Kategoriarkiv: #English

A speedy way to peace on earth

Publicerad den av
5

My Supercoach Academy-colleague, the wonderful Susan Parisi, wrote this on Facebook:

eyegazingNow, if you’re anything like me, this makes you very intrigued, because that’s what happened to me. So I clicked on the link that Susan shared, and got this:

Watched.

The love, the wonder, the curiosity, the intimacy and connection between these couples comes through the screen and hits me hard. Amazing. Powerful.

Finished watching. And realized: Susan is right. This should really be a prerequisite before attempting to solve any disagreement of any sort. You think I’ll remember this when next I end up in a disagreement?

And you know what more? I have an urge to sit my husband down for four minutes of eye gazing. Who do you want to invite for some eye gazing?

 

Everchanging.

Publicerad den av
1

everchangingWe are made to love, to live, to create, to laugh, to cry, to eat, to sleep, to connect, to caress, to be and to do. Journal

In a wonderful mix. Ever-changing.

The Headspace meditation series on CHANGE has really helped me become even more aware of the ever-changing state of mind and body. I often meditate lying down (Heresy!, I hear you say… but hey, whatever works right?). And then I observe that my neck is tense. So I relax, letting my head sink down into the pillow. Continue with the meditation. And all of a sudden my neck is tense again. So I relax. Again. And so it continues.

So far I’ve never been able to spot the moment when I begin to tense up in my neck. It’s just suddenly tense. Even though I know that it’s not like that. There is a beginning to that sensation, and perhaps, with raised awareness I will be able to spot it. One day. Some day. Perhaps. Or perhaps not.

Everchanging. Isn’t that fascinating?

PS – I have three months of free access to Headspace to gift someone. I was thinking I’d give it away to one of my blog readers. Interested? I really want it to come to good use, and Headspace has a ten day free trial, so please download the app and try it out. If, after your trial, you are committed to using it for another three months, give me a holler. Ok?

Kids for cash

Publicerad den av
Svara

We’ve got to see this documentary, my husband told me. So we did. Last night. It’s called Kids for cash, and it’s well worth a watch. But if you’re anything like me, you will be horrified at what you will witness.

If you’re in Sweden, the documentary is available another month on SVT Play. Otherwise you can find out how to watch it here on the official website for Kids for cash.

I won’t tell you the details, because I’d rather you watch it yourself, but honestly, how in the world can anyone believe that what doesn’t work with adults will work with teenagers, whose brains aren’t even fully developed yet?

What I am talking about is deterrents. Hard punishments. Putting people behind bars, to scare other people not to head down that road. It doesn’t work. It never has worked, as far as I know, but it certainly doesn’t work now. And if it doesn’t work for adults, why on earth would it work for children?

Oh these poor children, and their families. What were they put through, and for what? For WHAT?

kids for cashAs the credits are rolling at the end of the movie, Creep playing in the background, I sing along to:

But I’m a creep
I’m a weirdo
What the hell am I doing here?
I don’t belong here
I don’t belong here

… with two cats in my lap, and I think:

What kind of a world are we creating? Surely this isn’t as good as it gets? Surely both you and me can do better than this, be better than this?

Humbled by the company I keep

Publicerad den av
1

I’ve just gotten off SKYPE where I’ve been in a 90 minute group conversation with three other people, skattered around the world, and I am humbled. Humbled by the company I get to keep, in various areas of my life.

There is so much human potential available within each and every one of us. Being in the company of people who are aware of this, and who are making the most of their own human potential – I lack words to describe the feeling I have from such experiences.

But if I try, humbled is one word that describes my feeling. Humbled, and with a great sense of hope! And humbled for me here is a positive feeling, getting to hang out with magnificent people, being a part of this group on equal footing with each and every one of the others. Receiving and sharing so much, being vulnerable and human.

Below is a quote by Marie Curie that speaks to the hope that I feel, because I am in the company of people who do just this. They are open to expanding as human beings, and at the same time, open to the expansion of humankind.

Marie Curie on better world

Do you ever feel humbled (see explanation above) by the company you keep?

Podcast 8/52 – Dinner with Einstein, Jung and Herbie Hancock?

