What If You Were Actually Serious?

Often times we spend our days fantasizing about what we would like life to be like. We think, this year I am going to get fit or get out of debt or finish that novel or get that pay rise. We tell ourselves that we want to be more organized and efficient, however, for the most part these things remain simply fantasies.

Life gets in the way and our plans do not come to pass. We have a halfhearted attempt here and there but as soon as the initial motivation has worn off we just give up, using one of our many pre-prepared excuses. I don’t feel like it, I’m too tired or sick. I have more important things that I have to do. We blame the weather or the current financial climate or other people or situations.

The truth is we are our own boss and we are accountable to ourselves. This is very difficult because we build our lives around what is comfortable and what feels good. Change feels uncomfortable and hard. We often tell ourselves that we lack the right conditions or the right information or the right contacts but the reality is we actually lack the courage to change.

But what if we were actually serious about the things that we want to do? What if we were actually committed to doing what we set out to achieve. Just for today what if we asked ourselves two simple questions;

  1. If someone was serious about _____ , they would do _______________.
  1. If someone was serious about _________, they would not _______________.

Then apply these sentences to yourself. For example, if someone was serious about losing weight they would stick to an eating plan and exercise each day even if they didn’t feel like it.

If someone was serious about losing weight they would not eat snacks that were not in their plan and they would not sabotage themselves with excuses.

If I was serious about losing weight I would stick to an eating plan and exercise each day even if I didn’t feel like it and I wouldn’t eat snacks that were not in my plan.

Now decide if you are serious. If you are, make it truth for you: I am serious about losing weight. I stick to my eating plan and exercise each day. I do not eat snacks that are not in my plan. I do not make excuses or sabotage myself.

Follow up with action and the action will be easier.

Apply these two questions to any area where you are stuck and needing direction and watch your life turn around.

Less Fight, More Joy. Living An Authentic Life

I used to think that I had to conquer the world. In order to ‘make it’ or to be a success I needed to overcome challenges and beat my insecurities. I had to attack problems head on and fight my fears.

After suffering through many years of chronic illness including Ankylosing Spondylitis, several episodes mimicking stroke and three years of almost daily chronic atypical migraine, as well as more than enough personal and family trauma for one lifetime (I won’t go into all the gory details here), I have come to realise that all this fighting and attacking and beating and challenging has left me completely devoid of the energy I need to do what I am actually here to do i.e. To discover myself and enjoy the opportunity that being alive right now has given me.

Being a channel has placed a heavy burden upon me to be responsible and make the world a better place and I have shocked and surprised myself at how ungrateful I have been about this incredible gift. I have become an expert at leaving my body and communicating with energies that are not manifest in this world. I can travel into the past and view past lives (See Guided and Rose; my mother was a nun, as examples). I can transcribe esoteric wisdom, and where appropriate my words and energy can effect significant healing. I am a fully qualified Psychologist and my training in understanding the human mind and behaviour have given me the opportunity to work supportively with those who are suffering or in need of some coaching.

What I am not good at however is being in this body and concentrating my energies into my own health. I have difficulty running and managing my home efficiently and getting things done. I can understand my children’s life purposes and view their contracts but I’m not always good at slowing down enough to play and laugh and have fun.

Thankfully through my work with my Angels and Guides and my circumstances I am once again reminded that we are here to learn about ourselves and we are given multiple opportunities to do it. Some of them pleasant and some of them not so much. Our job is not even to change the world because the world is here to develop us on a personal level. The circumstances are irrelevant. It is only our attitude that counts. This is the one thing that we can change instantly.

Changing your attitude does not always change your circumstances but it makes every circumstance easier to manage. When we train our eyes and our attention on what still needs to be done then we will always be seeing responsibility.

Try instead to put an object of joy in each room so that every time you enter the room you train your eyes on beauty and joy rather than obligation or responsibility.

Bring your home back to life. Long standing negativity, irritation and disappointment is enough to transform any space into one that drains energy rather than gives energy. Set your intention to activate your home again and set it to joy.

As an Angelic style personality I have always thought that love was the highest priority but I have realised that love and joy are completely separate concepts. It is possible to love someone who does not bring you joy, just as it is possible to feel joy in a place that you do not love (Prison for example). Love comes with responsibilities while joy does not. When you can find joy in yourself and those around you, when you can find joy in your environment and in your work, you lift your energy to a whole new level, and set yourself free. This joy activates joy in others all without any burden or responsibility.

