The caption was “This summer, do you want to be a mermaid or a whale?” The story goes, a woman (of clothing size unknown) answered the following way:

“Dear people, whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, seals, curious humans), they are sexually active and raise their children with great tenderness.

They entertain like crazy with dolphins and eat lots of prawns.

They swim all day and travel to fantastic places like Patagonia, the Barents Sea or the coral reefs of Polynesia.

They sing incredibly well and sometimes even are on cds.

They are impressive and dearly loved animals, which everyone defend and admires.

Mermaids do not exist.

But if they existed, they would line up to see a psychologist because of a problem of split personality: woman or fish?

They would have no sex life and could not bear children.

Yes, they would be lovely, but lonely and sad.

And, who wants a girl that smells like fish by his side?

Without a doubt, I’d rather be a whale.

At a time when the media tells us that only thin is beautiful, I prefer to eat ice cream with my kids, to have dinner with my husband, to eat and drink and have fun with my friends.

We women, we gain weight because we accumulate so much wisdom and knowledge that there isn’t enough space in our heads, and it spreads all over our bodies.

We are not fat, we are greatly cultivated.

Every time I see my curves in the mirror, I tell myself: “How amazing am I ?! ”
———–

Can you imagine how much stress it would take out of a person’s life to be happy with what is, to adopt an attitude like the lady in the story?

People may think that this is just an excuse or a justification to be overweight, but it’s not.

It is a very brave statement to accept oneself  ‘as is’ and to make a CHOICE whether we want to change something about it or not. And if we want to change it, then it is because we choose to do so from our own motivation, not because someone else or the media dictates what’s right or wrong, what’s good or bad, what’s in or out.

This is authentic living at its best: making your own choices and being content with who you are.

(The girl on the picture is French model Tara Lynn) Story shared on facebook by Delphine Fieberg

1. Make A List

Before going to bed, make a list of what you need to do the next day. Write everything down that comes to your mind and just in case you get more ideas, keep pen and paper beside your bed so you can easily them when you remember an additional task.

Writing down things that are going on in your head gives your brain the signal that it no longer needs to think about those tasks, which will help to slow or even stop the mental merry-go-round.

2. Avoid TV Before Retiring

The impact of news, thrillers or emotional movies are as  intense as underestimated. While your conscious mind seems to turn off while watching TV, the unconscious is working unremittingly, trying to make sense of the impressions it gets.

It does not distinguish between ‘reality’ and ‘movie’ – to the unconscious mind it’s mind it’s all the same. Here lies its power and its ‘weakness’.

Leave some time between the end of a movie and retiring and certainly do not fall asleep with the TV on.

3. Fill Your Mind With Inspiration

The best way to end the day is to do so on a positive note, so that you will be drifting off with uplifting thoughts.

Reading inspirational, motivational, empowering self-growth books and material for at least 30 minutes prior to bed will help to avoid falling asleep with the stressful thoughts like most people do.

4. Darkness

The darker your room the better your sleep. When it is dark, your body produces an enzyme that supports deep sleep and the reparation process of your body.

If you are afraid of the dark, put a light on a timer, so that it will turn off at a certain time or use a tea candle.

5. Avoid Electronic Pollution

Make sure to turn off all electronic devices in your bedroom or even better – ban everything that requires electricity from your bedroom and switch off your outlets . Every electronic impulse is a disturbance for the body, which in its essence is pure energy.

If you need an alarm clock to wake up in time, choose one that is or can be battery-operated.

6. Early Dinner

The purpose of sleep is to allow time for body and mind to heal and to repair. When there is undigested food in the stomach, the body is forced to focus on digestion instead of healing.

To avoid that, have your last meal at least 3 hours before going to bed and resist the temptation of late snacks. The body was designed to digest food best while moving – not while laying down.

A saying suggests to ‘have breakfast like an emperor, lunch like a king and dinner like a beggar’.

7. Quality Sleep

In Ayurvedic medicine it’s believed that there are cycles that are the most conducive for certain activities. Generally, going to bed at 10:00 pm and arising at 6:00 am appears to allow the body to rest the deepest, rejuvenate the most, and gives the person the most energy throughout the day.

However, some people need a bit more, some may need less sleep. Keeping it within 10pm to 6am (if you can), find out which time frame gives you the best quality sleep.

