Unplugged…

Are you preparing for your holidays? Ready for a good time?

It is that time of year again. Holiday season. Transport links strain at the volume of people moving from one place to another, stress levels rise at the desperation to get there quickly and make the most of that precious and scare resource, time to ourselves.

We all have our own choices and motives for doing whatever we do on holiday. From lying on the beach to hiking up Kilimanjaro, drinking and dancing the night away to exploring new places, the range and diversity of holiday breaks is staggering. Yet are you making the most of your holiday?

I have a few suggestions which you may wish to consider. Easy stuff that just may make a difference to your holiday. I am no guru on this, I just know they work.

1. Unplug yourself from the information and communication highway. For that short time, switch off your mobile, laptop, TV, PDA, whatever you use to plug in. Give yourself a break. The emails, texts and messages will all be there when you get back. Unplug physically and mentally. It’s your holiday, it’s your time.

2. Find 10 minutes every day just for you. We all make the excuse during the working week that we can’t find the time to sit and chill out, to meditate a little, to just let the world go by and not get caught up in all that stuff. Yet we get away on holiday and still don’t make the effort. Just do it. Now. Find a quiet place to be by yourself, and take ten
   

3. If you are with others, your partner and / or your children, make time for them. I heard one senior manager say that this was a time to reconnect with his family. Well, if that is the same for you, make sure you reconnect. Most importantly, listen to them. This is not the time to offload your woes. It is a time to do stuff together, have fun, and just be there with them. Share your energy, share your love.

4. One final thought. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing on holiday, experience it. Don’t let it pass by in a blur. Fully engage with all your senses, physically, mentally, emotionally and even spiritually. Fully immerse yourself in each moment, be grateful for each sight, sound, smell, taste and feeling. They are unique to that time and place. Immerse yourself in that sensual experience.

The choice is yours. Unplug yourself from the daily stuff. Plug into your experience. Enjoy your holiday. You deserve it.

There is no-one who became fat because he broke a fast, no-one who became rich because he broke a holiday
African proverb

Unconscious metaphors…

Do your dreams keep you grounded and so prevent you from flying free?

The power of metaphors has been well researched and documented over the years. Books weigh down the bookshelves on the conscious metaphors we use and on how to alter them to bring about more global changes within us.

Bookshelves are also filled with volumes on interpreting dreams and on how to use them to allow us to understand ourselves better and to also make changes. The only challenge I sometimes find is to remember the dream in the first place!

Yet over the years I have had a recurring dream. The scenes change but the one constant element is that I am able to fly. This is quite a liberating skill, but it has also limited me at the same time because I invariably found that gravity was a stronger force than my ability to fly. This meant that I always floated to the ground and was unable to take off again. At best I am able to fly a few feet above the ground. To resolve this, I look for higher places to jump off from, and after the initial exhilaration of free flight, I drift to earth and land gracefully back to earth.

I am sure there are many meanings for such a dream, but for me it was quite easy. I was limiting myself. Gravity was the force that tied me to the place I was. No matter how high I climbed, or how hard I worked, I was limited by the laws of physics. As an engineer I knew the laws well, and they created my boundaries. Perhaps some of this sounds familiar?

I was not content with this limitation. After all, it was a dream, random yet structured events that had meaning and impact in my waking world. There must be a way to break through this. So I looked for solutions. The most obvious one was to get myself in a rocket launcher and blast my way through the atmosphere so that I could get beyond gravity. The most elegant vehicle to do this was the space shuttle, so that’s what I prepared myself for. I visualised the space shuttle, captaining the craft as it launched into space. Easier to do when I’m conscious, yet surprisingly, the next time I was having a dream where I was flying, I was able to get into the shuttle and blast off into space. Limitations gone!

Well, I wanted a more elegant way, and once I’d realised I could make these changes, there was no holding me back. Now, I can take off at will, like Neo in The Matrix, flying without limits. The wonderful thing is that this is helping me break some of the limiting beliefs in my conscious life. But then some would say that the line between being asleep and being awake is somewhat blurred. Can you really tell me that you are awake? How do you know that?

