Do you Over Think Everything?

Published 08/12/2015 by inspiringyourspirit

My Dear Friends,

I’m so, so sorry; but I have not been so well again these last few days as I experienced a couple more allergic reactions. However this time we had no idea as to why or what caused them! The good news is I’m feeling ok again now, and, I’m trying to get my mojo back, and get off my backside and write again 🙂

Overthinking…..I guess most of us are guilty of this from time to time and many of us are guilty of doing it all the time!..So that got me to even more thinking…. “Is overthinking a problem”?….Doesn’t it protect us from harm?……In my experience, all overthinking does for us is cause us more grief and suffering!

I know I have done my fair share of overthinking, especially in these past few weeks since my anaphylactic shock and death experience….and certainly each time I have had another allergic reaction since then; my mind goes into turmoil, thinking, wondering, overthinking…’Will I go into anaphylactic shock again, will my heart stop again, will I die again?’……’What’s causing all these allergic reactions, is it safe for me to go outside my home, will I eat something or drink something that will bring me another allergic reaction’!…and on, and on the vicious cycle goes, robbing me of my life, striking me down once again with more worry!

So what can we do to stop this or at least calm this overthinking down? Well, I meditate A LOT 🙂

I find meditation helps me calm my mind, it take me to places I can rest my mind, my body, and my soul, places that take me away from my daily life, from my work, from the worries of my illness, my allergies and my suffering, places that I have learned to love and to respect, they are mine, truly mine and I am safe there.

So, if you suffer from illness, anxiety, depression or loneliness, please try meditation, it may take you a few times to get the swing of things, but trust me, the wait is certainly worth it and the benefits far outweigh the pain of learning 🙂

If you have any questions on meditation, or just need a little support on how to start, please let me know and I’m happy to help 🙂

Namaste with Love

Always

Mark

What Thoughts Do You Keep In Your Mind?

Published 02/06/2015 by inspiringyourspirit

Your Mind it a powerful thing, it can control your life, your happiness and your future….

What Thoughts Do You Keep In Your Mind?

Your Mind is not a dustbin to keep anger, hatred and jealousy.

But it’s a Treasure box to keep love, happiness and sweet memories.

What does your mind contain?

Food for thought my friends, food for thought!

Namaste with Love

Always

Mark

10 Science Based Reasons to Start Meditating Today

Published 02/04/2015 by inspiringyourspirit

My Dear Friends,

I came across this wonderful infographic by Emma Seppala, PhD today and I thought it was well worth a post; especially as I have been contacted by various people recently asking me what is the benefit of meditating and besides all my normal answers like, peace of mind, quality time for yourself, lower stress levels, a rise in happiness, less anxiety, better sleep, better relationships etc; I felt Emma’s graphic helps a lot when you want to understand the benefits from a science base too.

I obviously cannot stress the importance of meditation enough and I thoroughly recommend meditation for everyone and starting at any age is ok 🙂

I do hope you find this post interesting and you start your meditation practice today 🙂

Namaste with Love

Always

Mark

Inner Peace…Achievable?

Published 20/03/2015 by inspiringyourspirit

Achieving ‘Inner Peace’…What!, with all I have going on in my life, what with work, the kids, extra hours trying to learn new things, taking the kids to gym, dance, swimming lessons, looking after the dog, cat and goldfish, ego talking constantly to me to do better, work faster, loose weight etc…Chance would be a fine thing!……Does this or some of it resonate with you?

Well, if it does; then you can achieve ‘Inner Peace’ but you have to make the effort to achieve it, it wont just happen overnight. You need to set yourself up to learn, you need to dedicate time each and every day to meditate, if only for a few minutes…’No excuses, don’t put it off until tomorrow, because as you well know, ‘Tomorrow, never comes‘!

When I first started meditation, i found it hard, i always felt as though I was doing something wrong, everyone i knew or met that meditated looked so calm, they all said how they could go into a deep, calm and reflective space where they connected with themselves, this may be in a garden, or by the ocean, on a mountain top, in a fantasy playground, floating on a cloud etc but for me all I could get was thoughts springing into my mind, thoughts about work, my vacation, children, what i needed to do later that day, i could hear the children, the phone, car horns blaring… but no inner peace. I could not feel the calmness that all my friends were experiencing…So I thought, ‘maybe there is something wrong with me’, or do they really experience that or are they just saying that to make me feel inadequate, perhaps they are also experiencing what I am but don’t really want to tell me! 🙂 Well, I stuck at it, at first for 5 minutes a day, then i tried 5 minutes twice per day, then after a few days i realised i was becoming more calm so i extended to 10 minutes, then twice per day and on and on it went, now I can easily achieve 1 or more hours and these sessions flash by like they were only minutes, i go into a deep quiet place but I am always aware, i can hear all that is going on around me, i feel the touch of the dogs wagging tail, the sounds are still there but now i can control them, i label my thoughts as ‘Thoughts’ and sounds as ‘sounds’ and i welcome connections from my heart, my soul and anyone else that wants to connect with me….I have over time started to achieve inner peace, it is a place of joy, of smiles, of reflection, a place where i can connect to my self, where i can spend quality time with myself, where i can feel my body, be aware of my health and all that ails me and concentrate for once on ‘Me’