I have realised that I have taken my life for granted. Always complaining about what still needs to be done and judging what I have done so far but never being satisfied.

Dissatisfaction is a great motivator for change but put into overdrive it drains energy, corrupts your thought world and leads to health conditions.

Being grateful and appreciative of all that I have and all that I have been given really helps to heal my mind and my physical body. Being content wherever you are and whatever your circumstances doesn’t mean that you do not strive to be the best you can be, but it certainly takes the pressure off and allows you to stop picking on yourself.

At the end of the day it is not the circumstances that determine the quality of our life, it is the way we view the world. Stop fighting the world and start appreciating it, the good, the bad, and the ugly and instead of trying to control your life, embrace the ups and downs. Appreciate and respect yourself for what you have already experienced and take small steps to enjoy the beauty and joy that is there for the taking.

Action steps.

  1. Remind yourself that you are amazing already not for what you have done or not done but because of who you are. Perfect, whole and complete even in your human-ness.
  1. Find something that you love about each room in your home, school, office, etc and then focus on this each time you enter the room. It might be an object such as a candle, a flower, a picture or it may be a thought. The object is not important more the joy that it represents. Take a moment to feel good as you meditate on each object or joyful thought.
  1. Write the word Joy on your drinking glass or drink bottle and then drink it in.

I hope you enjoyed this article and that it wasn’t too personal. Up until this point I have tried very hard to keep this information mainstream and not to talk about the Psychic abilities that have gotten us through some very difficult times but I am beginning to see that so many others are going through tough times and if the Angels and Guides can be of assistance to you then I owe it to you all to be honest and frank about who I am, what I have experienced and how I have used my abilities to make life better so that maybe you can experience a similar level of love and support in your own life. It is only when complete authenticity is demonstrated despite the fear it can invoke, that the body can heal, the mind can rest and the spirit can thrive.

God bless you all as you discover and demonstrate your own authenticity.

In Love and Light

Gemma

How To Stop Running Away From Being A Parent

The truth is that we spend hours a day trying to avoid being a parent. We look for excuses to get away from our children and to do something for ourselves. We feel constant pressure to be perfect and constant reminders through social media that we are not doing anything nearly exciting as what others are doing. We come up with opportunities to prove that we are good parents and take photo evidence to share with others to make ourselves feel better about the fact that we don’t always like this job, the hours, or the demands that it makes on our time or our sanity.

We are judged by others for the things that we do and for the things that we don’t do and we are judged by those who are similar and different, those with children and those without. Our biggest judge however is usually ourselves.

We criticise ourselves for our lack of time, energy, interest, motivation, money, skills or desire. We want to be perfect and we want to stack up to others expectations but we forget that we are all living in an illusion. No one actually has it all together and no one actually knows how to do it.

When our parents parented us it was without Google. They made it up as they went along and sometimes they stuffed it right up, but at least they were consistent. We are more likely to not parent rather than risk parenting proactively and getting it wrong.

We go into it with ideals, but no concrete plan. Our parents worked and worked hard. They didn’t play with us because that was not their job. They didn’t entertain us that was what siblings were for. They didn’t need to socialise us because we had kids in our class and we didn’t need play dates because we could just wait until Monday when we went back to school.

We made our own fun and often we were bored. We didn’t listen and we hated our parents when we were angry. We made a fuss and we got a smack and we got angry and then we got over it.

We wore hand me downs because that is what was available and we didn’t realise that it could be any other way.

We had a sense of protection and security, and regular meals even if we did not like what was served, and we didn’t have takeaway on every corner.

Our parents struggled but they never let on. They faked it as best they could and the good ones let us know that they cared and were prepared to talk about their parenting strategies when we grew up.

Now we have way too many choices and we are confused about what is required of us as parents. It is time to come up with a plan:

Be on your child’s side and understand their point of view. Love them and show them that you care, but do not seek to be everything and do not seek to take the place of other important people in their lives.

Let them live a slow childhood. One where time lasts a little longer and they can spend it playing what they like. Know that playing Barbies might be replaced with watching Barbie and that playing Lego may be replaced with building in Minecraft but don’t worry too much about this. Don’t force them to go backwards, be pleased that they are playing.