One thing I do know, though, is that you can make the changes, consciously or unconsciously, to do whatever you want. We all have within us a capacity and a capability for so much, with virtually unlimited potential. So as well as setting your goals and taking action consciously, why not make the changes at an unconscious level too. Some may see you as a space cadet, but learning to fly is only half the fun. Wait until you find out you can have and to do whatever you want…

All men dream but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that is was vanity. But the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.
TE Lawrence (1888-1935)
British Soldier

Alive...

Are you alive? No, really. I’m serious. Are you really alive? How do you choose to spend your time while you are awake?

Maybe you like to watch reality shows or soap operas on TV, keep up to date with the latest sports events or be seduced to buy ‘stuff’ that you don’t really need. Perhaps you like to see your friends, or enjoy the thrill of live theatre, or the excitement of being at the game, or even watching the sun set in the evening.

Maybe you like to listen to the radio, hear the latest bad news from around the globe, mingling in with the traffic or commuter noise around you. Maybe you drown all that out with your portable rock music or the classics. Perhaps you enjoy conversations and debate with friends about life’s mysteries, or listening to the ocean surf as you walk barefoot on a beach's golden sands, or even listening to the birdsong up above and the rustle of the unseen wildlife amongst the trees and bracken as you walk through a forest.

Maybe you feel angry and bitter about the way life is treating you at the moment, wondering why it is all happening to you, or perhaps you feel helpless and lost in complex, suffocating and confusing world that seems to make no sense. Perhaps you feel alive, doing what needs to be done to ensure your own health and well-being, yet also giving some of your attention and focus to make a difference in some small way.

It doesn’t take much to be alive. Perhaps all it takes is a small change from being passive to being active. To break out of the trance that so many seem to be in and to wake up. To think and reflect and after sitting and waiting for so long, perhaps it is time for doing something and being someone. Being you, perhaps?

Time to live.

And in the end, it is not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.

Abraham Lincoln

16th President of the United States (1809-1865)

Footprints...

What impression do you leave?

I went to visit a labyrinth last night, one set up in a church as part of the Glasgow West End Festival. Being interested in labyrinths, I was curious as to what I would find. Inside I was a little surprised to find a path laid out on the floor of the church using upturned carpet tiles. In my socks, I followed the trail, and stopped at the 10 stations to read and reflect on the activities at each station. At the end, I was invited to trace my foot and leave a message on the card.

Though this was not quite what I was expecting, I embraced the process and involved myself fully. I confess I was a little too pre-occupied with the process rather than doing the reflection, yet I did come away wondering about my footprint.

With all the current interest in our carbon footprint, I wondered about the wider implications of the footprint we leave, and what are we doing with it now. Wikipedia describes our carbon footprint as tool for ‘for individuals to conceptualize their personal impact in contributing to global warming’. Yet what footprint are we leaving in other respects?

My own reflections made me wonder about the gifts I have, and how I may use them to help others find the gifts within themselves. It is all too easy these days to forget what a resourceful and wonderous being we are. If we neglect our gifts and fail to share them, we leave very little impression in the sand as we walk on our journey through life. As we walk, the impressions quickly fade by the passage of time.

The greatest impression we make is the one we make now. As you stand, here and now, this moment is the greatest opportunity you have to make a difference. It is not what happened yesterday, as that impression is already fading. It is not what you do tomorrow, as that has yet to happen. It is now.

You can leave a deeper impression by standing firm in your beliefs and in your authenticity. Be who you are, standing up straight and proud, revelling in who you are and in the gifts you have to share. Sharing those gifts deepens that footprint all the more.

So, what impression are you making?

“Sometimes one creates a dynamic impression by saying something, and sometimes one creates as significant an impression by remaining silent.”

Dalai Lama (1935- )

Tibetan Buddhist Monk

Beauty...

What beauty is around you now?

I wonder if you have ever taken the time to see the beauty that is around you right now. The colours. The tones. The shapes. The form. As you look around you now, what is pleasing to the eye? What can you now see that you were blind to a moment ago?

I wonder if you have ever taken the time to listen to the beauty that is around you right now. Listen carefully, as beyond the noise there is a lovely rhythm. Hear it now. The volume. The pitch. The tonality. The range. What glorious sound can you hear now that you could not pick up a moment ago?