Meditation is available to everyone, young or old, rich or poor and it costs you nothing, only time….and in my humble opinion…’Time well spent’ 🙂

Have a wonderful weekend my friends

Namaste with Love

Always

Mark

Transforming Anger into Loving Kindness

Published 18/03/2015 by inspiringyourspirit

My Dear Friends,

Do you have trouble with anger, or does your mind raise levels of hatred towards others? If so, then this short video from Mingyur Rinpoche may be useful for you and help you become aware of your anger, hatred and turn them into feelings of compassion and loving kindness.

Namaste with Love

Always

Mark

Energy, Darkness and Light, Positive and Negative

Published 17/03/2015 by inspiringyourspirit

A dear Chinese friend of mine asked me to explain ‘Energy’ to another Chinese friend last night…..’Wow’ ! I thought, how do I explain that one’ in one easy sentence 😦

I was slightly lucky because just at that moment these two lovely Chinese ladies were being harassed a little by a foreigner who was a little drunk, very loud, argumentative, highly non-empathetic and downright arrogant…I therefore had the perfect way to explain ‘Energy’ to this young lady who is going through some severe relationship problems at the moment. She had come out for the evening to meet with her friend in order to gain some help and hopefully some advice regarding her problems. I was just a bystander being asked to help, so here is what I said to this young lady…

‘Energy’, is something that some of us can feel but others cannot! You called your friend and asked her to meet you this evening in order for her to listen to your relationship troubles and hopefully help you with her advice, you called her because you trust her, she is quietly spoken, friendly and she listens to you, she will not judge you and she will hold your hand and be there for you, her ‘Energy’ is calm and you feel comfortable sharing these intimate problems with her, right? She nodded and said yes, I feel she can really help me :)…

I then turned to this foreigner and said to her, he is the opposite of your friend, you turn your back to him, your shoulders are rounded away from him, your head is down and you try to be as far away from him as possible, he is loud, he is aggressive, he is pushy towards you, he invades your personal space and only thinks of himself, you feel insecure and threatened by him, right? She nodded and said yes!…

His energy is bad, it is dark, it is forceful and he wants to control you, can you see the difference?…She immediately nodded her head and said yes with a smile, I said this is ‘Energy’… 🙂 and the difference between positive (happy) and negative (dark, threatening)

From that moment on, she opened up to her friend and to me and we were able to connect to her problems, the arrogant guy got the message and left us alone and at the end of the evening she went home feeling happier and carried with her a little love and positive energy from us both 🙂

Remember my friends, ‘the darkness cannot prevail if you turn on the light’ 🙂

Namaste my friends

With Love

Always

Mark

Time To let Go, Start Living Your Life and Be Free

Published 16/03/2015 by inspiringyourspirit

I have read and also written many posts regarding ‘Letting Go’, letting go of the past, breaking free from the chains that bind you down and hold you back from enjoying your life and reaching your full potential. These chains, shackles from the past can be of different sorts, they can be relationships, family, work based, life experiences, traumatic events, abuse etc but in the end they are all the same in their effect on your life. Never a day goes by without your mind relating to these past events or experiences, or thinking about ways in which you can change the past, re-connect with the person who grieves you, wishing they would be loving towards you, these experiences conjure up many awful thoughts and bad memories in your mind, they take over your life and effect everything you try to do. For the majority of us we push on with our lives and hope we will feel better, we try to mend the past through the things we try to do in the ‘now’ and also plan things for the future that we hope will take away the pain and make amends for these past experiences which have had so much of a negative effect on our life.

I too have had my own fair share of burdens in this life time, and I’m sure many others in previous lives too, I try to think positively most of the time (highlight on ‘most’ 🙂 ) but those nagging memories just come back time and time again, they continue to bring our morale down and control our lives in the ‘Now’….

So,…’Now’ is the time to take a real stance, it’s time to let go once and for all, to break the chains that shackle us down, that tie our wings to our bodies and restrict our flight.