Publicerad den av
2

Listened to this episode of Peak Prosperity the other day, and since then have listened to it another two or three times. It’s a conversation between Christ Martenson and Andrew ”Treebeard” Graves on becoming the change we wish to see, and exploring the development of inner resilience.

And they go deep into stuff that really resonates with me in many ways. Sometimes perhaps simplifying a bit much, but still, there’s a lot of what they speak about that I agree with.

So, since I’ve talked and written much the past quarter on listening for that which I don’t already know, I’m now challenging myself to write about what I heard that was new to me… hm, let’s see… *reading through the transcript of the podcast, trying to find something that sticks out as new to me*

First of all, listening to this conversation as such, on a podcast such as Peak Prosperity surprised me, but also made me quite happy, because I’m hoping it will resonate with the Peak Prosperity community, and will lead to even more people actually starting to look within.

And also, I’d like to join in on that dinner conversation with Einstein, Jung, Herbie Hancock and Chris Martenson. I sort of knew Albert Einstein have said something like this: “People think I had these great ideas, but it was not me. I just opened myself up and creativity flowed through me. I was a vessel.” but I had no idea Carl Jung and Herbie Hancock felt the same. I actually had to google Herbie Hancock, because I’ve never really listened to him. Found a great tune quite fitting to the theme of the podcast itself actually:

Imagine all the people living for today.
Imagine all the people living life in peace.
Imagine all the people sharing all the world.

Now there’s a vision to dream of.
I do. I dream of that, and I try to act it too. I see the potential for it, the possibility that exist in every moment. A world where we live as one. And becoming the change we wish to see in the world is the only way to get there, I believe. Do you?

Daily habits

Publicerad den av
3

Continuing on yesterday’s topic of doing average stuff, but consistently, having it add up to something spectacular, I give you some wisdom from Seth Godin, from a blog post he published in December 2014 (published here):

BoldomaticPost_There-s-a-fundamental-differen

In the past six months, since August 18th 2014, I’ve discovered I’m quite good at this, building daily habits, and just doing it. Because once I committed myself to it (and also voiced it publicly, something that helps me feel accountable!), I have been doing my daily Seven minutes of morning exercise and a Headspace-meditation as well as my daily dose of German in DuoLingo. In September sometime I started doing another daily meditation as well. Also, for the past 39 days I’ve done my minimum of 15 minute #cleanse4expansion, without exception. Just doing it.

Oh, and I have an even longer track record, as it’s just over two years ago that I started to blog daily. There have been a few exceptions there, and I’m cool with that. But I don’t make a habit of exceptions, because then my daily habit is no longer what Seth so wisely points to: something I just do, without having to decide on a daily basis to do them. Rather I can just play around with how to do it, on each given day.

And you know what? I don’t find this taxing. It’s not stressful. And it’s not even something I feel I HAVE to do. I just do them. It’s like brushing my teeth. I don’t fight myself on a daily basis trying to convincing myself to brush my teeth, morning and evening. I just do it. Because I’ve learnt that habit, and I find that it serves me.

The same is true with blogging, Seven and the meditations. In the beginning there was some effort to it. And sure enough, sometimes I’d rather not. But…. it’s like brushing my teeth, I just do it, regardless if I really want to or not. Because I find that it serves me.

The moment it stops serving me (it being any daily habit of mine) – there’s no reason for me to continue. So the trick, for me, is to revisit my Why’s once in a while. I’ll give it a go right now:

Why do I blog daily?
Because it’s self coaching for me, and a great way to reflect. And sometimes it proves helpful to other people as well.

Why do I do a daily Seven minute of exercise?
Because I feel better, I get stronger, more fit, and my back (and the rest of my body) really benefits from the daily movements!

Why do I do two meditations daily?
Well, I started with Headspace because my brother got me into it. Not the reason I’m still doing it though! My reason why has evolved, and now centers around me really enjoying the quiet time with myself and mind, and also I find that it helps me be more centered during the non-meditating times of my day, which of course makes up most of my day. The second meditation is a practice that helps me connect on a daily basis to love and acceptance, and that is also something which greatly impacts my entire day.

What daily habits do you have, and what’s your reason for doing them??

It all adds up!