8. Drug Free Sleeping

Don’t take drugs that are supposed to help you sleep (unless required by your physician). Most are designed to simply deaden your senses. However, the goal of ‘sleep’ is to give your body the time and means to repair itself and prepare for the coming day.

When you drug yourself to sleep, every system in your body is slowed down, including all those systems that are responsible for repairing you.

If you really need support falling asleep, talk to your homoeopath, who will be able to assess your situation and recommend a natural remedy that considers your personal conditions or try aroma therapy.

9. Fresh Air

Make sure that there’s a fresh air supply in the room. The air indoors is said to be some of the most toxic air around. When you sleep, you’re only able to breath in the air that surrounds you in your enclosed bedroom. Try opening a window (if it’s cold outside then just open the window a crack).

The fresh air that comes in while you sleep will help your body repair itself because you’ll have access to cleaner, more oxygenated air.

10.Exercise

During the day, do 60 minutes of mild exercise. If you don’t have time to do 60 minutes in a row, then break it up into 2 – 30 minute sessions, or 3 – 20 minute session, or 6 – 10 minute sessions – just get a full 60 minutes in. The best exercise when talking about general health and preparing your body for a great night’s sleep is “walking”.

After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question:

“When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does, is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the natural order of things in my son?”

The audience was stilled by the query.

The father continued. “I believe that when a child like Shay, who was mentally and physically disabled comes into the world, an opportunity to realise true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.”

Then he told the following story:

“Shay and I had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball.
Shay asked, ‘Do you think they’ll let me play?’
I knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but as a father I also understood that if my son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.

I approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, ‘We’re losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we’ll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning.’

Shay struggled over to the team’s bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. I watched with a small tear in my eye and warmth in my heart.

The boys saw my joy at my son being accepted. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay’s team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as I waved to him from the stands.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay’s team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat. At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game?

Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn’t even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.

However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay’s life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact.

The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher. The game would now be over.

The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game. Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman’s head, out of reach of all team mates.

Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, ‘Shay, run to first! Run to first!’ Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.

Everyone yelled, ‘Run to second, run to second!’ Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball.

The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher’s intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman’s head.

Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home. All were screaming, ‘Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay’ . Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, ‘Run to third! Shay, run to third!’

As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, ‘Shay, run home! Run home!’ Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team.

‘That day”, said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, “the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world.

Shay didn’t make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making me so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!”

AND NOW A LITTLE FOOT NOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes through e-mails or post them on social media without a second thought, but when it comes to sending messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.

If you’re thinking about whether to share this message or not, chances are that you’re probably sorting out the people in your circle who aren’t the ‘appropriate’ ones to receive this type of message.

Well, the person who published this believes that we all can make a difference. We all have thousands of opportunities every single day to help realise the ‘natural order of things.’

So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little bit colder in the process? A wise man once said every society is judged by how it treats it’s least fortunate amongst them.

Sharing this (or similar) stories means increasing hope, acknowledging courage and humanity and most importantly change the focus from bloodthirsty  sensationalism to spreading meaningful messages.

The more people are encouraged and motivated to do and share random acts of kindness, the more goodness will be created in the world, which then again promotes more positive actions, and inspires an upward spiral of sympathy, empathy and compassion.

Ignorance or inspiration – which one do you choose?

Juicy, fresh, green leaves are fighting their way through a layer of snow. The early morning fog that covered the meadow in an opening in the woods reveals the colourful heads of crocuses, snowdrops, daffodils and lilies of the valley, which boldly and persistently bring forward their lushly Greens, shining Yellows or bright Pinks, Purples, Blues or Whites. The brownish, earthy colour of soil that was resting under a layer of snow is sneaking through to add to the palette.

The fragrance is hard to describe – the smell of melting snow crystals, with a bit of sunlight and the touch of a flower’s breath…

It’s the smell of awakening, bringing with it Hope, a sense of Growth and Curiosity.

Spring is the season of the rising Yang, which stands for life functions such as Evolution, Growth, Teamwork or Adaptability.

Having a vision and a goal is the natural evolution from resting and contemplating over those during winter. Now in spring is the time to get organised and to make decisions and choices that will bring us closer to our goals.