We need to smile at the experience, the memory, at a picture of the person or re-connect to the past event and say goodbye, to wish them well and give thanks for the good things we now have in our lives, for all the love we have ‘right now’ and for all the love that is waiting for us on the other side of this experience, we need to break free from these chains, spread our wings and ‘FLY’ move on to pastures green, to a new life of positive possibilities, to live our lives as they should be lived without the burden and weight of these past events…’Now’ is where we should and need to be, always ‘Now’

If you are struggling with the past and need any help breaking free of these chains that hold you back, please reach out and I will be there for you, my sword at the ready breaking those chains that tie your wings my friends…

Namaste with Love

Always

Mark

I Have Nothing to Write About Today…So Here’s My Post Anyway!

Published 14/03/2015 by inspiringyourspirit

Well, the weekend is here again and I’m a little stuck for words, my mind is blank and I’m having difficulty thinking of ideas for inspirational posts! I guess it’s the old ‘writers block’, maybe my meditations are taking me to the point of total relaxation where absolutely nothing seems to pass through my mind…. or, maybe I just don’t have anything much to say!

This feeling of empty-ness worries me, I feel I owe you a post and when I cannot think of a subject to write about I do start to worry and I become a little anxious!…will I loose followers?, what will my friends think when I don’t post for a day?… and the anxiety becomes even worse if I don’t post for more than one day…

But then I relax and let my fingers do the walking, I introduced them to the keyboard and like magic they began to type, nothing in this post so far anyway has come from my mind, my fingers have just flowed around the keyboard doing a magical dance on the keys and this is what you’re reading right now…I have no idea of the theme, I have no idea what the title of this post will be and where the post will end up…I guess its just a few rambling words to you all, my blogging friends, friends from all around the world, friends of different races, religions, gender and age..but friends you are and I would miss not having you all in my life, you give me strength, you give me pleasure and sometimes I get to feel a sense of happiness when I hear that I have managed to help one of you get through a difficult time in your life.

For me blogging is not about finding followers, it’s not really about spirituality (although spirituality and my spiritual journey are very important to me), faith or religion…In my case its just the words and feelings from me, nothing special, just my thoughts on any given day, on any subject that I feel will bring you some joy, a post that may help you overcome a fear, guide you to a solution to a problem or maybe a video or music post that will bring a smile to your face.

Now, while I’m writing this post I too feel a sense of joy, because the words flowing from my finger tips are saying what is inside my heart, no thought has gone into these words and no pattern has been put together of the structure or the outcome, but the words are as I said from my heart, and to me that’s a great thing because I honestly believe that if we; as humans used our hearts to their full capacity of loving kindness each and every day, we would live in a world filled with love and peace…I know I cannot bring about world peace on my own through this humble blog but I do know that I can bring about change, I can make you smile, I can bring joy and a little happiness to your life even if only for the briefest moment in time, but time is the essence, time has no meaning so that smile that you have on your face right now is a blessing from God and hopefully brought to you from the words or pictures that I send you 🙂

So in essence I guess this post is about happiness, it is about loving kindness, it is about bringing about change in our lives, it is about helping others, it is about my own spiritual journey, it is about living life in the now, it is about caring, it is about humanity, it is about giving…….

Some days I sit and cry a little, I care passionately about our world, I care passionately about humanity, I care passionately about the environment and I wonder what more I can do to help those in need! Those tears then lead to meditation when I connect to my heart and I realise I can do more, do something simple, bring a smile to someones face, give thanks for what I have in my life and I feel good again, this feeling then brings about action…actions can be simple, they can be small and they can cost you nothing… but these actions will and do make a difference to someone or something in our world…so when ever you feel down…just stop…meditate, connect with your heart, give thanks for your life and give thanks for all you have in your life…this will lead you to open your eyes with a fresh view which will bring about change and you will do good, you will help someone, you will share a smile..and on and on the circle of loving kindness will go…

from me to you,

from you to someone,

from them to someone else

and on and on the love gets shared:)

Blessings of Love, unconditional Love

Namaste with Love

Always

Mark

After my Free Hugs Post…Are you Smiling?

Published 12/03/2015 by inspiringyourspirit

Do you love to Laugh?

We come into this world, innocent, non defined, happy and open to all influences, good or bad…..Laughing generally gets knocked out of us during our childhood until we reach adulthood with a very serious demeanour and outlook on the rest of our life….But, if you are one of the lucky ones that continues to laugh, who carries a smile on your face then good luck to you and remember to share this happiness with others because smiling and laughter are infectious….

