“My mind is clear as the light in Greece.”
Austin Clarke
In the idyllic Greek Islands ferries go back and forth from Athens and between the islands. If you look to the back of the boat, you will see the incredible effect the boats propellers have on the sea as they cut though the waves. The salt rises to the top and there is a mix of white and an incredible aqua marine colour foam that is sprayed across the navy sea.
This giant salt trail is being constantly created as the boat moves through the water, but when you cast your eye way back you can see the sea as if it was never disturbed. With all the unrest in Greece over the last while, we can only hope that what with the laws of nature and in a country that invented democracy, things will return to calm.
Keep faith this week that when you experience any unrest in your mind that shortly it will become clear and calm again.
This week, find a piece of music or a song that uplifts your soul. Take five minutes when you feel relaxed and find a comfortable place to listen to it; it could be out in nature or in the comfort of your own home. Wherever it is, make sure not to be disturbed while you listen. Close your eyes and simply listen. Focus on your body and how the music affects as you let your muscles relax. Allow yourself to form a subconscious association with this piece of music. Let it enrapture your soul and lift your heart.
Keep your chosen piece of music or song on a playlist that you can use when you need it most. If you feel yourself getting overwhelmed, stressed or tired put on the piece of music and allow it to transport you back to that place of bliss.
It is important to nurture and care for your mental and emotional health. Just as your physical body needs exercise to be healthy, so does your mental health – music can help provide this.
“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”
Mahatma Gandhi
This week, focus on being honest with yourself. Allow yourself to experience a freedom of mind and body that comes from separation from the ego.
Many of us have experienced that wonderful feeling of being in harmony and sync with ourselves. The benefits of this harmonious and peaceful state are paramount for your mental and physical well being.
Focus on seeing the best in each person and each situation, no matter how challenging. Slowly, you begin to think more positively, speak more positively and behave in a way that is kind to yourself and to those around you. When we consider the incredible achievement of what Gandhi overcame through personal positive empowerment we can take his example as inspiration to help us in our daily lives.
This week tap into the part of you that loves to laugh. Recall what it was like to be a child when your main concern was to play, have fun with friends and above all, laugh. As we grow up, we inevitably acquire a lot of responsibilities that we did not have when we we were younger. However, the importance of bringing laughter into our daily lives is essential for our well-being.
Find opportunities for humour, observe yourself and how often you laugh naturally. Seek out positive people who give you positive energy and who make you feel lighter and more open to humour. It is important to protect your energy from negative forces. Notice how wonderful it feels when you let go and have a good laugh: endorphins are released making you feel much happier and open to joy. Another positive aspect is, as research demonstrates, that laughter is infectious so that when you laugh everyone else around you will also benefit from the joy of laughter.
This week, focus on your ability to manage your thoughts and in particular, to put a halt to the exhausting habit that so many of us have – rumination.
When something happens that we don’t like, for example an aggressive driver shouts at us; our boss is in a bad mood and takes it out on us or someone close makes a comment that we find hurtful, we need to be extra vigilant as the mind has the potential to run away with the situation. We can carry such negativity with us not just in that moment but for hours and days after the event.
As Socrates said, “know thy self’.” When we are self-aware we observe negative thoughts in response to an undesired event or comment. We can then, through acceptance and self-awareness, choose to halt the process of rumination by distracting ourselves or by taking a positive action that breaks the cycle (like going for a walk or reading a good book). Focus on your breath and bring to mind a sense of calm.
Give your mind the rest it deserves and allow negative energy to remain at it’s source so that you can protect your cultivated positive energy.
This week, consider the concept of rewards and more specifically how you choose to reward yourself after a long day at work, an intense day minding the kids, a meeting you had been dreading or having completed the chores of cleaning, cooking etc.
The truth is that we are generally highly motivated to achieve something if we believe a reward will come at the end of our labours. Many people have been conditioned to believe that comfort foods or alcohol or smoking is a reward that will help them to relax. If you have any unwanted behaviours that you wish to change now is the time to change the reward patterns in your brain.
When we experience having energy, feeling strong and healthy, feeling positive and able to manage life we have a choice to link this positive feeling into the reward systems of our brain. This it the true reward for our hard work and efforts. When we overeat, drink too much or take recreational drugs or smoke then we are in fact depriving ourselves under the illusion that we are rewarding ourselves. Reward yourself wisely.
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My mind is clear as the light in Greece.”
This week, find a piece of music or a song that uplifts your soul. Take five minutes when you feel relaxed and find a comfortable place to listen to it; it could be out in nature or in the comfort of your own home. Wherever it is, make sure not to be disturbed while you listen. Close your eyes and simply listen. Focus on your body and how the music affects as you let your muscles relax. Allow yourself to form a subconscious association with this piece of music. Let it enrapture your soul and lift your heart.
“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”