Peace happens one heart at a time. And it starts wtih yours. xx Clare
Are You Too Busy ‘Blaming The Lettuce’, To Sort Out Your Life?
Ok – so I thought that one might get your attention!If you’re getting close to FINALLY having had enough of things not going right and being hard work, then you won’t want to miss today’s article. I’m sharing with you some Ancient Wisdom and a whole bunch of solutions. No lettuces were hurt in the production of this article. 😉
The lovely Andrea Lee reminded me of a story told Thích Nhất Hạnh today:
“When you plant lettuce, if it does not grow well, you don’t blame the lettuce. You look for reasons it is not doing well. It may need fertilizer, or more water, or less sun. You never blame the lettuce.
Yet if we have problems with our friends or family, we blame the other person. But if we know how to take care of them, they will grow well, like the lettuce.Blaming has no positive effect at all, nor does trying to persuade using reason and argument.
That is my experience. No blame, no reasoning, no argument, just understanding. If you understand, and you show that you understand, you can love, and the situation will change”Thích Nhất Hạnh
And it goes even deeper than that.
It’s not just about our relationships – the ‘blaming-the-lettuce-syndrome’ applies to EVERYTHING we create in our lives.
If we fall in love with a dream project, but it doesn’t go to plan, we blame the lettuce.
If our career falls apart or we don’t bag that dream promotion or amazing customer, we blame the lettuce.
If we feel exhausted or fed up or miserable or lost or stuck or confused or stressed or anxious, chances are we’re blaming the lettuce.
Whenever the warning signs come up that we’re blocking our Abundance – that we’re sabotaging our health, happiness, vitality, energy levels, relationships and success – we blame the lettuce.
We do whatever we can to avoid looking in the mirror and taking responsibility for the choices we have made – for the thoughts, words and actions that were ours and ours alone.
When life falls apart and Abundance flies out of the window, it’s much easier to blame the lettuce than to look in the mirror and do something about it.
In fact, we go further than that. We don’t just blame the lettuce, we use it as our excuse – our justification for why things didn’t work out the way we wanted.
But blaming the lettuce means you’re throwing away your personal power – you’re keeping yourself stuck, because the lettuce is never going to do anything to change things for you.
Because YOU and ONLY YOU hold the power to make the changes your Soul has been dreaming of. You can always CHOOSE to change you thoughts, your words and your actions.And that can transform your experience of life.
And, what’s even more amazing, is that you don’t have to wait to take back control and make those changes, you can start with your very next breath. If you want to.
Let’s do it – right now!
- Sit or stand comfortably, with your back fairly straight, your chin tucked gently under and your shoulders relaxed, your eyes softly closed.
- Think of something that feels ‘stuck’ or ‘broken’ in your life (make it a 2-3 out of 10 for this round!)
- Take a deep breath in through your nose and breathe out through your mouth with an ‘ahhh’ sound, as you let go of stress and tension. Do this 3 times.
- Now let yourself rest for a few moments, simply observing the physical sensations of your breathing – and if your mind wanders, gently guide it back to watching your breath.
- When you feel ready:
- as you breathe in, say to yourself, “I reclaim my power to choose.”
- as you breathe out, say to yourself, “I let go and trust my Inner Wisdom.”
- Keep doing this for the next few minutes, allowing yourself to feel grounded – and perhaps noticing the sense of relief as you let go of trying so hard and you stand in your Soul’s power.
- Now, when you feel that process has created a shift, with each in-breath and each out-breath, say to yourself, “I AM ABUNDANT!” Keep going for at least 10 breaths, allowing “I am Abundant!” to effortlessly permeate every cell in your body.
- When you feel ready, gently release the practice, dedicating its power to someone or somewhere who needs that energy – because sharing the energy helps it to grow.
- Open your eyes, have a good stretch and notice what has shifted for you.
So how did you get on? What did you notice? Perhaps you’d like to tell me, via the comments?
Which areas of your life are screaming at you (however silently!) to stop blocking your Abundance, to stop blaming the lettuce?
It would be an honour to help you more on this, if your heart is calling you to dive in and make some changes.
Want to dive in more deeply? And deal with your Abundance blocks?
How about joining me us for my 28 Day Abundance Blocks training? Find out for yourself why people are raving about this course – and how it is empowering them to finally release the blocks they didn’t realise were holding them back: Click here to find out more & register now.
Absolutely no worries if it’s not for you! But I’d be being unfair if I didn’t let you know and you missed out. 🙂
I hope today’s technique has helped you. If it has, please do share it with your friends via Facebook / Twitter etc. And thank you for taking the time to run through it. Your ‘future you’ is busy doing a happy dance right now!
See you soon!