Make your own rules about how you want to parent and be flexible as your circumstances change.

Look for ways to improve your life but keep it simple. Create a relationship between yourself and your child that is independent of their relationships with others and don’t worry about what anyone else thinks of you.

Decide clearly what your job description is and get on with it as best you can. Do the same for your children and let them get on with theirs. It might still be hard but at least you can make it simple.

Children Learn Through Watching and Listening To You

Children more than ever need to know that we are in charge. They have a basic innate need to know that we know more than Google and that we are invincible. When our children see us giving up or getting flattened by life, they lose their confidence in the world. After all who could ever be more important or more powerful in their lives than their parents? Even if children have some sort of understanding of God, this is still a very intangible thing. You however, are real, tangible and right in front of them.

You are not born into this world to get your self-esteem from your children. This is why you have friends, perhaps a partner and a connection with something greater than yourself. This is where it is your responsibility to respect yourself enough to set clear boundaries with your children. When they see that you respect yourself then they begin to respect you. Remember they learn through watching and listening to you.

They actually gain a lot of insight when you speak with your friends about your approach to parenting and when you compliment your children to your friend when you know that your children are listening. Remember to always shape their thoughts and behaviors towards what you would like rather than constantly pointing out their failings. If you want your child to listen then tell them they are a wonderful listener. If you want them to stop hitting then praise them for being so gentle. “He is such a gentle young man. He always looks out for his sister and he is careful of her feelings”. You are not lying; you are projecting their potential so that they can see it as an option or a possibility in their life.

You are showing them a behavior or characteristic, and very plainly showing them how it would feel to act in those ways. Why else did US president Barack Obama get a Nobel peace prize before he did anything overtly to promote peace?

If others speak of your positive characteristics then you want to live up to their expectations. When you see your child acting in a way that is positive then confirm it for them “wow you are being so gentle with your little sister there, I was just telling my friend the other day how gentle you are. It takes a strong man to be gentle to others” All of a sudden gentleness becomes something to strive for.

At the same time when you see your child acting against the characteristic i.e. being rough, put a halt to the behavior saying something like “Hey, we are gentle in our family remember, play a bit more gently please”. Be specific if you need to be “You can give her a gentle hug if you like but don’t push at her like that because it will hurt her and you’ll end up in time out and that’s no fun”.

If he persists with the behavior then act swiftly and remove him from the room to a time out. As a parent you need to play nice and then act swiftly and with decisiveness to correct poor behavior. It is easier if you have a plan of what behavior you are targeting so that it doesn’t take you by surprise.

Remember, parenting is about connection. This goes for praise as well as correction. You might have your own secret code for when your child is behaving well, like a high five and they may begin seeking opportunities to get this special signal. In the same way it is possible to have a code for discipline which could be very subtle, like a look or a signal or not saying anything. This can be used well in public situations where you warn your child without shaming them. For example, if your child is about to jump on someone else’s couch you say ‘Mark?’ in a really normal tone of voice. When he looks at you, you just give him a smile and a knowing nod and he understands not to do whatever he is about to do. If he holds back from the behavior acknowledge him later with “Hey Mark?” in the same tone, when he looks at you give a thumbs up and a knowing glance. Later you can reward him with a lollie or a treat and remember to say “hey you did such a good job listening today, I think you’ve earned yourself a treat.”

This way they begin to learn that good behavior immediately equals good things i.e. the thumbs up or the high five and then later with a treat.

As you and your children learn this system you should be able to communicate very well with a gesture or a glance that is very subtle, that gets the message across and gets a result without shaming them or embarrassing you.

Later you give them a brief sentence about why you asked them to stop. “Thanks for not jumping on our friend’s couch. It looked like it could be a lot of fun but we need to respect other people’s things”. In this way they get praise and information that they can store away for other situations that involve other people’s property.

Wherever possible get your kids to act as a team either with their siblings or with you. When one child does something positive reward the whole team. For example, if one child shares with another you say “wow, great sharing, I think you just earned the whole team a reward”. When everyone gets a reward for one person’s good behavior now they want their siblings to be good and they themselves have a motivation to be good.

Add yourself to the team and reward yourself. For example, say “good job mum!” and pat yourself on the back “hey kids I just folded that whole load of washing AND put it away, I think I just earned us a treat”. This way they kids learn that letting mum do her tasks uninterrupted equals rewards for everyone and all of a sudden they are getting rewarded by letting you do your thing. It’s also great for your own self esteem to get a high five from the kids for something that you have achieved during the day no matter how bizarre or mundane.

