My Heart Leaps Up
My heart leaps up when I behold
A Rainbow in the sky:
So was it when my life began;
So is it now I am a man;
So be it when I shall grow old,
Or let me die!
The Child is father of the man;
And I wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety.
I love this poem and it encapsulates how i'm feeling today: joy at being alive and having the responsibility of creating the next generation!
Sunday 27 June 2010
Saturday 26 June 2010
The Relaxation Response
As mothers we have our work cut out for us every hour of every day. At the moment life for me is frustrating to say the least. As i write my one year old is rubbing the lovely sauce that i made for dinner all over her head, and now tipping the plate upside down; in a moment she will get bored of eating and scream as if the universe was coming to an end.
Some days i see the funny side. Some days i just want to cry. Some days i embrace my situation with gratitude for the wonderful gift of life, and cry anyway. Whatever i manage i always try my best; there's no point striving for perfection.
Luckily for me life seems to throw up the right stuff just when i need it. I trust that it will and it does. Recently this came in the form of a cd: 3 Easy Steps to Deep Relaxation by Dr Swami Shankardev Saraswati. It now has a permanent home on my ipod and i listen to it as often as possible.
I have to say that the benefits of acquiring this cd have been magnanimous. I think prior to owning it i spend the last 15 or so years living with my sympathetic nervous system constantly switched on. I was always tense, anxious or worried and felt trapped in a vicious circle of negative thinking. I tried everything to change but change didn't come.
What Dr Shankardev teaches is the biology behind relaxation plus three techniques to achieve deeply relaxing states. By practicing these techniques your body learns to activate the para-sympathetic nervous system which lets our body experience relaxation. More and more i am finding that i can keep my cool even when i am being pushed in another direction e.g. like today when my toddler decided to put the hand-held fan in her potty and switch it on! Normally this would elicit loud words of dissatisfaction but today mummy was cool.
Now i won't say that this has made me a model mother but it has definitely helped me to bring about positive change and this had made my (and my childrens) life a whole lot more enjoyable.
I wonder why my doctor couldn't have recommended me this cd rather than the script for anti-depressants!
Some days i see the funny side. Some days i just want to cry. Some days i embrace my situation with gratitude for the wonderful gift of life, and cry anyway. Whatever i manage i always try my best; there's no point striving for perfection.
Luckily for me life seems to throw up the right stuff just when i need it. I trust that it will and it does. Recently this came in the form of a cd: 3 Easy Steps to Deep Relaxation by Dr Swami Shankardev Saraswati. It now has a permanent home on my ipod and i listen to it as often as possible.
I have to say that the benefits of acquiring this cd have been magnanimous. I think prior to owning it i spend the last 15 or so years living with my sympathetic nervous system constantly switched on. I was always tense, anxious or worried and felt trapped in a vicious circle of negative thinking. I tried everything to change but change didn't come.
What Dr Shankardev teaches is the biology behind relaxation plus three techniques to achieve deeply relaxing states. By practicing these techniques your body learns to activate the para-sympathetic nervous system which lets our body experience relaxation. More and more i am finding that i can keep my cool even when i am being pushed in another direction e.g. like today when my toddler decided to put the hand-held fan in her potty and switch it on! Normally this would elicit loud words of dissatisfaction but today mummy was cool.
Now i won't say that this has made me a model mother but it has definitely helped me to bring about positive change and this had made my (and my childrens) life a whole lot more enjoyable.
I wonder why my doctor couldn't have recommended me this cd rather than the script for anti-depressants!
Thursday 24 June 2010
Ten things
1. TRUST - Trust that things will always work out for the best.
2. CHERISH your friends and loved ones.
3. Don't be afraid of FEAR - if you find yourself afraid, confront your fears head on and find the depths of love for them. It's ok to be afraid.
