Elizabeth's For the Love of Life Blog

Look to this day

I was joined on my Realisation Walk last night by my lovely friend and colleague Joanne Sumner. On our profound journey through the park we explored all manner of things including life, love, work, authenticity and personal power.

What we kept coming back to was how vital and powerful it is to be in the present and how essential it is to be grounded in our bodies and not let the clutter of mental baggage get in the way of us truly experiencing life.

The following is an Ancient Sankrit poem that Mike and I have on our bathroom mirror as a very simple reminder of the power of being present.

So in honour of Jo and all other powerful lights for change in this world here is the poem to ponder.

Look to this day
For it is life
The very life of life
In it's brief course lie all
The realities and truths of existence
The joy of growth
The splendour of action
The glory of power
For yesterday is but a memory
And tomorrow
Is only a vision
But today well lived
Makes every yesterday a memory of happiness
And every tomorrow a vision of hope
Look well, therefore, to this day!

Living and working Authentically

I was blessed to attend a coaching circle with one of my heros last night, Nick Williams author of "The work we were born to do". I learnt so much and was so inspired that I think i've got material for a years worth of blogs and newsletters!

One of the reasons I have so much respect for Nick is that he is so refreshingly honest. I aspire to have his level of authenticity in work and life. He has a gentle style and has a way of very powerfully moving people without too much song and dance, just speaking from the heart to the heart, in a way that really connects.

Real connection is something that is so vital to our life and work and a topic that fascinates me. How is it that we can really connect as people? The key for me, beautifully demonstrated by Nick, is to be wholly authentic.

For some, authenticity might mean let it all hang out, wear your heart on your sleeve, speak your truth. For me sometimes these things and a whole lot more besides – which no doubt I’ll write about again soon.

I’m curious to know what authenticity means to you and how you go about being authentic in the everyday. Do comment on this blog or email me and let me know.

Life out of control?

Simple steps to reclaim your life and take your power back
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Carpe Diem
You've probably noticed this morning that the sun isn't shining as gloriously as it was yesterday - well not in West London at least. Has that already affected your mood? Well it's not raining, so maybe not. But how often can early morning events shape our day?
Stop! Choose to live more consciously and choose your day upon waking. Decide the purpose or intent behind your day. Make a conscious choice to conduct yourself how you wish to be, and forgive yourself when you don't quite stick to it every minute. Making a conscious choice first thing can be hugely powerful. Here are some of my favourites:
Today I will be gratitude
Today I will be go with the flow
Today I will be purposeful and directed
Today I will chill out and hang out
Today I will let love make my decisions.

Zip up
This is one of the most effective techniques for protecting your physical and emotional energy that I've ever come across. I am so grateful to the lovely Donna Eden for showing me this along with her wonderful Energy Medicine.
If you feel like you're picking up other peoples negative thought or energy or feeling drained when spending time in certain environments, it could be that your central meridian needs some strengthening. If it's weak it can leave us feeling open and exposed to picking up unwanted baggage. This meridian runs up from your pubic bone to your bottom lip. Pulling your hands up along this line like a zipper acts to strengthen it. So when you feel the need for protection perhaps your heading for the tube, the shopping centre, a difficult meeting, whatever the challenge just Zip Up, with the intention of protecting yourself and tap into your inner strength and confidence.

Leverage the power of yellow
Yellow is the colour associated most with the Solar Plexus Chakra. The life lesson of this Chakra being self esteem and self confidence and it governs personal power and self will.
Wear yellow, eat yellow, carry yellow crystals if that appeals, (citrine is traditionally good for this Chakra).
How do you know if this Chakra need attention? If you are not in your power it is very easy to slip into the role of The Drudge who depends on everyone else for approval, and hands over the responsibility for their happiness by submissiveness or dependence. A drudge will see value in what they do, not who they are. You may also find at times you get very tired, have allergies, a poor digestion are overly agressive or sensitive.

It's important when taking your power back to recognise that you are as valuable today as the day when you were born. As a baby you didn't have to do anything to earn the right to a place in the world and the same is true today. The opposite archetype to The Drudge is the Spiritual Warrior, who knows their place in the world and considers themselves worthy of it. Recognise your right to be here and affirm that right by giving yourself permission to be who you are.