A great trick when you are feeling burnt out is to verbally put yourself in time out. When you are losing it with the kids or getting super frustrated then say, “That’s it mum, you are losing it. TIME OUT” Then storm off to your room and if it is safe to do so shut the door for a few minutes. The kids will be so surprised that you live by the same rules that you impose on them that they shouldn’t disturb you. Check an email or Facebook or read or deep breathe for a minute or text a friend and then come out. You don’t need to apologize for your behavior as you do not need to make your children apologize. Remember time out is for taking a break and diffusing a situation, not for blaming or shaming yourself or someone else.

Go about your business as though it’s no big deal. You may find that when you are getting cranky your children will ask you if you need a time out. Rather than getting offended this is a great step forward because they are showing you that they understand the principle and know when to implement it. It is also awesome that your kids would help you to have time on your own for a few minutes!!

Play as many games as you can to get things achieved. Having trouble having breakfast or taking your vitamins because the kids keep interrupting you? Then get them involved in being a part of the solution. Tell them that you are playing a game called ‘Focus’ tell them that you are getting distracted when you need to eat breakfast and get them to help you concentrate. When you get distracted get them to say ‘focus’ and then get back to what you are supposed to be doing. Make it a game by saying “oh, I better wipe this bench” while the kids yell “focus!!” “Oh I better put out the rubbish” “focus!!” “Oh I better concentrate on eating my breakfast”. Then eat your breakfast without distraction and when you are done hi five the kids for playing and get them to put a tick each on a white board or a piece of paper. This gives them a sense of satisfaction again for helping you to do what is important without too much distraction.

It also teaches them the art of focus so that when eventually teachers at school or you yourself tell them to focus on what they need to do they remember how to do it.

Personal Integrity

Sometimes in our busy lives it is possible to get side tracked, over whelmed, manipulated or swayed by those around us. Sometimes this is so subtle that we do not even realise it, or maybe it is blatantly obvious but we have become desensitised to it over many years. When you find yourself getting angry or gossiping incessantly then chances are you have been brought into someone else’s agenda. When this happens it is easy to get involved or even to get over involved. It is easy to want to solve other people’s problems so that they do not need to bother you with them. It is easy to be offended, upset or hurt when actually you do not really feel these things. It is easy to take a stand out of principle and start fights simply because you can and because you feel you should.

When you find yourself in these situations, STOP for a moment and get your bearings. You have been swept away in something that is not your responsibility and is not for you to resolve. Ask yourself the only valid question in this situation “What would a person with high personal Integrity do?” Why this question? Because you are a person of high personal integrity remember?? You have always had an incredibly good moral compass and now is the time to dust it off and pull it back out. Do not get caught up in who said what or who is right and who is wrong or what needs to happen to make it right. Do not get caught up solving the mystery of who is telling the truth and who is manipulating you. This is a waste of your valuable time and energy. The reality is that everyone has plans and everyone has an agenda. If your plans and your agenda match theirs then you are likely to get on well. If your plans and agenda are different then someone is likely to feel manipulated.

By acting with integrity you cannot help but to do the right thing. You cannot help but disconnect yourself and untangle yourself from all of the tiny details that are derailing your ability to think and get back to what is truly important.

No more distractions, no more details, no more thinking about what others need to do. Look only to what you need to do to maintain a high level of personal integrity. Cut the gossip. Cut the leading questions. Step back and give others a chance to work through their own circumstances.

Have compassion for the circumstances of others but remain firmly planted in your own life. Be concerned only about what you are doing.

Remember that in many cases you are more respected for standing back than getting involved so investing time coming up with your own best plans for others is counterproductive to your own stress levels.

Practice genuinely staying out of the business of others and remaining committed to your own life. Help out only if or when it is required and then do it willingly. Sometimes this is the only responsible path.

Post-Traumatic Growth

Letting go of the need to control without losing your ability to plan and dream.

Sometimes we feel that we are invincible. We feel totally in control of our life and where we are headed. We have great plans and we know exactly how to implement them to get where we want to go. We have confidence in ourselves and life is flowing exactly as planned. And then…ta da! The universe throws a spanner in the works.