I wonder what smells you can detect as you read this. Breathe in deeply and take the time to get beneath the layers and sense those faint aromas. The light and heavy. The pungent and the fragrant. What beautiful smell can you detect now that you couldn’t sense a moment ago?

Turn your senses inwards. Let the thoughts just drift on by. Cut through the clutter and sense the beauty that is within you. Relax some more and connect with your inner beauty. Allow what you see to intensify in colour. Allow the sounds to become richer and fuller. Allow the smells to fill up your nostrils. Let the feelings wash over you like a refreshing sping shower, cleansing you and revitalising you.

In this moment, realise that beauty is all around you. Always. Beauty is within you. Always. All you need to do is to take the time to enjoy it.

Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.
Confucious (551 – 479 BCE)
Chinese thinker and philosopher

Diamonds from coal…

Feeling the pressure? Wondering what to do about it?

Consider how nature responds. Coal is made up of carbon in a random configuration. Coal is full of impurities, though despite this it is great for providing heat for a short period.

Under extreme pressure and temperature, and in the absence of impurities, coal can be transformed over time into diamonds. Diamonds have a regular and tight structure and are the hardest known natural material.

As you reflect back on your life, you may realise, if you haven’t already, that the time when you learn most is when you are under pressure or feeling the heat. In those moments, even time seems compressed and distorted.

It is precisely at those times that we should take a step back and consider the learning we are having with that experience. What are you learning about yourself? What can you do to change the situation for the better? Would a different perspective offer new solutions?

Within us from the start there is a purity that is without compare. Life tends to contaminate us and move us away from who we really are. Yet as we grow and develop, the impurities can be cleansed, we can become more organised and have more structure in our lives and can deal better with the knocks life likes to give us.

Within us all shines a pure and beautiful diamond. Remember. Coal cannot be made from diamonds. The diamond will always shine within you. We just need to recognise it sometimes and polish it off now and again.

The soul is placed in the body like a rough diamond, and must be polished, or the luster of it will never appear
Daniel Defoe (1659-1731)
Writer, author of ‘Robinson Crusoe’

Newsworthy...

How does it make you feel as you follow the news?

Informed, perhaps. Distressed, even, at the events that are reported. Probably. Happy the way things are turning out in this modern, civilised world? Unlikely. Lets be honest. Bad news sells, no-one cares about a happy ending. After all, they only occur in fairy tales, don’t they?

In an age where there is access to information literally from every street corner, what kind of data consumer are you? Do you take a passive or an active role in what you read and digest? Before you answer that, consider the following.

Whether you read a particular newspaper or watch a news channel, the items are chosen for you. Of course you will have developed a preference for the delivery style of news, hence your choice of medium, yet in the end the information you consume has been chosen for you. So perhaps it would be fair to say that you are a passive consumer. A few may delve deeper and cross check the information they receive. Go into any library and read various newspapers covering the same storyline. Each has its own ‘unique’ angle and ‘exclusive’ coverage of the main events. The same happens with the television, and on the internet. In essence, they all cover the same ‘facts’ and add their own embellishments, suggestions and opinions.

So, with all this ‘choice’, how is it that the news is invariably bad? Even more importantly, if the news is bad, doesn’t it follow that it is likely to make you feel bad too? That is something you can perhaps answer for yourself. So why sit there and take all of this? After all, you can choose what you decide to read or watch, can’t you?

So what are the alternatives, I hear you ask? Well, the first one is radical. Stop consuming the news for a month. For some this is a bit like quitting smoking or giving up a coffee or tea addiction. Yet you will be pleasantly surprised at how little you will miss it and how much more time you will have. Nothing to do on the morning commute? Try smiling warmly to your fellow commuters. Too crazy? Then how about observing the simplicity and the complexity of life around you, and be grateful.

Of course, it is not for me to suggest you stop reading altogether. There are many great books, magazines and websites out there on personal development, self help and well being. Why not go and find something more uplifting and stimulating to read or watch. I won’t recommend any, as I have made my choices, just as you need to make yours. The learning is as much in the discovery of new knowledge, so go seek and you will understand. Be active in your development, and you will grow. After all, nature flourishes best when well fed on nutrients, and perishes when poisoned.

What are you feeding yourself today?

The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers
Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)
3rd President of the US