Tag Archives | Spiritual Development

WHAT IS WELL-BEING?

By on February 12, 2004 in health+well being, Living fully, Meta Org Blog, Resourcing yourself

I have read many books on improving your life. They range from the ‘quick-fix’ Western-style self-help books to the great philosophical and spiritual masters, and there is no doubt that I have learnt from their words of wisdom, and been reminded again and again of techniques and mind-sets that help us to find well-being.

Yet examples of people living in their well-being seem few and far between in our culture. And then I spend ten days in India, and I experience hundreds of examples: the ‘room-boy’ at our hotel, the shop-keeper selling sacks, the priest in the temple, the woman sitting at her stall of fruit, the man who made the naan bread in the street restaurant – everywhere I looked, I could see people with a ready smile, a sense of purpose, and an ability to appreciate the small daily pleasures of being alive.

What have we lost? And how can we regain it? It is clearly not linked to wealth or status, but to a mindset that filters for the reasons to celebrate being alive.

It seems to me that we have learnt too well how to forget what really matters in life. As human beings, we need to feed our bodies, our minds and our spirits on a daily basis, in order to feel whole, and have a sense of well-being. Yet often we are too busy to do this.

We may stuff our bodies with food, but do we eat well, do we care for our bodies? We may stuff our minds with thoughts, but do they nurture and expand our minds, or just cause them to contract with fears and anxieties? And how often do we even consider feeding our spirit?

This weekend you could take the opportunity to stop and consider how you can enhance your well-being.

  1. 1.  Feeding our bodies

We have become used to eating too much. How about having one day where you only eat fresh food, freshly prepared, that you really fancy. And on that day, treat your body well – a massage, a gentle walk, a long bath – something to care for your body.

  1. 2.  Feeding the mind

Most of us have a good book that we haven’t got round to reading. It may be an inspirational one, or just a really good story – and if you don’t have any, look at some of our reviews for ideas! Give yourself a couple of afternoons to sit cosy and warm, with a good book – or if you aren’t a reader, choose a ‘feel-good’ movie instead!

  1. 3.  Feeding the spirit

Our world is full of simple ways of feeding our spirits. We know our spirit is being fed when we can’t help but smile, when we feel that warm glow of pleasure. Nature is a rich source of spirit food: the delight of a crisp winter’s day, the sound of a river or stream. Or really take the time to watch your children’s excitement at something new, or just smile at strangers in the street, and see how many smile back!

We may all lead busy lives, but we need to remember to live each day, not just get through it. There is always time to give a little food to our bodies, our minds and our spirits.

Maybe then we will be closer to well-being.

 

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A Gentle Spring Clean

By on September 4, 2002 in Change, Meta Org Blog, Self awareness, Ways of thinking

The clocks have just gone forward and it is officially British Summer Time – I know it doesn’t feel like it yet!

But it is a good prompt to do some metaphorical spring cleaning – always more fun than the real thing! How do you do this?

Think of some recurring thought you have which makes you feel bad. For example you may think you are not good enough at something, or that someone else has a ‘down’ on you… your brain will already have suggested something to you.

Now take that thought and write it down or make a pictorial representation of it on a piece of paper. And take the paper, destroy it and bin it!!

Once we have literally got rid of the thought, we need to replace it with something more useful to us, something that helps to build our good mood. So find something equivalent, such as: ‘I am good at ….’ Or ‘X really likes me’. Now write that different thought down in bright colours, or again, make a picture to represent it. Stick it to your computer or your desk for a couple of days, and let it soak into your unconscious – and smile whenever you look at it.

You can repeat the process as often as you like – have a good clear-out and start the spring with a joyful heart!

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GIVE YOUR SPIRIT A LIFT

By on March 10, 2002 in emotional intelligence, Meta Org Blog, Resourcing yourself, Ways of thinking

Inspired by my own flagging spirit, this month’s workshop is a good dose of the nice medicine – for me too!

It’s all too easy to get caught up in the drama of life. After all, we did come here to forget what wondrous beings we truly are..but every now and again it’s good to catch ourselves out and let go of our ‘human frailties’ and remind ourselves of just how special we are. All it is, is that we have started to ‘believe the hype’ that we are just humans and forgotten our true nature. We have managed to forget where we put our angel wings and well and truly hidden away our inner self behind one, two or three big solid looking, locked doors. No wonder we start to feel that the world is conspiring against us…we’re conspiring against ourselves!!

So give yourself a break, and give your spirit a lift!

When you find yourself in the office or at home, and nothing seems to be going quite right – nothing major, just niggling little things. – what you need is a Spirit lift. This workshop is for you. Little things you can easily do, to give your spirit a lift and lighten your day. Renew your friendship with your-self and get back in touch with your spirit.

How we feel is reflected in what it is we create for ourselves in our lives. When we feel good, things generally go well and we attract good things into our lives. But when things falter, we tend to spiral very quickly into a negative mind-set and hey presto! We only seem to attract the not so good stuff.. If only we could catch ourselves before we slip too far…

Well here it is, the Meta-Spirit team’s: ‘recommended tasks for flagging spirits ‘ Go on give them a try! And please do send in any further suggestions to add to our list, because this list is by no means exhaustive.

RECOMMENDED TASKS FOR FLAGGING SPIRITS:

  • Buy yourself some sweets/chocolate (I bought ¾ lb of sweets today…my bad day, just got better!)
  • Phone a friend, or visit them – true friends have the magic ability to help you forget all your troubles, they help you remember how special you really are.
  • Treat yourself to a take-away on the way home – mmm..curry!
  • Cat/Dog Therapy – Here in the office we have ‘cat breaks’. Basically Angel and Funky come up and will literally stop you from working by walking all over the computer until you’ve had your 5 minute break! (as I write this, Funky is curled up in front of the computer keyboard, having given my spirit a lift)
  • Read something inspirational – I like to surround myself with books by inspirational people. Books to pick up and help you remember.
  • Music – I love music, and music can beat the blues any day and I recommend a good dose of Mozart to revive flagging spirits.
  • Walks – simple but effective – nature will always bring you back to the wonder of it all, and these crisp, sunny, autumnal mornings were created for us to share in.
  • Ice cream – brings back memories of my childhood, walks in the park and a 20p ‘99’ ice cream with raspberry sauce…what will it spark off in you?
  • Cookies – There’s a cookie monster in us all – go on let the monster loose!
  • Listening to something inspirational – Words of wisdom from your favourite spiritual teacher, never fails to reinvigorate a flagging soul.
  • Videos – curl up in front of the telly with your loved one, (cats make an excellent substitute if loved one not available), ice cream/sweets /cookies/popcorn/all of the above and watch your favourite video.

 

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