Now instead of moving smoothly towards what you had planned the universe steps in and says “ah hum, excuse me. I know you wanted life to head in this direction but we have bigger and better plans for you”. If we have experienced this before then we might say “sure, why not? I’ll take what you have to give me,” but usually we don’t. Usually we go down the universe’s road kicking and screaming and moaning and complaining. We know that the destination is great but the journey is terrible and so we constantly try to pick a better path.

Then we give up. We sometimes trick ourselves into thinking that we have surrendered to the situation because that sounds so much more enlightened but really we are just chucking a tantrum and refusing to play. Now instead of having some anxiety over where the universe is taking us, we now have depression that there is nothing that we can do to make it better. We begin to give up in every area of life and sit and feel miserable for ourselves. We say “there is no point making plans or having dreams because the universe is in charge and he/she/it is just going to wreck my plans anyway.”

After a time we snap out of both of these views and we start a fresh. We try to outsmart the universe. We say “Ok. I will do what you want me to do” but actually we still have our own plans at the forefront of our minds. We want the universe to believe that we are doing what is asked of us but really we are just stalling for time. We still believe that our own plans are safer, better and more satisfying. We try to prove to the universe “if you just let me show you what I was going to do you would see that it was smart.”

But the universe will have none of it. The universe has put you here to stretch yourself and to live and learn and grow and you are probably going to have these experiences whether you want to or not.

And so finally we seek to understand. We say “Ok I am prepared to listen and I am prepared to see what it is the universe wants from me.” We are able to have our dreams and our plans and then see that in order to be where we need to be, that we don’t need all of the plans that we made. We make these plans to keep our world stable but when we are where we need to be we do not need the protective plans that we made initially.

So here is the solution. Have dreams, make plans and stay flexible. Know that the universe is friendly and wise and helpful and that the universe wants you to be happy and successful and knows a way to get you there that you will thank it for down the track. Sometimes it involves hardship or heart ache but it is always something that can be appreciated.

Instead of suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress turn your experiences into Post Traumatic Growth and be proud of your ability to bounce back into something different to what you initially planned. Know that your destination has not changed, just the story you get to tell when you get there.

It is our battle scars that make us who we are. We would never choose to make life difficult for ourselves but because we do not understand our circumstances we do make life difficult.

When you can make out the reason and the direction, it is far easier to change your course for the better and when you know that the universe is telling you something over and over again but you are reluctant to act, know that you are choosing the hard path. The guidance will not go away so trust in the bigger plan and the bigger dream until it becomes the more interesting and intriguing plan.

Do not give up your dreams, your dreams are not wrong they are sometimes just too small for you.

Where Has All The Solitude Gone?

We live in the connected age. Everyone is contactable 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We feel entitled to access other people, products and services at all hours of the day and night and even when we are on our own, music, internet and the threat or pleasure of someone contacting us, removes all sense that we might ever be in solitude.

We spend our days only ever half listening or half thinking. If we ever pause enough to focus it lasts only a minute or two and we are off again filling our mental space with ‘stuff’.

This is not for lack of trying. We try to concentrate and we try to slow life down but the secret is that we actually want to be distracted so that we are not faced with all the guilt of all the things that we cannot accomplish or that we do not want to accomplish in this lifetime.

Instead of contribution and satisfaction in doing what is right, we have now adopted only one measuring stick.

Happiness

What do we want? What do we most want for our children?

But happiness and the pursuit of happiness leads us to distraction.

We seek only to be entertained, to have a life without responsibility and a life in which we get lots of ‘likes’ from others who are seeking the same absolution from responsibility.

Happy equals do what you want, when you want and don’t let needs get in the way of wants.

It creates a generation of people that care mostly for themselves and a world in which everyone believes they are king.

We expect others to meet our needs and become confused and frustrated because they can’t be bothered meeting our needs and that they are too busy being their own boss.

Then there are the ones who step out of this lifestyle and attempt to give to others only to find that they are burnt out and unappreciated.

The rest of the world looks at these genuine helpers and laugh or scorn. “You think you are doing the right thing but you are not happy and you have nothing to show for your lifestyle” they say.

Have we gotten so far off track that we can never get back?

We have a generation who works for 20-30 minutes a day to justify a full day of leisure. We have people who do not work at work but expect to be paid and we have people who are half present at work and half present in their own cyber realities. Even those who realise there is something wrong do not have the energy to change things.