With love, Namaste,
10 Reasons Why Meditation Is Essential, If You Want To Run A Successful Business
So you’re an entrpreneur or a busy business manager and you keep hearing about what a good idea meditation is, but you’re telling yourself that you don’t have time to meditate – or that it’s just for hippies – or that you’ll do it when you retire…
I know how that feels – I’ve been there.
But I’m curious: is there a single entrpreneur or business manager who wouldn’t like:
- to feel less stressed?
- to think more clearly and be able to concentrate better?
- to worry less?
- to sleep better and feel less tired?
- to feel calmer and happier?
- to have flashes of brilliant inspiration?
- to have life fall into place and feel less of an effort – to get more done in less time?
- to calm your mind and tame your Inner Critic?
All of these – and many more – are benefits of a daily meditation practice.
And you don’t have to disappear off into a cave and pretend to be a yogi, sitting for days on end, before you notice the effects.
As little as ten minutes a day of meditation can make a huge difference – when you know how.
Just in case you need a little more convincing, here are ten reasons why meditation is essential, if you want to run a successful business:
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Meditation recharges your batteries.
When you’re flat empty and out of charge, ten minutes of the right kind of meditation can have as much benefit as a couple of hours of cat nap.
When you’re managing a business, having enough energy is vital. And meditation doesn’t bring with it the same post-rush-crashes as caffeine or sugar.
Taking ten minutes out of a hectic day to meditate can give you hours back in additional creative time. -
It lowers your risk of heart disease.
Researchers (yes, the ones with lab coats, not the long-bearded hippies) have proven that meditation can strengthen your heart, lower your blood pressure and lower your risk of heart disease. Not convinced?
Here’s the evidence: 3 Secrets Your Heart Wants You To Hear About Meditation -
Meditation helps you to feel less stressed.
It triggers the body’s relaxation response, which neutralises the cortisol and adrenalin that would otherwise keep you feeling totally stressed-out.
AND it also helps you to spot your stress triggers and habits, so you can consciously choose to deal with them.
Feeling less stressed means it’s easier to concentrate, meaning you’ll get more done in less time. -
It helps you to worry less.
Regular meditation helps you to let go of your Monkey Mind’s stories. It’s not about making your mind goes silent – instead it’s about reclaiming your power to choose which thoughts and stories to feed.
This reduces worrying and anxiety, whilst also helping you to feel more relaxed and to trust that things will be ok.
Letting go of worrying and anxiety opens the door for inspiration and business success. -
Meditation helps you to feel happier – and smile for no reason
By cutting your stress and worry levels, and focussing on balancing your body’s relaxation vs ‘fight or flight’ responses, meditation helps you to feel less angry and irritable.
Keep at it and the benefits will grow, along with a sense of well-being, ‘ok-ness’ and peace becoming your new ‘set point’. As time moves on, this rises up the scale to general happiness. People will catch you smiling for no reason. 🙂
It’s so much easier to inspire people to share your vision when you lift their spirits, just by being there. -
Meditation helps you to think clearly
It’s the perfect antidote to ‘fog-brain’. Fuzzy thinking is one of the biggest causes of business mistakes – and procrastination. By learning how to calm your mind (and there are even specific techniques that will do this for you!) you find that the clarity you need for managing a brilliant business is readily available to you.
Just imagine how being able to think more clearly could help you to implement your business visions. -
It can bring you flashes of inspiration
When you’re regularly taking time out to sit with ‘who you really are’, rather than the stories your Monkey Mind is telling you, then you’ll deepen your connection with your Inner Wisdom and intuition. That will lead to flashes of inspiration on how to solve problems – or dive into a market gap you would never otherwise have spotted.
A single flash of inspiration could be worth thousands to your business. -
Meditation can help you to deal with your Inner Critic
It’s a rare business beast that isn’t running some kind of Inner Critic. And your Inner Critic is the part of you that means you lash out when you’re feeling threatened or stressed or insecure or worried – and you self-sabotage your success at the 11th hour – or you don’t even start that dream project.
It’s essential for entrepreneurs and business managers to deal with their Inner Critic in a healthy way – and meditation is one of the most effective and empowering tools for this.
Just imagine how much braver and bolder you would be in your business if you had dealt with your Inner Critic and felt fearless in your choices. -
It brings you insights what’s the Truth and what is your mind’s stories and projections
When you learn to observe your Monkey Mind, rather than dance with its drama, you can set yourself free from its stories. This helps you to practise discernment – telling the difference between what is Truth and what is ‘tantrum’. When you can calm your mind enough to do this, you’re no longer at the whim of your mind’s soap opera and seeing straight to the Truth of a problem becomes one of your greatest skills.
