow you to take control of your mind and body to work harmoniously for what satisfies your soul. Happiness attracts happiness and sadness attracts sadness. A blissful life requires you to ignore the ruckus around you and enjoy the beauty of your goals.
Ask yourself, why are you in this world? What is the reason for being? What makes sense to you the most? Do you want to have a carefree life? or do you dream of becoming financially strong?
Find what makes you happy, what satisfies your soul. And don’t be afraid to set goals too high or too low. Just set an objective for being in this world and channel happiness and your efforts in reaching it. And your reason of being shall bestow energy, skills, ideas and ability to use them productively.
Ikigai for respecting your individuality
Right from the day we are born to the day we leave this world; we make connections with people. We engage with them to create emotional and physical bonds and in this course, we expect them to be understanding.
But mostly they are not. And you can’t blame them. Because nobody else is witnessing the battle going between your mind and soul. It is you alone who is going through the misery and know how disturbing it is. With this we come to two conclusions. One, respect people even when they are unable to understand you. And secondly, you don’t need their confirmation to get off that misery boat.
Ikigai encourages you to come of use to the world. It believes you have a special role in the community to play and you can create a positive impact. And, you can make a big difference in the society, just by helping yourself. Nature never gives birth to anything that is useless. The world needs you to realise your potential and work hard to reach your goals so that you can add to the greater good.
Ikigai doesn’t want you to think about yourself or have an opinion or belief about yourself. But it stresses you to find what you think about yourself in heart, body and mind. This alone unleashes infinite opportunities. Self-acknowledgement further protects you from making false assumptions about yourself and the world. It teaches you to respect difference in opinions and thoughts, meanwhile also respecting your own individuality.
Practicing Ikigai
Now that we have talked in length about what is ikigai, what does it require you to do, how does it help you in your entire life, here is how you can start practicing it.
Find what you love to do
It need not be your childhood dream, and it need not be something very realistic. It can be vague and you can redirect yourself later to change your goals again. Start by finding what do you love to do?
Scale it to a professional level
Do you see yourself enjoying what you love to do for a long time? What can you do to add value to it? How can you scale your present skills and abilities to reach pro level? Find answers to these questions.
Convert your passion into vocation
Financial uncertainties stop people from following their passion the most. For that, once you have found your passion, try to find vocation opportunities for your passion.
Add to the greater good
In the end it is all about how you can add value to yourself and to others. Most the time people leave this fourth leg of ikigai and fail miserably. It is very important that whatever you are doing should add value to not just yourself but to others too. Make it a mission. In the end ikigai is not just a personal development tool but a global philosophy.
Write us!
Thanks for staying till the end. I hope you loved to learn about Ikigai. Tell us if you knew about Ikigai already, or you have been practicing it. You can also share your experience and how it changed your outlook towards life and made you more positive in the comments below.
What exactly is meditation? It seems that so many people nowadays are hooked up with this form of activity. By definition, meditation is often used to describe the individual’s state of intense attention on an object of awareness or thought. The individual tries to turn his or her attention inward. Meditation is said to be of Vedic Hinduism origin. This is usually practiced in the eastern religions but now even the western culture is already involved in such activity.
People want to practice meditation so that they can focus their mind to God for their personal development, to attain peace of mind, and to be healthier.
Many people are now involved in some form of meditation. According to Time Magazine there is one meditation practice that can be used by almost anyone.
This can be considered as the basic primer of people wanting to begin meditation but have no idea where to start.
There was a book published last November 2005 authored by Victor Davich that is all about the 8 minute meditation. If you purchase the book and study it carefully, you will learn a lot of things about meditation, and you can do it in just 8 minutes.
Almost every individual who starts with anything new to him or her will often have lingering questions, hopes, and doubts about it. There are even people who hopes that when they begin to meditate, they will be enlightened. Or perhaps you’re one of those individuals who think that meditation is just like an exercise or diet that you’ve been trying to do for the past few months. But these things are normal; so don’t be surprised if you’re also like that.
The best thing to do is to face all the positive and/or negative expectations, and after doing so, forget about them and start with a clean slate. If you want to try the 8-minute program of meditation, you should learn how to approach it one minute at a time.
While many people think that meditation is a simple practice, then you’d better think twice. You might not notice it, but your mind is always racing from here to there. You can’t concentrate. According to the book’s author, you must watch your breath. This is the very first step to meditation. Do your inhalation and exhalation by breathing deeply. If you always do this and just keep on practicing, you can become good in meditation.
As a word of reminder, if you catch yourself thinking about other things, or in other words your mind strays off, focus again on your breathing. After all, meditation is all about concentrating and if you realize that you’re not on the right track, you can always return to that state of mind gently. Don’t get discouraged easily and just keep on practicing.
There is a popular saying that says practice makes perfect; so always keep that in mind. If you quit easily, then you will remain a quitter.
Meditation can help you in achieving peace of mind. With all your problems at work, in your family, and the entire world, you should at least experience a few minutes of peace. Don’t miss this chance to attain personal development at no cost at all.
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