Then there are those who say “let’s go back to the way it used to be” and people refuse to contemplate it. There are those who want to continue on the same way and there are some who want to move forward.

Some say “let’s have better things”. Some say “let’s have better relationships”. Some say “let’s have better technology” and some say “let’s just stop!”

Let’s use what we need and not get addicted. Let’s look at what we are growing or bringing into our world. Let’s just remember solitude. Some have been born into a world where they have never experienced it before.

Those who remember it, remember it fondly as a place of peace and a place where deep breathing and relaxation came easily. Those who seek it now however, find that it is gone. In its place only boredom. When those who remember say “why don’t we have a bit of solitude?” those who don’t remember say “why would anyone want to do that?!”

What we have forgotten is that in animal studies where mice live in crowded quarters with no solitude, they go crazy or die.

The suicide rate in Australia has now exceeded the death rates from motor vehicle accidents and even cancer.

Is it possible that times of solitude interspersed with times of face to face connection, with a real person, may reduce these statistics?

We need to reduce the liking and increase the caring for the sake of ourselves and others.

We have become a world of social phobics who do not know how to have a conversation that is not abbreviated, haphazardly typed or followed with some kind of ‘smiley’.

We see people who cannot enjoy a pleasant experience without posting about it on social media.

We have people who refuse to move or walk because they haven’t got their electronic step counter on for fear that their steps won’t be counted.

We are all seeking validation like children calling out to a parent, “look, look what I did”. We seek validation from others but we don’t get it. We measure our life in ‘likes’ but in doing so we diffuse the experience as we are having it.

So a test, a task, a challenge. Have an experience, talk with someone face to face or, spend some time in solitude, alone in your mind and enjoy it.

Go somewhere fun and don’t take photos, don’t post it on social media and don’t talk to others about it. Enjoy it because it is enjoyable, discuss it with yourself. See if you can keep some things secret not because they are not worth sharing but because the experience was meant for you and not for everyone else.

A little solitude may actually leave you feeling more connected than a whole day on line.

Assisting The Creative Process

Children do not let us just use one faculty. They expect more from us and they know that they use all three all the time and they are better for it. When we observe children and we say ‘I don’t know where they get their energy from’ it is not because they are young, it is because they engage all of their faculties (mind, body and spirit) at once and rest them frequently. They play and then stop. They run and then stop, they talk (use their brain) and then well, not so much stop, but they do spurts of activity followed by spurts of less vigorous activity and then they switch off completely for a bit (TV). When they sleep they may dream but they do so in a healing capacity. They experience great satisfaction through their productivity and are not exposed to the hours of constant worry that we, their parents are, for maintaining the essentials of life. It is not age that dictates energy it is the way we co-ordinate our brain, body and spirit.

When our attention is split so is our satisfaction. We think that there is not enough time in the day and so we tend to get as many things done at once as we can. People often comment that they have their best ideas in the shower. This is not because they are multitasking it is because they can access mind, body and spirit at the same time without the distraction of their smart phone. Generally the ones, who say this, shower alone, they do it without distraction, they do it with the door shut and they take their time. These are all factors that assist with the creative process.

What is a little frightening is that this is sometimes the only time in someone’s day that all of these criterion’s are met. If we have our greatest insight in the 10-15 minutes a day that we set the right conditions, imagine how our lives might be if we maintained these conditions for longer periods, minus the running water and the nakedness.

If we made the time to be creative I wonder how many of our day to day problems and irritations could be minimised or even solved. I wonder how our daily lives may be different or better and I wonder how this role modelling to our children would impact on their ability to do amazing things.

Simplicity and Weight Loss

The body prioritizes the most important tasks. Initially survival and coping with injury and illness come first and then comes recovery, physical health and then weight loss.

This is important because if you want to lose weight effectively you know the steps to make it happen. When your body is inflamed it prioritizes this response. If you have a body that is often inflamed you never seem to get into the good health stage.

You can reduce the level of inflammation in your body by reducing your carbohydrate, sugar and dairy intake as well as other foods that are inflammatory for your individual system.

You can tolerate these things better if you are not constantly bombarded with them. Whilst you may not worry too much because, you can handle the discomfort, you are slowing down your recovery and consequently your weight loss.