Publicerad den av
3

I spend part of my days doing small things, average stuff. But I do them, day after day, and there is an accumulative effect of these mundane activities, that generates results that I would not have accomplished without having done them. Of course.

And yeah – it really is of course there, but the thing is – even though I know this, how many years of my life have I lived without doing the small stuff, regardless of what I know or don’t know. (And I do know the effect it can amass over time, and have known for a long time.)

My Create the impossible-project is one of these, where I’ve set myself the target of minimum 15 minutes of cleansing a day, for 90 days, as well as blogging about it. And regardless if I meet the impossible project-goal or not, by the end of the 90 days I will have spent a number of hours simplifying my life, both in my physical home as well as my digital vistas, and that will surely have huge impact on my life, in many ways.

Seven day 184Another of these small and highly average things I’m doing nowadays is my Seven-habit, doing 7 minutes of workout a day, which is something I’ve now been doing for 184 days in a row. And yes. It adds upp. I feel better. My clothes fit me much better. I have gotten stronger. And I really enjoy doing these the exercises, working my body.

And all that from a measly seven minutes a day. I mean, seven minutes – that’s nothing! But having done it 184 days in a row, that’s just short of 22 hours of sit-up’s, push-up’s, jumping jacks, squats, crunches and what not’s. It accumulates.

For me, going to the gym for an hour a couple of days per week doesn’t suit me and my life, so guess what I did all those years before?

Yup. You’re right.

Nothing. Nada. Zip.

And now – I do seven minutes, every morning, come hell or high water.

What do you do every day, that in itself if highly average and mundane, but when you stack it all up, makes a huge impact?

 

 

Domino chain reaction

Publicerad den av
Svara

This clip show’s the power of chain reactions, and that something small can impact something larger in the most astonishing way.

The take-away-message for me, is not to knock things because they are small.

I am but a human being, what impact can I have, is a thought that I sometimes entertain. But really, watching this really hits home, that yes, one person can be like that mini-domino at the very beginning of this chain reaction. So when that thought comes knocking next time, I’ll gently show it the way to the door again, no need to entertain it anymore. At all.

What’s your take-away-message?

Podcast 7/52 – Releasing criticism

Publicerad den av
Svara

During the Christmas holidays I took long solitary walks along the beaches off the coast of Vejbystrand, where my mother lives. Beautiful landscape, highly varying weather, and great podcasts to keep me company, vejbystrandwhen I didn’t feel like walking in silence.

One of the podcasts I listened to was this one, the Good Life Project-interview with Tara Sophia Mohr, who said something to the likes of this:

Feedback tells me nothing of me, and everything about the person giving it. 

And I stopped in my stride. Went back on the podcast, and listened again, and yup, that’s what she said, Tara. That the feedback she get’s tells her everything about the feedback-giver, and nothing about herself.

Wow. I giggled a little to myself, and could imagine the amount of energy I’ve wasted on fully diving headlong into someone else criticism and feedback about me – taking it for truth. Scary almost, now that I think of it.

Now, she made it clear, that just because she doesn’t believe feedback tells her something about her, that she’s not interested in hearing it. On the contrary, she’s extremely interested in it – just because it tells her so much about those she’s interacting with.

Come to think of it, it’s been a while since I listened to this episode of Good Life Project, and I think I might take my own recommendation and re-listen to it the upcoming week.

What do you make of her statement? Agree? Disagree?

 

A leap of faith

Publicerad den av
1

I normally don’t blog more than once per day, but Christer Hellberg shared this TED Talk on Facebook, I watched it and I just have to share it with you. So give yourself 22 minutes and sit down and watch Ricardo Semler here:

Some priceless quotes from the talk include:

If you’re giving back, you took too much. 

Why do I want to be remembered at all?

The fact is, what we do with education is totally obsolete.

Ask three why’s in a row. Because the first why, you always have a good answer for. The second why, it starts getting difficult. By the third why, you don’t really know why you’re doing what you’re doing. If you do this, you might come to the question: What am I doing this for?

It takes a leap of faith about loosing control. And almost nobody who is in control is ready to take leaps of faith. 

Dad, why do we exist?

But those are just a few highlights. Listen and see what you hear.

Now, I’ve abandoned the notion of control a few years ago. I’m leaping. You?