Just imagine being able to do this in a tricky business negotiation? -
Meditation can improve your relationships
By being happier, calmer, less stressed and less worried, your relationships will automatically improve. And it’s not just at home. You’ll be more patient with your work colleagues and your upbeat focus can even the performance of the people in your team. The shift you make from living in your head to living in your heart is contagious – it inspires people to become the best person they can and it can even dramatically increase customer loyalty.
Just imagine the impact the changes you make in yourself could have on your family – and on your staff morale – and on your customers.
And we’re just scratching the surface of the benefits with this list!
Surely all of that is worth ten minutes a day of your time?
If this sounds like something that would be worth you carving out ten minutes a day for, then here’s how you could get started today:
Join me for my “Meditation For Managers” Course
Launching on September 1st 2014, this six week online course is specially designed for business managers and entrepreneurs.
It brings you the ‘how to’ of meditation and mindfulness. But it also dives into an inspired blend of modern psychology and Ancient Wisdom, to make creating the daily habit easy. You’ll get to deal with the excuses, blocks and myths that might otherwise get in the way.
It’s a gorgeous combo of videos, workbooks, MP3 audios and moral support in our private Facebook group.
And it’s all designed in bite-sized chunks that mean you can fit it in, easily, no matter how busy your schedule is. If you can find 10-15 minutes a day, then you’ll get the full benefits. And there’s a special VIP launch offer that you won’t want to miss.
I’m curious: are you a reluctant meditator, who is still in the ‘should’ zone?
Or are you ROCKIN’ your business with a daily Zen-like habit?
How has meditation helped your business?
And what would you like to know about how to get it to work for you?
Please let me know, via the comments – I’d LOVE to hear from you!
With love, Namaste,
Daily Sunshine ~ Where On Earth Are The Miracles You Have Been Waiting For?
I know what it’s like. You hang around, waiting for those miracles to happen, but they just don’t show up.
Well, here’s the thing.
Are you REALLY expecting them? Or are you just hoping, whilst secretly believing that they ain’t a-comin’?
It’s a fact of life that we get what we believe we’ll get. Because what we believe impacts the way your brain filters life. It impacts the conversations you have in your head. It impacts the words you say and the actions you take. If you don’t really believe that miracles are waiting for you, then you’re unlikely ever to see them.
What’s the answer?
EXPECT them. Get EXCITED about them! Don’t be attached to the ‘what’ or the ‘how’. Be full of curiosity and wonder about what they might be and how they will feel. Just keep your radar inner tuned to its miracle-spotting-channel and those amazing synchronicities will speed your way. THEY will find YOU.
All you ever need to do is to be clear about your dreams – how they will FEEL once you’re living them – and then clear out your old blocks, excuses and limiting beliefs – one thought at a time.
Got any miracles or synchronicities you’d like to share today? I’d LOVE to hear from you, via the comments box!
With love, Namaste,
P.S. Want some help with getting past those blocks? You could join us for the 28 Day Challenge: “Let The Abundance In!” It’s going to knock your socks off in the way it will help you to let go of old excuses, worries and beliefs – and it’s yours as my gift – absolutely free. Here’s where to join us: Let The Abundance In!
P.P.S. Want to get a quick email each time I publish a Daily Sunshine article? Or a weekly round-up? Here’s where to register – free – Yes! I’d LOVE some Daily Sunshine!
Daily Sunshine ~ What’s The #1 Secret Your Soul Wants You To Hear – Today?
What’s the #1 Insider Secret your soul wants you to hear – today – and it might just change your life in the next five minutes.
One of life’s biggest problems is that we end up believing the stories we tell ourselves! Yikes! You really want to choose wisely.
But how?
That’s what this Insider Secret shares with you.
All you need to do is to read this article, try the ideas on for size, and if they resonate, then woo hoo! That’s your life changed! I can’t make it much easier than that, can I?
Read more here: What’s The #1 Secret Your Soul Wants You To Hear – Today?
With love, Namaste,
P.S. Daily Sunshine is BACK!
You can get it via my Facebook Page (please click the link and then ‘like’ to get it in your newsfeed) and you can register for free emails each time a Daily Sunshine message is published in the form below:
The #1 Insider Secret Your Soul Wants You To Hear – Today
I want to share with you two Insider Secrets that your Soul really wants you to hear – and they might just change your life forever – in the next few minutes.
It took me many, many years to ‘get’ them. And I’m hoping to short cut that ride for you 😉
All you need to do is to read this article, try the ideas on for size, and if they resonate, then woo hoo! That’s your life changed! I can’t make it much easier than that, can I?
[Read more…] about The #1 Insider Secret Your Soul Wants You To Hear – Today