Anger, frustration and impatience are emotions linked to the Wood element, which in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is linked to the season of spring.

TCM considers the Liver to be the master organ, because it stores energy (Chi), cleanses the blood and creates immune cells and digestive enzymes. It’s partner organ, the Gallbladder stores and concentrates the secreted by the Liver, then distributes it to the digestive system when required.

A TCM practitioner would examine her client for health and balance in these organs through the eyes, muscles and nails. If observed that the client is full of bitterness, resentment and anger, it is a sign that the balance in the body is disturbed and that both organs will likely be upset.

This imbalance might also be responsible for indecisiveness, lack of care and sensibility for ourselves, reflected in how we treat the environment around us.

Balance in these organs however will support a sense of purpose, foresight and adaptability as well as being compassionate.

In spring, living with the rhythm of nature means taking care of your energy. It is always a good time to start to learn or practise  Tai Chi or Qi Gong, but if one season is perfect, it is spring.

Tai Chi brings the components of concentration, flow and relaxation to a meditation practise, which perfectly represents the ‘rising yin’ energy of spring.

Qi Gong (CHEE GUNG), traditionally being practised to restore harmony and balance and to cure illnesses, cleanses and energises the meridian system and the inner organs. The exercises within Qi Gong each stimulate a certain meridian (energy pathway, energy line) within the body, generating an effortless flow of energy.

Qi Gong is said to be the art of cultivating Chi (energy), while Tai Chi is the art of managing it, making either the perfect exercise practise for the spring season.

As with many ancient practises, Tai Chi and Qi Gong are best learned from a teacher and most fun in a group. As there are different styles, especially of Tai Chi, it is essential that you find the one that most suits your personality and your needs.

Chi Thai Bodywork and Tai Chi For Busy People have joint forces and are offering a 6 week-beginner program. You find more details on the Tai Chi For Busy People or Chi Thai Bodywork website and you can register here.

An old Grandfather said to his grandson, who came to him with anger at a friend who had done him an injustice, “Let me tell you a story.

I too, at times, have felt a great hate for those that have taken so much, with no sorrow for what they do. But hate wears you down, and does not hurt your enemy. It is like taking poison and wishing your enemy would die.

I have struggled with these feelings many times.” He continued, “It is as if there are two wolves inside me. One is good and does no harm. He stands for joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, friendship, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.

He lives in harmony with all around him, and does not take offense when no offense was intended. He will only fight when it is right to do so, and in the right way.

But the other wolf, ah! He is full of anger, fear, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The littlest thing will set him into a fit of temper. He fights everyone, all the time, for no reason. He cannot think because his anger and hate are so great. It is helpless anger, for his anger will change nothing.

Sometimes, it is hard to live with these two wolves inside me, for both of them try to dominate my spirit.

This same fight is going on inside you, and inside every other person, too.”

The boy looked intently into his Grandfather’s eyes and asked: “Which wolf will win, Grandfather?”

The old Cherokee simply replied:” The one you feed.”

One particular day Mr. Miller was bagging some early potatoes for me. I noticed a small boy, delicate of bone and feature, ragged but clean, hungrily apprising a basket of freshly picked green peas. I paid for my potatoes but was also drawn to the display of fresh green peas.

I am a pushover for creamed peas and new potatoes. Pondering the peas, I couldn’t help overhearing the conversation between Mr. Miller and the ragged boy next to me.

“Hello Barry, how are you today?”

“Hello Mr. Miller, Fine, thank you. Just admiring those peas…sure look good.”

“They are good, Barry. How’s your Mother?”

“Fine. Getting stronger all the time.”

“Good. Anything I can help you with?”

“No, Sir. Just admiring those peas.”

“Would you like to take some home?”

“No, Sir. I don’t have anything to pay for them with.”

“Well, what have you to trade me for some of those peas?”

“All I have is my prize marble here.”

“Is that right? Let me see it.”

“Here it is. She’s a dandy.”

“I can see that. Hmmmm, only thing is this one is blue and I sort of go for red. Do you have a red one like this at home?”

“Not exactly…but, almost.”

“Tell you what. Take this sack of peas home with you and next trip this way let me look at that red marble.”

“Sure will. Thanks, Mr. Miller.”

