Day Eleven

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        “Plant the seed of your intention and water it! All day.”

 

Luckily we are all gardeners. We can grow anything we desire in ourselves and in our lives.This is a process which can be cultivated. First, you cultivate the soil of your belief in the process. Then you become a botanist experimenting with it. And soon you find the seeds that you plant begin to come to life above ground and in the manifestation of your life.

So, anything you wish to create, you can … while knowing that at some level you have no control over any of it! But what you can create and what you do have control over is growing the qualities you wish to embrace in yourself. If you need patience, grow it. If you need levity, plant the seed. Need to grow compassion? Get your shovel out and drop that seed in.

Of course, as a  good gardener, you must water the seed of your intention every day. Hourly, if need be!

Happy gardening. And don’t forget to wear your sunhat!

 

Day Ten

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     “Expand your appreciation of the moment by being in it. All day.”

 

Expand your appreciation of the moment by being in it.

How many ways are there to stay in present moment? Sometimes an additional trick or two can help … besides using the old standbys of breathing and centering!

One way is to absolutely notice when you are out of time.                                                 Not here. There. In the future. In the past. Worrying. Commiserating. Judging.               All of which are human moments and certainly, if you want to split hairs on this one, you can be in the present doing all those things. You can feel those feelings and thoughts and the discomfort they bring. Or you can use those moments for self inquiry or to consciously work through those emotions in yourself.

Usually these thought patterns are habitual and have negative impacts on us and take us right out of the moment. I mean, you are here, but not really.

Notice the negative thought and use that moment as a pivot point into right here right now. Then at least you can “appreciate” the moment, detach a bit and dig deep under the thought to see the real message behind it and understand the source of that thought. Again, a complex process, but fun stuff if you like playing in the cosmos of your mind.

So whatever the moment brings …

Expand your appreciation of the moment by being in it. All day.

Day Nine

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      “Comfort your body as you would comfort a child. All day.”

 

I love this one. Comfort your body as you would comfort a child. Just those words do the trick to teach us how to love ourselves. But rarely do we heed this call. When we are with our own children, we exude compassion and caring (most of the time)! This is the way we determine where they hurt and what they need.

And yet, when it is our own body, we make ourselves and our pain wrong … and we shut down our ability to listen to what our body is sharing with us through the pain. Our pain is the vehicle that carries the body’s message to us and lets us know where to send healing and relaxation messages. This may sound like a huge oversimplification for those of us in constant and enduring pain, but try it. It can work to reduce the intensity.

Gather up the love and healing on your inhale, then on the exhale, breathe that love and healing to where the body is in pain. Now do it again. If the pain is emotional, send the love to the heart (or the heart chakra) and feel the healing expand beyond the breadth of the physical body. This can help neutralize the emotional pain.

Do your breathwork until you feel better and overlay this healing throughout all that you do today. As always, put 100% faith in the process. You have nothing to lose by believing in it. Make up your own techniques, too. You know your body best.

Comfort your body as you would comfort a child. All day.

Day Eight

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                     “Nourish yourself consciously. All day.”

 

Nourishing self is an active skill! Nourishing yourself not just with food, but with love and grace and peace and calm. Or confidence or joy or strength or resolve. Whatever it is you wish to create in and for yourself, you can. This is your job! To nourish yourself. Did you forget?! Well then, when you are eating is a great time to remember!

When you are eating food and enjoying a meal, it is fun to be right here right now and really taste, smell and feel your food experience. You can breathe and slow down. You can chew (and chew) and enjoy every taste. And even breathe deeply. And use the experience as an opportunity to cultivate that awareness of the moment and your gratitude for the sustenance of your life and the food on your table.

Nourishing ourselves with food is the metaphor for the love we feed to ourselves.

Nourish yourself consciously. All day.

 

Day Seven

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              “Follow through with your commitments. All day.”

 
Aaaah… procrastination. The bane of some of our existences.
So. Some of us are intent on being busy, focused and in overdrive. And we never delay. However, others of us who do “delay” are oftentimes a bit more relaxed by nature.
The choice for me is stress vs. relaxation. There is no magic bullet other than to get it done, and I always do, but in my own way and time. Intuition plays a part here. Even tho I may feel I am delaying on a decision or a task, if I trust myself completely, then how can my timing be off?
This approach has worked for me, as I find that in retrospect, the task was completed in perfect timing. Is this proper thinking? I don’t know, but I notice that I am less stressed than most!
So I espouse what Day 7 says, i.e., just do it …but I also support the idea of embracing:
1. That I am a responsible person and I always get it done, and
2. That when I did get it done, looking back, it was in perfect timing and I could not have done it one minute sooner, and
3. Just knowing that, I stress less when I am faced with new deadlines and my procrastinating ways, because history has shown me that it has always worked out just fine!
So, relax with all of it, get off your own back ( and your butt while you’re at it) and …

Follow through with your commitments. All day.