Help your body to operate efficiently by giving it small doses of vitamins and minerals that it can process easily and by increasing your hydration levels. Replace carbohydrates with protein and when you do have a meal with carbohydrates make the portion size small.

This is easy to do with forward planning and forward thinking. You are trying to help the body reset itself so that it can feel vital again. When you deny your body’s needs it flares up. When your gastric system is involved then your heart can become involved because of the proximity of the nerve system.

A good rule of thumb is that any food that you do not enjoy raw but don’t mind cooked is not safe for you to eat. For example if you eat tomato in every form except raw and if you eat cheese regularly but only if it is melted. These foods are not good for you.

The same goes for meat. If you would not eat it cooked without any seasoning added because you do not like the taste then it is not good for you. If you think it tastes fine but is just very bland then this is ok but if you turn up your nose to it then it should be eliminated from your diet.

Any food that results in gastric discomfort should not be ingested even if you feel that it is a normal typical harmless food. In the times when we were not so distracted we would not accept any food that gave us pain. It was instantly removed from the diet. This was the most simple way to ensure good health.

Any food that leaves you coughing or clearing your throat regularly should be avoided. This may seem harsh but usually bad foods leave a residue on the oesophagus that leads to irritation.

These may not be signs that you are allergic but they are signs that the food is not good for you.

Think about how the food will end up in your stomach. If you would not be prepared to drink it through a straw then it is probably not very good for you. A wonderful example of this is found on the UK TV program ‘Junk Food Mums’ where a Midwife blends up some fruit and vegetables and gets the young mum to take a sip. She does this without hesitation. She then gets a big mac burger some chips and a can of coke and puts them in the blender. She asks the expectant mother to drink it, which she refuses to do. The Midwife then declares that this is what she is feeding to her unborn child several times a week. It makes you think.

Our bodies have become either switched off to the threat of unnatural foods or hypersensitive to these threats. We need to help our bodies by not overloading them with things that make us sick and that consequently increase the rates of inflammation in the body.

Hydration is essential for clearing out the digestive tract effectively and this promotes simple weight loss. Good fibre intake is also essential and can be obtained through a supplement if you are not getting it through your vegetables.

Observe your toileting habits. You should be going to the toilet on the hour if you are drinking enough water and you should be clearing your bowels completely if you are getting enough fibre and enough hydration. You should not finish on the toilet feeling that your bowels are still holding onto something.

When you begin to hydrate yourself you switch on the bodies thirst mechanism. This is usually shut down because we have stopped responding to it. When you begin drinking more water you find that you start to feel thirsty and your lips may even dry out. This is because your body is finally getting the hydration it needs in the right area so it can afford to send it where it is needed. As you eradicate your chronic dehydration your brain begins to think better, your hair and nails become strong and your skin becomes clear.

After you have detoxed your system through adequate hydration and the right balance of vitamins, minerals, proteins and amino acids your system starts to regulate itself effectively and automatically begins to drop weight down into a healthy range. This is not simply from eating less; it is from not putting allergens and toxins into your body to break down.

This has a flow on effect on the whole body as your kidney and liver are not having to work as hard to process toxins and instead can focus upon the task of stabilization and regeneration. This takes time but it is worth the effort and it will absolutely increase your life span.

You may find yourself getting cranky and irritable whilst doing this, however stick with it if you can. This is not about the irritability due to detoxing it is the hyperactivity of the body reactivating. Remember you have been essentially drugging your body with bad food and sedating it. When you change the way you eat the body begins to come alive again. This is an unexpected feeling that may take you by surprise. Some may even sabotage themselves at this point as the mind begins to feel that it is no longer the boss. Make sure that you continue to meditate and self-talk through this period so that the brain is soothed and reminded that it is ok to take a step back, to use less of the available resources and to let the body gain in strength and stamina.

If you can allow this process to happen the brain and the body will begin speaking again as equals and will begin working together in alignment with the plan set out by the spirit. When you allow your spirit to take the lead and the body and mind to support a greater plan, this is when true miracles occur.

This is when health problems or psychological stresses seem to magically disappear. This is when the attitude naturally improves and you begin to see the world in a more positive light. Now with more energy and, more importantly, with a purpose to guide you, you seem to have all the time in the world to do your work and still have time to laugh, play and enjoy life to the fullest. The anxieties that once plagued you are gone and all that remains are the fruits of your labour, a very happy state of affairs indeed.