Mrs. Miller, who had been standing nearby, came over to help me. With a smile she said: “There are two other boys like him in our community, all three are in very poor circumstances.
Jim just loves to bargain with them for peas, apples, tomatoes or whatever. When they come back with their red marbles, and they always do, he decides he doesn’t like red after all and he sends them home with a bag of produce for a green marble or an orange one, perhaps.”

I left the stand, smiling to myself, impressed with the man. A short time later I moved to Utah but I never forgot the story of this man, the boys and their bartering.

Several years went by each more rapid than the previous one. Just recently I had occasion to visit some old friends in that Idaho community and while I was there learned that Mr. Miller had died.

They were having his viewing that evening and knowing my friends wanted to go, I agreed to accompany them. Upon our arrival at the mortuary we fell into line to meet the relatives of the deceased and to offer whatever words of comfort we could.

Ahead of us in line were three young men. One was in an army uniform and the other two wore nice haircuts, dark suits and white shirts…very professional looking. They approached Mrs. Miller, standing smiling and composed, by her husband’s casket. Each of the young men hugged her, kissed her on the cheek, spoke briefly with her and moved on to the casket. Her misty light blue eyes followed them as, one by one, each young man stopped briefly and placed his own warm hand over the cold pale hand in the casket.

Each left the mortuary, awkwardly, wiping his eyes. Our turn came to meet Mrs. Miller.

I told her who I was and mentioned the story she had told me about the marbles. Eyes glistening she took my hand and led me to the casket.

“Those three young men, that just left, were the boys I told you about. They just told me how they appreciated the things Jim “traded” them. Now, at last, when Jim could not change his mind about color or size…they came to pay their debt.

“We’ve never had a great deal of wealth of this world,” she confided, but, right now, Jim would consider himself the richest man in Idaho.”

With loving gentleness she lifted the lifeless fingers of her deceased husband. Resting underneath were three, magnificently shiny, red marbles.

We will not be remembered by our words, but by our kind deeds.

The author of this story is unknown,but if you do know where it comes from, please pass it on and we will be very happy to give credit.

It is typical for the kind of stories that are sent to you on a Friday, if you subscribe to “My Daily Insights“, a program sponsored by Transition Guidance to deliver you a daily inspiration.

My Daily Insights   is delivered free of charge and even without ads (!) and you can find out more about it here.

What do you take away from this story? How did it touch or inspire you? Have you been or met someone like Mr. Miller yourself or can you relate to one of the boys?

Feel free to leave a comment.

Tai Chi Workshop

Tai Chi has proven to be a very effective ‘exercise program’ to reduce stress and increase your energy.

Tai Chi increases flexibility and strength in your joints. It leads to a very good, upright body posture. Tai Chi eliminates blockages in your main and sub-meridians (energy lines) and encourages a balanced flow of Yin-Yang energy throughout the whole body.

The subtleness and complexity of Tai Chi initiates a never-ending process. Once starting this journey, Tai Chi practitioners experience a vivid connection with energy. Like rarely any other form of exercise, Tai Chi leads to harmony and flexibility for body, mind & spirit.

This ‘Tai Chi for ‘Health’ program will start you with the basic moves (forms) for beginners. The program is based on the modified ‘Sun and Yang’ styles of Tai Chi.

Also included are safe warm up exercises and a basic Qi Gong breathing exercise to help you relax.

With ongoing classes and continued practice, you should develop better balance, improve blood circulation, notice some relief from joint pain and feel a reduction in stress levels as well as become aware of improved concentration levels, clarity and focus.

Overall, Tai Chi aims to achieve an improvement in health and well being.

Join us on

29th of September 2011 at 9.30am

for the first of 6 Tai Chi classes.

Cost is only $50, payable on registration via EFTPOS or cash.

Places are strictly limited to 12 participants and only another 11 places are left, so register as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Registrations are taken via the form here, per email or phone (0439 265 230).

We look forward to meeting you there for a great time with like-minded people.

If it is important that you absorb information quickly or that you do a task efficiently and without mistakes you want to be able to concentrate, to focus your attention and your energy on one specific thing.

Step 1 – Improve The Basics

Stress of any kind is a major influence on our ability to concentrate, so the main aim when it comes to improving our concentration is to take away some of the stresses that prevent it.

