Imagine spending your entire life chasing a magical butterfly. This butterfly, you are convinced, holds the key to your joy. You run through fields, climb trees, and search relentlessly, but the beautiful creature is always just out of reach. And even when one day you do finally get your hands on it, catch it, place … Continue reading We spend our lives searching for something we think we don’t have.
Is your own inner critic a constant weight dragging you down? Do you find yourself getting frustrated with your inability to “get things right”, to follow through, or simply to be kind to yourself? This question cuts deep, doesn't it? We all know what self-judgment feels like, that constant voice whispering (or sometimes shouting) about … Continue reading Is your own judgement the weight that holds you down?
The theme of today’s meditation is surrender, a word that can easily be misunderstood. Surrender doesn't mean giving up, throwing in the towel, or resigning ourselves to fate - it's a powerful shift in perspective, a letting go that creates space for something new to emerge. Think of it like learning to swim. You can't … Continue reading Finding clarity before taking action.
Have you ever started a new project with fierce determination, only to see results fall short of your initial expectations? Maybe you hit a wall with a creative endeavor, or progress on a fitness goal feels agonizingly slow. These moments of frustration are all too familiar, and it's easy to get discouraged. But what if … Continue reading Trust in the unfolding.
Have you had moments of feeling utterly lost, like the world was crumbling around you? In today's message, Tara Brach, shares a profound truth that she had come to understand during her own life’s biggest upset: in the midst of life's storms, our truest refuge lies within ourselves. “I decided to write ‘True Refuge’ during … Continue reading The connection that truly binds us is to be found in realizing our own unshakable acceptance of ourselves.
Being productive is the holy grail of personal development, the magic bullet to achieving our goals. We are offered so many tools to improve our ability to be productive, from fancy time management techniques to any of the latest apps to supervise our every waking moment. But what if the biggest move you could make … Continue reading Being present really is the most productive state that you could possibly be in.
Imagine a pebble dropped into a still pond. The calm surface shatters, sending ripples outward in ever-expanding circles. This image perfectly captures the impact we have on those around us. Our thoughts, words, and actions create a ripple effect, influencing the lives of others in ways we may never fully comprehend. Tara Brach, a renowned … Continue reading If we knew just how powerfully our thoughts, words, and actions affected the hearts of those around us, we’d reach out and join hands again and again.
We all carry within us a piece of childhood – a playful, curious, and sometimes wounded younger self. This "inner child" isn't just a metaphor; it's a very real aspect of our emotional landscape. Often, in the pursuit of strength and maturity, we neglect this vulnerable part. In our quest for "adulting," we push down … Continue reading Your inner child could be set free, or become a ball and chain that forever drags you down.
We all have those moments where the same negative thoughts and patterns keep popping up, hindering our growth and happiness. This feeling of being trapped in a repeating cycle isn't a coincidence – our brains are wired for efficiency which means that the repetition of old conditioning uses the least energy. And so familiar patterns, … Continue reading You are gaining access to a whole new level of potential!
Our daily interactions with the humans around us is a constant back and forth dance. We build boundaries to protect ourselves, yet, we yearn to break those barriers down for a chance at true connection. Tara Brach, a renowned meditation teacher, suggests, a very simple metaphor for understanding human behaviour. "Imagine you are walking in the … Continue reading You see that the dog’s aggression is coming from a place of vulnerability and pain.
There's a familiar saying: "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans." It captures the essence of our struggle – the desire for control and the inevitability of the unexpected. This week, let's explore this conundrum with the guidance of Tara Brach, a renowned meditation teacher and psychologist. As we take a look … Continue reading We have to start with clarity, however no matter how much clarity we create there is very little that we actually control.
This week, our teacher has been Alan Cohen. And today being a Sunday silent meditation, I tried to find quotes where he speaks about silence or meditation and I couldn’t find much, so for today’s message I’m just including a few thoughts that sit really well with me… “If you are not living with a … Continue reading God hangs out in the spaces between your thoughts.
Can you imagine a life where nothing – no event, no word, no action – could control your emotions? Imagine being the sole architect of your inner world, unshakable in the face of external chaos. This, is the ultimate freedom, and the path to it lies in understanding and mastering your triggers. “Nothing in the … Continue reading How free will you be when nothing around you can trigger you anymore?
Love can be a difficult concept to describe, trying to use words that clearly can't do it justice. It's a word thrown around so often, yet its true essence can be so hard to pin down. We chase after it in relationships, yearn for its presence, and sometimes feel lost when it seems absent. But … Continue reading Try not to judge them in the moments that they succumb to their own fears.