So do not despair and do not give up. Start simply and allow one habit to lead to another habit and then another and another and eventually you will not even realise how the change came about. It just is. You can then apply the same process to other areas of your life with even quicker success, fueled by the fact that your body performs better now and your mind is clearer now.

When your mind is clearer you suddenly see all of the ways in which you have been sedating yourself and all of the things in your life which are just an illusion. It is then possible for you to let go of that which no longer serves you and to transform the relationships in your life that are truly important so that they are in line with your highest good.

None of these things are unpleasant or hard because all of the other steps you have put in place have made these things easy.

When you consistently choose the simple life, these things become easy.

Remembering What Life Is Actually About

Sometimes in our search for wisdom we forget what we are actually here to do and simple as it is we just need a bit of reminding. So with that in mind here it is:

Just to rehash for you. Your reason for living is to love yourself and love others. You are here to understand your own self-worth which is infinite. You have forgotten this and it is time to remember. No more doubt and no more fear. You are here to experience connection with others and to your purpose.

As far as practical day to day life, you are clearing and cleaning out your time, your things, your body, your mind and your emotions so that you have more energy and power to invest in what you are here to learn about.

When you simplify your life you understand with more clarity. Simplicity is designed to give you more time, not to distract you. You do not live simply for the sake of it; you live simply so that you are free to focus on what is important to you.

Time is important and you want to get your work out into the world but if you do this with a negative frame of mind then you are only sharing negativity. Wait until you are in a good space and then work on the projects that are important to you.

Nurture yourself. If you are too hard on yourself it shows in your body. Why do you have to put so much on your to do list? In life you can be productive by taking things slowly and mindfully. Practice this and you will begin to understand.

Enjoy the quiet times and enjoy the louder times. All are normal parts of life experience.

Rest is going to the library or reading for enjoyment not for change. Rest is enjoying a warm drink with a friend or loved one or going for a walk. These are the things that will refresh you.

Do not be angry with the world. The world is not picking on you.

Simply start again. Do not over commit yourself. Focus on one change at a time and stop researching. All of this information becomes an addiction and an opportunity for you to avoid the practice.

When you sit to meditate you should meditate. Close your eyes and follow your breath as it goes in and out, in and out. This is all that you need to do. You do not need a guided meditation or special music, simply you and the breath. That is all.

Drink your water with love and compassion. Accept and welcome the water into your body. Your body will thank you for it.

Eat little. This seems difficult at first but will pay great dividends for mental clarity. When your digestive process is clear and your body has adequate nutrition then its focus is on settling down and healing the rest of the body. If your body is constantly fighting to clear the toxins that are going into the body the healing process is slowed significantly. Remember this is not about going hungry and this is not specifically about losing weight. It is simply about eating when it is time to eat and giving the body ample time to digest and then not eating when it is time to do other things. This is not a punishment and there is no need for sabotage? If you are hungry then eat but attempt to eat those things that are easy to digest.

Walk mindfully and slowly. Use your body and focus on your body posture. When you are aware of your posture you can correct it. You become strained and develop pain from poor posture. When you are aware of your posture you can strengthen it and you will understand how and why to strengthen yourself.

Your mind has been conditioned to judge yourself and others. You need to train your mind not to judge. When you are mindful you can catch yourself in the act and put the judgments aside. You can learn to just drop it or to just stop. Have a key word to remind you. Let it go or stop, are both useful. Do not analyze why you thought what you thought, do not justify or self-critique, just let it go. Each critical thought is a weight that you have picked up. These weights are not necessary for you to hold and they serve no purpose. You do not need to discuss why you need to put something heavy down, just put it straight down and do not strain yourself. Do this often enough and you will be conditioned to observe without judgment and to act with right mind.

Conduct is important. Conduct yourself in a way that brings honour to humanity. Be kind and compassionate and treat others with respect. Walk away from those who do not respect you but do not let these people become a weight. Take care of yourself and your environment. Do not give too much of yourself to others, give wisely according to what causes the least suffering.

Trust your judgment and trust how you feel. Let your insight and wisdom guide your actions. Understand that you are practicing so you will not always get everything right; the important thing is that you are practicing towards enlightenment. Be compassionate with yourself and keep working.

Keep it simple and keep working.