Some easy to control factors are:

• Sleep – make sure you get enough (not too little, but neither too much)
• Breaks – allow yourself short breaks between tasks where you sit and think of nothing, at least not of the task you just finished or the one you are about to start
• Balance – in your leisure time, establish activities that are of different dynamics and energy than your main work. Balance a stressful work environment with activities that are calming and a quiet, very structured and repetitive workplace with playful and adventurous endeavours.
• Nourishment – Nutritious food, a healthy amount of  water at room temperature and exercise are essential to supply body and brain with the energy to concentrate, so are fresh air and natural light

Additionally you might consider, if possible, what time of the day you do the tasks that require your focus. Some people work best in the early morning, some prefer late nights and sometimes that may change too. Observe yourself, listen within and get familiar with your own needs and strengths.

Be careful with the consumption of coffein as a stimulant. It may give you a quick kick, but eventually causes dehydration, which your brain won’t like as it needs a healthy fluid balance in order to concentrate.

Step 2 – Have A Break

Some people have a tendency to push themselves hard and to go without a break until the job is finished. Sitting back and taking a nice deep breath is regarded as the reward that comes at the end of the task (if it comes at all).

However, having regular and refreshing breaks is essential in order to enable concentrated working. If you keep on pushing, the effect will be contrariwise: you will be too exhausted to keep going and over time your body and mind will develop unconscious strategies to avoid being under such stress again. Procrastination anyone?

So give yourself a regular break, where you intentionally and mindfully relax. This means that you are not filling it with an activity that again requires your attention, like reading or watching TV. Instead, literally smell the roses, sit down to listen to some music, do a breathing exercise or take a short walk in fresh air.

Take your breaks before you feel the signs of exhaustion. That way your break can provide more recovery quality and you will reload quicker than when you are already running on empty. Remind yourself with a timer that you set on 45-60 minutes and allow at least 5 minutes to reload your energy.

Step 3 – Create A Supportive Environment

The environment we live or work in has also a big impact on our ability to concentrate. Feng Shui is an ancient art and science that deals with the mutual effect of  Chi (energy) and environment and gives suggestions how to improve the flow of energy in internal and external spaces.

But you don’t have to be an expert in Feng Shui to create space that supports your concentration. Here are some simple to implement ideas:

Phone/Mobile – turn it off! It’s that simple

Sign -Let the people around you know that you don’t want to be interrupted with a ‘Do not disturb’ sign. And shut your door!

Declutter – put away everything from your desk that is not related to your work and that has the potential to take away your attention from your task. A clean desk leads to a focused mind.

Move -create some space for movement. Ideally, have a mat handy for a quick Yoga posture, a breathing exercise or some stretches.

Reduce – remove every picture or furniture that you don’t need in your room and keep it clean and tidy. As with your desk, the less there is to take your attention away, the easier it is to concentrate.

Music – turn it off if it distracts you or try whether some nice background music is supporting your concentration. If you prefer to have some background sounds, choose from a CD or put your own collection together.

If you work for a company, you might have to ask permission to change things around. However, if you explain to your employer that you would like to make a few (appropriate!) changes in order to increase your concentration – and therefore your performance -  it is very like that your boss will happily agree.

Step 4 – Find Your Stressors

After finding out what supports your concentration, have a look what may trouble you. There are some factors that you won’t be able to influence. You’ll simply have to find a way to live with them. However, there are a few measures you can take to deal with potential stress factors.

External Factors

There are quite a few factors that – once recognised – can be eliminated. They are again very individual. What bothers one, another may not even take notice of.

Noises -from traffic, people in the streets, loud music, voices, machinery or similar can easily distract us and disturb our concentration. Train yourself to get accustomed to external noises without losing focus. Alternatively, try earplugs. You may feel funny to do so in the beginning, but you will soon get over it.

Other People – Colleagues, children or other family members can become real concentration killers, for example if you don’t have your own office where you can shut the door. If possible try to have the house for yourself during the times when you really need to concentrate, find a bit of room in a part of the house that is not so much frequented, try to arrange something with a friend or simply go back to earplugs.