4. If someone needs HELP, help them whoever and where ever they are.
5. LISTEN carefully to your heart. When it feels full and open you are on the right path.
6. Be TRUE to yourself. Stick up for what you believe.
7. Have FAITH. Without it you have nothing.
8. Be POSITIVE: what ever attitude you put out you will get back.
9. Believe in LOVE. It really does make the world go round.
10. Follow your true PASSION. It is your only route to true happiness.
2. CHERISH your friends and loved ones.
3. Don't be afraid of FEAR - if you find yourself afraid, confront your fears head on and find the depths of love for them. It's ok to be afraid.
4. If someone needs HELP, help them whoever and where ever they are.
5. LISTEN carefully to your heart. When it feels full and open you are on the right path.
6. Be TRUE to yourself. Stick up for what you believe.
7. Have FAITH. Without it you have nothing.
8. Be POSITIVE: what ever attitude you put out you will get back.
9. Believe in LOVE. It really does make the world go round.
10. Follow your true PASSION. It is your only route to true happiness.
Wednesday 16 June 2010
Perception Obsession
Housework. Grrrr. I have spent the last god knows how many years trying to keep on top of the housework. Having a clean and neat house gives me a sense of control and helps me feel like i'm coping. I know many parents feel like this but i've realised recently that this feeling is more than a little misleading.
Simone de Beauvoir has written extensively about womans role in "The Second Sex" and in other stories. I remember one of her characters who's life was a constant battle with the housework and children, and this was the way i was beginning to feel. You get up in the morning and put washing on, feed the children breakfast, do the dishes, make lunch etc etc and you can fall into the trap of feeling like this is all your life amounts too. You can centre your perception on this struggle and get lost in it, and lose your self in it. Your blinkers are put on and you don't see anything else anymore. Life is no longer fun ;(.
What i've realised is it doesn't have to be this way. I woke up this morning and while i was in the bath i realised that my girls were happy today because i didn't get up and see the mess; i got up and we pulled out a train set and played. I had my bath and i didn't see that the bath did in fact need cleaning; i saw that it was a great day for a walk.
What I realised, is that your outside world is a reflection of your perception and all the little seemingly insignificant thoughts that make up your perception, and that your perception is something you can change for the better.
Don't let your perception become trapped in a cycle of something that you will never keep on top of. Keep your mind focused on what is good in life, and life will be good. Good luck!
Simone de Beauvoir has written extensively about womans role in "The Second Sex" and in other stories. I remember one of her characters who's life was a constant battle with the housework and children, and this was the way i was beginning to feel. You get up in the morning and put washing on, feed the children breakfast, do the dishes, make lunch etc etc and you can fall into the trap of feeling like this is all your life amounts too. You can centre your perception on this struggle and get lost in it, and lose your self in it. Your blinkers are put on and you don't see anything else anymore. Life is no longer fun ;(.
What i've realised is it doesn't have to be this way. I woke up this morning and while i was in the bath i realised that my girls were happy today because i didn't get up and see the mess; i got up and we pulled out a train set and played. I had my bath and i didn't see that the bath did in fact need cleaning; i saw that it was a great day for a walk.
What I realised, is that your outside world is a reflection of your perception and all the little seemingly insignificant thoughts that make up your perception, and that your perception is something you can change for the better.
Don't let your perception become trapped in a cycle of something that you will never keep on top of. Keep your mind focused on what is good in life, and life will be good. Good luck!
Wednesday 9 June 2010
A Question to you!
Where is your consciousness centered? Is it in your head? Do you think logically, or tend to over-think and analyse?
Today i have learned that i can choose where i 'think', 'feel' or 'intuit' from. My consciousness now is centered in my heart, and now i know that this is the right way for me to continue my life, with love and compassion.
La vie est belle
Elle xxx
Today i have learned that i can choose where i 'think', 'feel' or 'intuit' from. My consciousness now is centered in my heart, and now i know that this is the right way for me to continue my life, with love and compassion.
La vie est belle
Elle xxx
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)