Take steps to choose your future
If you feel you've been floating along for too long, make a purposeful step towards creating your new future. Take 1/2 hour out to possibility brainstorm all the things that you might like your future to hold - you could even do this with the family and create a shared vision. You might like to capture it on a vision board. If you really want to make powerful change engage a coach or mentor, someone who is living the kind of life you'd like to lead or has qualities that you'd like to integrate.

5 Minutes Meditation
Gandhi is noted to have said "I have twice as much to do today, I must meditate twice as long". He appreciated the power of mediation for centering, grounding and connecting before throwing himself into the work of the day. Sitting for hours in lotus might not be achievable for many of us, but just 5 minutes good meditation with quality breathing is all you need to quiet the mind and centre the body starting your day as you mean to go on.

If you struggle with the concept of "traditional" mediation there are so many more options these days, try a walking meditation where you focus intently on the movement of your body, your breathing and your footsteps as you enjoy a walk in nature. You might try contemplation, pick up a random book, flip to a page and read a sentence or paragraph and sit and reflect on it for a few minutes. A book I love to do this with is "A guide for the advanced soul - A book of insight" by Susan Hayward. ISBN-9590439-3-4

Watch your words
Your words create your experience, notice the phrases you repeatedly use. Are you always tired, are you always busy/broke/drowning in paperwork/never enough time/feeling overwhelmed/can't. Recognise now that although initially that may be an accurate statement of how you feel, by stating it, you are simply creating more of it in your future. Listen literally to what you say. When you slip up by making a statement about your existence that you don't want to continue into the future with the next breath correct it. Pretty soon you'll be expressing and living a new reality.

If more energy and vitality is what you'd like in your future then I still have places on the next Vitality workshop on 31st May, visit my website for more details. If you would like more support on embracing your power and purpose and living the life you choose then you are welcome to join me on my next Inspired to action workshop on 28th May, visit my website for more details

Enemies of the state part 1

5 things that most of us do that sap our vitality and take us out of our flow.

Enemy number 1  - Dehydration
I know I keep going on about this but it really is the simplest most effective way to drain your body of vitality, drain your brain of it's capacity to function at high speed and leave your skin, and eyes looking dull and lifeless. Not drinking! Water that is. No good drinking all your water in one go either, it overloads the organs, sip little and often - especially in this weather!

Enemy number 2 - Poor diet
Want to feel lethargic and low energy in no time? Eat plenty of red meat, heavy, fatty and rich food, avoid all things fresh and colourful. Overcook your food, burn it if you can to really increase the number of free radicals. Avoid using herbs and spices particularly anything contained in Thai food. Then eat it really fast, preferably on the go with great glugs of alcohol. Keep eating past the point you are full and choose your food based on convenience rather than colour, texture taste and smell. Then finish your meal with a big cup of caffeine laden coffee. Do this every day, rather than just for the occasional "treat", with little exercise, and you'll be delighted with the sluggish results.

Enemy number 3 -Adopt the mindset that playtime is just for the kids
If you really want to sap your creativity, take yourself out of the flow then grow up!  Always do those things that adults do, consume yourself with thoughts of paying the bills, doing the housework, performing your daily "duties".

When faced with a problem deal with it rationally, sensibly involving no fun, humour or play. Whatever you do don't get out the big sheets of paper, crayons, play dough, don't make models, don't draw pictures, don't ask yourself how would a young person approach this, and under no circumstances engage a young person or ask the children for their opinion.
When you get stressed or worked up don't go and play in the park, sit on the swings or go exploring. Sit at home, preferably indoors talking sensibly or better still watching TV for distraction and keeping your feelings bottled up.
Avoid anything that reminds you of your youth, turn the volume down on the stereo, don't listen to rock music! Don't dance like no-one is watching. Don't, whatever you do, waste any time enjoying yourself when other more important things need to be done.

Enemy number 4 - Not saying no
This is a biggy, lets face it we all like to help and support those we care for, sometimes this can go too far. An inability to say no often leads to taking on too much always running around doing everything for everyone else without topping up ourselves eventually leaves us tired and worst of all resentful.
Resentment is like a seeping sickness, it poisons relationships, makes us bitter, takes the joy out of previously joyful things. You cannot serve the ones you love by resenting them. So do them and yourself a favour, say no to to those things you know you will end up resenting.
If you've taken on too much, but don't yet feel like you can say no then say yes if you have to, then delegate.