Odours – Even odours can derange us. These are hard to avoid and to make it worse they are very powerful. You can try to fight them with your own set of  fragrances from incense sticks or burning your favourite oils. Go for the woody essential oils, like Bergamotte, Cypress or Sandalwood. Their fragrance does not only more easily overpower annoying odours, they are also supportive for your concentration.

Other Stressors – If you start to focus on things that catch your attention, you might be surprised how little things can suddenly be annoying, like a shrill colour, the busy-ness of a picture, a pattern, a dripping appliance, a sound that can’t be located…Many of those can be eliminated, once we have finally become aware what the problem is.

Internal Factors

Internal factors, like a merry-go-round of thoughts in our head, worries, high expectations or critical self-talk can easily throw us off balance.

It is hard to concentrate if your thoughts easily wonder off or you constantly worry about things, even more so when you start to feel guilty about not being able to concentrate. A downward spiral into a place where concentration feels impossible seems inevitable.

A simple exercise may help to break the viscous cycle: Write your thoughts down.

1. When you find your thoughts spinning in your head and you just can´t turn them off, get yourself a piece of paper, a pen and a stop watch that you set on a 3-5 minute countdown.
2. Start to write down everything that comes into your mind without stopping until your set time is over or your paper is full.
3. Imagine that by writing your thoughts down, they actually get sucked out of your head onto the paper – a bit like Dumbledore does it with his wand in the Harry Potter books.
4. Put your paper aside and notice how your head feels lighter

This exercise has a few positive effects:

• You allow your thoughts to come up and be heard
• You pay attention to the things that bother you, which is part of becoming more aligned with yourself
• You can more easily let go of the thoughts, because you have written them down, hence your unconscious mind recognises that they won´t be forgotten and will therefore allow you to calm down

Step 5 – Train Yourself

Our ability to concentrate can decrease over time, if we are exposed to many or continuing stresses for a while. The good news is, it can also be improved if we train ourselves to do so.

If you choose to train yourself, remember to have fun with it. This will ensure that you’ll have better results than if you’d look at the exercises as another thing you don’t want to do. If you don’t want to do them, don’t do them!

However if you would like to train yourself to improve your concentration, here are a few ideas to get you going.

The Watch-Watcher

Level 1

1. Grab a watch with a second hand.
2. For two minutes, observe the second hand as if there was nothing else important in the world
3. If you loose track because your thoughts wandered off, start again for two minutes

Level 2

Once you have mastered level 1, lift the bar:

1. Put the watch on your TV or very close, while there is an interesting movie or program going on.
2. Only watch the second hand and don’t allow the TV to take your attention away

Level 3

Now we’re talking!

1. While watching the second hand for two minutes, continue to recite the following number pattern:

               2 4 6 8 10 8 6 4 2 4 6

As soon as you find yourself drifting off, start again. Keep going for at least two minutes.

Mandala

Colouring in Mandalas is a fun way to improve your concentration.

1. Find yourself one that you like and that has lots of little  different segments to colour in
2. Decide on a pattern how you are going to colour it in. Stick to that pattern
3. Start colouring in, using either one colour first until you coloured every pattern with that one colour before moving on to the next or complete one set of segments in different colours, then the next. Choose the option that is more challenging in terms of concentration

Word/Letter Puzzle

Option 1

1. Find yourself a puzzle where you have a number of given words that you are supposed to find in a field of letters (up, down, diagonal, forwards, backwards, upside down…)

Option 2

1. Create your own puzzle:
2. Make a few copies of a paragraph of text from a newsletter or magazine with around 1000 words. Hint: up to here you have around 1700 words in this article)
3. Choose a letter that usually appears quite often, like A or E or N
4. Circle each letter of your choice in the text of one of the copies and count them
5. Check again with another copy. Do you have the same number?

Memory

Memory is a great game that is also particularly good for children to help them improve their concentration.

Choose a memory game with pictures that are appealing to you or make your own.

1. Place all the cards face down either in an ordered structure of rows and lines or randomly all over the place
2. There is always a pair of the same picture that you have to find by turning two and remembering where they are
3. If you turn two that are the same, you may take them and have another go, otherwise it’s the next player’s turn
4. Keep going until all cards have been taken
5. Then go again.

You will find that once you have played the game three times in a row, it gets more and more challenging to remember where a card is placed.

Have a break after three games.