Fear. It's a primal emotion that can be incredibly motivating, urging us to avoid danger and protect ourselves. But fear can also be a formidable foe, holding us back from reaching our full potential. Our greatest limitations often reside within ourselves. We build walls of fear – fear of failure, fear of the unknown, fear … Continue reading Fear sees limits, while love sees possibilities.
Have you fully realized how every single moment holds the potential for something incredible. Opportunities to connect, to grow, to truly experience life – all waiting to be grasped. Yet, so often, we miss them entirely. We get caught up in the autopilot of our past, dwelling on what was or worrying about what might … Continue reading There is opportunity in every moment, but we miss it when we are in an automatic response from our past.
Today's journey highlights one of our most fundamental survival tools, the masks we wear… From our earliest moments the world bombards us with messages about who we "should" be. Societal expectations, media portrayals, and even family dynamics can lead us to construct a series of masks – facades we wear to fit in, be accepted, … Continue reading The wearing of masks is a tool in our survival toolkit.
This week, we'll dive into the teachings of Alan Cohen. And as we step into this week, he reminds us that we don't need to have all of the clarity in order to take the next step. And also, I couldn't resist adding Rumi's teaching on the same subject as well - "Do not wait … Continue reading Are you putting too much pressure on yourself to create perfection?
Sunday meditation is dedicated to silence, and I enjoy seeking wisdom from great teachers on the value of silence to accompany a Sunday morning journey of togetherness. Here for your enjoyment is some insight from Thomas Merton: “Not all of us are called to be hermits, but all of us need enough silence and solitude … Continue reading “In silence God ceases to be an object and becomes an experience.”
Meditation is not a practice of trying to escape, it is the exact opposite. A leaning in, paying precise attention to exactly what is there. As we become better at paying attention, we start seeing with more clarity what is temporary, what comes and also always goes. As we become better at recognizing what is … Continue reading Become aware of what has permanence.
Happy Friday peeps! Happy Friday peeps! I’m sure you know by now that the topic of our Friday meditations is always love, and today is no different. Our sense of what love even is, is so deeply intertwined with how we have been taught to see ourselves and where we seek validation and acceptance for … Continue reading You will love again the stranger who was your SELF.
There's a powerful truth that meditation helps us rediscover: within each of us lies a core essence as enduring as the sun itself. This timeless part of you isn't swayed by fleeting emotions or the ever-changing circumstances of life. It's a constant source of peace and clarity, waiting to be reconnected with. "Our mind is … Continue reading There is a deeper part of you that is as timeless as the sun.
There's a space between effort and surrender that can be a tricky piece of real estate to find. On the one side there is taking action, doing the work, getting stuff done, and it feels almost as if this is in direct opposition to the idea of taking a step back, letting go, having acceptance. … Continue reading The space between effort and surrender.
Do you ever feel like there's something more you should be doing, achieving, or experiencing? This feeling of untapped potential is a whisper from your truest self, your limitless nature. Let today's meditation message be a powerful reminder to you. “Life doesn't put a limit on how much you can learn, you do.” - Matshona … Continue reading Experience your own limitless nature.
It's Monday! We have another fresh new week in which to create, let's grab the bull by the horns and jump in! It's the perfect time to ask yourself: will you create at your highest potential this week? “In letting go, we cease trying to make something happen, and then the mind naturally opens. It … Continue reading Will you create at your highest potential this week?
Life can feel a bit like a whirlwind. We chase deadlines, manage relationships, and navigate an ever-changing world. It's easy to get caught up in the noise and forget to take a breath, let alone reflect on how far we've come. But amidst the chaos, silence offers a powerful tool for personal growth. In the … Continue reading You are doing better than you think!
Your ability to choose your response is a superpower. It’s the key to unlocking a life far less stressful and far more fulfilling. It’s easy to underestimate the power you have to choose your response, or even choose not to respond at all. Instead, you get caught in a trap – your emotions and actions … Continue reading Freedom is within your grasp.
I don’t think that there’s much I can write about love in today's message that’ll add anything to these quotes from the Boy the Mole the Fox and the Horse, except perhaps this: double down on being kind to YOU, especially in those moments when you feel that you deserve it the least. When … Continue reading Empower yourself through your own acceptance of YOU.
Do you sometimes feel - or - have you ever felt like your self-worth fluctuates with the approval (or disapproval) of others? This is a common experience, but one that can leave us feeling insecure and unfulfilled, on a teeter-totter that hinges on the whims of the world around us. This little book, “the Boy … Continue reading You’ll have plenty of critics, don’t be one of them.
We’ve all experienced the kind of storms that life brings. Sometimes the storm is in the world around us and it seems our very existence is threatened - and sometimes the storm is within and it feels like our own being has turned against us, tearing us apart from the inside. Time, experience and wisdom … Continue reading Storms get tired too.