Enemy number 5 - Not saying yes
Being vital and in flow is a great deal about creating serendipity, that is creating luck out of chance occurrences. Quite often to create luck and opportunity we need to notice the synchronicity already occurring in our lives. Allow yourself to be moved by coincidence, notice random connections, pay attention to them. When an opportunity that has "spooky" significance presents itself, due to the fact that you've said no to the other less important stuff, you're in a position to say yes! Roger Hamilton calls these opportunities critical moments. Saying yes at critical moments vastly increases our energy and the degree to which we are "plugged in" to the vital fabric of the Universe.


More enemies of the state in the future, I daren't keep you at the PC away from the sunshine for much longer. If you're up for a little more inspiration or want to comment then please do.

Are you making the most of it....

For once I am talking about the weather, yes sorry to be so British, but this is az very quick hint, just in case you hadn't noticed, that the weather is absolutely gorgeous!

So if you've been wondering when summer is going to hit so you can enjoy evenings in the park, barbeques, watching the sunset with a glass of wine, pottering in the garden until late, taking a late evening stroll or early morning jog, this is it, get out there and enjoy if you're not doing so already!

And for those who celebrate it, i'm a few days late with the blog but, Happy Beltane!

When will it be time...

Mike and I had a wonderful weekend, we went to visit some very good friends down in sunny Boscombe who we haven't seen for an age. It reminded me of our promise to ourselves to move out of the city at some point and one of our new years resolutions, to see more of our friends.

I'm sure you have found, as we have, that a lot of the time, "life" can take over and get in the way of our desires, however big or small. I'm writing this blog as a reminder.

You might like to ask yourself "what are some of life’s little (or big) pleasures that i've put aside." What are some of the things you've always wanted to do but haven't found the time?

When will it be time?! If your hearts call is unanswered for too long the potential result is frustration, heart ache, illness, resentment, worry, anger - these feelings of the modern age.

All you need do is take 5 minutes now to write down a short list of at least 5 things that you would like to do to make life more enjoyable and meaningful for you. Big or small it doesn't matter, I find it helps to have a mix and include some things that don't take much time.

For example:
learn to sing, take dancing lessons, take up pottery, learn to speak a foreign language, go travelling, get a really good hair cut/massage/therapy treatment, visit an old friend, go to the sea side, walk in nature, climb a mountain, start yoga, eat healthy, clutter clear, write a letter to Grandma, throw a party, have a barbeque, visit a spa, go sailing, swimming, hiking, biking, cooking, start a family, get married, get divorced, start a business, make something, invent something, change something.....

Then decide which one you'd like to start with and do it!

You have the opportunity this very moment, to start moving your life even more firmly in the direction of your dreams and hearts desire. Carpe diem!

If you're telling you're not selling

Yesterday I had the great pleasure of speaking to a group of business owners at the Grow your business exhibition in Guildford. Fiona Humberstone and her team at printing.com and their sponsors including Ecademy laid on a great event where local businesses could connect and peope could be inspired, and re-motivated with advice tools and connections.

My talk for those of you who didn't make it was on unleashing you inner sales person and today i'd like to give you a snippet as food for thought for today.

If your telling you're not selling is a simple reminder of the power of elicitation when networking or "pitching". You've probably heard it said before that we have one mouth and two ears and they should be used in that ratio, well when networking it's true.

If you think back to a time when you were truly listened to, when you had the genuine interest and attention of someone that cared what you thought, how does it feel?...I'd like to bet, pretty good.

There is no substitute for genuine interest and curiosity when engaging with someone else, remember it's all about them.

So what do you ask them I hear you cry? Whatever you would ask someone that you are really wanting to get to know! Find out what makes them tick, find out what makes their heart sing, find out what their pain is, what they enjoy, what they most value and how they like people to do business (and friendship) with them.

Any only when they ask about you do you tell them. It's permission based marketing if you like at a face to face level. Don't start flogging immediately on sitting down next to someone at a networking event, it's a real turn off.

To borrow one of Stephen R. Coveys Seven Habits - Seek first to understand.

Have a wonderful and curious day!