Step 6 – Monitor Your Progress

Like with every exercise that you do, it is a good idea to monitor your progress.

Get yourself a little notebook where you put down your main stress factors/concentration killers, what you did to eliminate or reduce them or how you chose to cope with them. After a while check in how your concentration has changed as a result of your efforts, what worked and what didn’t.

Remember to give yourself a little reward when you notice some improvement!

 Step  7 – Establish Cross References Through Anchoring

This is a technique from NLP – Neuro Linguistic Programming. With it you can program yourself to better concentration – literally by ‘pressing a button’.

1. Decide where you want to set your ‘anchor’, preferably at a place that is easy to access, but won’t be touched by others than yourself; knuckle valleys are ideal.
2. Remember a time when you were extremely focused and concentrated, when nothing could take away your attention. Let the image of this specific event become bright in colours, intensive with sounds and most importantly, connect to the feeling of being totally focused and concentrated.
3. When you find yourself at the peak of intensity for being concentrated, press your anchor for a few seconds, just as long as you are at the peak. Let go when the intensity drops.
4. Repeat with another event where you felt totally focused, absolutely concentrated.
5. Now think of something different, like what you had for lunch yesterday
6. Then test your anchor by pressing your knuckle or wherever you set your anchor. Do you feel how you suddenly start to recall the state of being totally concentrated?
7. ‘Stack’ your anchor. Whenever you are in a deep state of concentration, press your anchor to intensify it. That way your anchor is getting stronger over time.

It is the perfect time to address life issues such as thinking about one’s life direction or purpose, ambition or stamina, to re-assess the choices we made or are about to make, to listen to the power of silence and what is said between words.

The corresponding element is Water, which stands for flow and change and while this naturally – and historically – is a time where people are most prone to fear and anxiety, which at the same time gives us the opportunity to respond to crises with courage, audacity or bravery.

The perfect tools to match and utilise the energy of winter are deep relaxation and meditation. Several studies and clinical research have confirmed that meditation helps to lower blood pressure, reduces the risk of heart attack or stroke, boosts intelligence, stimulates stem cell growth, relieves depression and anxiety, and even aids weight loss, eases chronic pain, decreases substance abuse or reduces hyperactivity in children.

While some people equate meditation with sitting cross legged in a corner in front of a Buddha, meditation can be performed in many ways, which can be categorised in different categories:

Passive Meditation

A passive meditation is where you actually sit or lie down and are in some way guided through a meditation in form of a story, metaphor, analogy or very clear instructions.

The participants follow the instructions or the story, which can be specifically tailored to a life issue or a certain purpose, like stress management, focus and concentration, goal achievement, self-awareness or personal growth or to address emotional imbalances.

Passive meditation can be beneficial if a person is in an acute state of pain or overwhelm, because it allows the participant to physically and mentally relax almost instantly, just by simply sitting or lying down.

Active Meditation

An active meditation is generally rather self-generated and requires a bit more responsibility, which is the very reason why it usually is also more beneficial and effective.

There are many ways to meditate actively, including writing, active imagination, visualisation or mindful exercises like Qi Gong, Tai Chi or Yoga.

The benefits of meditation are manifold, sustainable and long-term. Whether you intent to release pain, improve your overall health, increase your energy, better manage emotions or generally balance them, boost your confidence, courage, memory or concentration skills or use meditation to attract success, manifest goals or the quality of your personal or professional relationships, there is always a meditation that supports your objective, no matter how ‘big or small’.

Meditation is an inexpensive, efficient and natural tool to relax and even heal

Wu Wei

When Chinese tradition mentions Wu Wei – the path to relaxation – they suggest the following approach:

• Do not try to relax, simply perform those techniques which lead to relaxation.
• Decide what your objective is. Select techniques of action that should achieve your objective, then forget the objective and focus on experiencing the techniques.
• Don’t worry about expectations or outcomes, have total awareness of what you are doing and feeling when you perform the techniques.
• During the doing, enjoy and be aware of doing only. Be there, experience the moment.
• Periodically seek feedback to assure you have selected the right techniques.

Meditation is one technique to reduce, cope with or eliminate stress and increase your enerCHI. There are more ideas in the categories Balance, Healing & Relaxation, Life Leadership or Reducing, managing and preventing Stress.