Spread the joy mu friends…Laugh out loud and SMILE 🙂

Hugs For Free Today :)

Published 11/03/2015 by inspiringyourspirit

Go on, you know you want one…Reach out, close your eyes and feel the warmth of my hug, my arms around you, comforting you. It comes to you with my love and best wishes for a wonderful day filled with happiness, joy and peace wherever you are in this world 🙂

Namaste with Love

Always

Mark

Touching base with your Heart & Trusting your Intuition

Published 06/03/2015 by inspiringyourspirit

Touching base with your heart and your soul, easy?…… No!….Achievable?…Yes! 🙂

Our lives are so full of madness…time, the clock, rushing here, rushing there, eating while watching tv, reading the news, checking and responding to emails….working, parenting, relationships,’…their up’s and down’s…children and our fear for their future, challenges at work, career prospects, learning, financial difficulties….Is it all doom and gloom?….Only if you let it be!

I too have been a victim of all these things, my life has been filled with education, doing better, achieving more, working hard, working harder, working more hours, doing more of everything, wanting more of everything, buying for the sake of buying, mounting debt problems, children, the worries of being a parent, relationship challenges, divorce, grieving for the loss of loved ones, changing careers, re-educating myself, starting again, fighting to survive, living on the breadline, finding new love, emerging from the flames, being born again, awakening to the realities of life, becoming aware of what is important in life, caring from the heart, wanting to see change in our world, fighting for change, being frustrated that I cannot do enough, or make change happen overnight…an on; and on the cycle goes….So now what?…Where am I and what does the future hold?

Should I give up, should I buckle down and follow the pack, work every hour god sends, chase the dreams of others, or follow my heart, live in the ‘now’, do as ‘I’; my soul, my higher self wants?….

A dilemma felt by many….., choices…which way to go?…

The choice is yours, either be controlled or be in control….

I choose life, I choose to live in the now, to work in ‘Mindfulness’ of the other sometimes more important things in my life, for my family, for our future, for humanity, for our environment, for Mother Earth, for others less fortunate than I, I choose to serve for the betterment of my self, for my soul. My heart is now free, free to choose which way to go, I listen to my heart, I trust my intuition, I listen with Empathy to others with the intent to understand, and I place my feet firmly down on my own spiritual pathway, the journey which leads me through life with a smile; not a burden of weight placed upon my shoulders by others who want to control my destiny.

Be ‘Mindful’ my dear friends, live your life according to your own destiny, allow yourself the ~~luxury~~ right to enjoy your life to the full, take time out for yourself, connect with your heart and soul through meditation, free your mind from the distractions of modern life, see life as it really is and start enjoying each and every day to the full, see the blueness of the sky or if your sky is grey; see the blueness of the sky up above the clouds, watch the sun rise and set, see the smiles of the children around you , reconnect with your inner child, smile, always smile and breathe….just breathe 🙂

Namaste with Love

Always

Mark

Connecting With and Understanding Yourself…. Enjoying Your Life To The Full

Published 26/02/2015 by inspiringyourspirit

Understanding Self:

Getting to understand yourself, is an art form that many never achieve in their lifetime, many people believe they know who they are but actually they don’t have the slightest clue!

How often do you shut your self away from the world, and by shutting away I don’t mean going to the top of the Himalaya’s and sitting in a cave by yourself for ten years 🙂 What i mean is; do you switch off from the world each day, do you set yourself time each day to have no interruptions, in a room with just you, no tv, no radio, no newspapers, books, magazines, no phone, no computer,no electronics, no people, no children, nothing to disturb your time with yourself?

It’s not easy at first, setting aside time in what you probably believe is already a fully scheduled day, getting up, shower, breakfast, dressing for school, work or getting yourself and or your children ready for your day, attending back to back meetings, dropping the kids to school, picking them up, taking them to after school activities, checking homework, making dinner, eating dinner, bathing and dressing the children, putting them to bed, watching tv, reading a book, getting yourself ready for bed…etc, etc, the list is endless, or so we all believe!

We just don’t have any time in our lives for ourself!

Wrong!

It’s your life, you can make choices re your life, you are the master of your schedule and you, only you can make the time! After all, it’s certainly in your own best interest to make time for yourself, your body needs this time, your mind needs this time and your heart certainly needs this time! So why is it we are so bad at setting time for ourselves?….Well, we feel guilty, that’s why! We feel that we are being self indulgent by setting ‘valuable’ time aside just for ourselves,…..Bullsh*t (sorry for the bad language my dear friends)……., take it from me…STOP IT, NOW!, Set up time each and every day to give yourself quality time on your own, start small, it can be 10 minutes per day at first, try this for a few days then increase your time slowly to 15, 20,30 minutes, or even better 45 minutes or an hour, but make sure you set your schedule, set your time, your phone whatever to remind you to go and enjoy time with yourself, don’t give up on yourself, keep the commitment to this time each and every day and I guarantee you will start to know yourself so much better than you do right now, you will have no external influences, just you, your time is your own for you, only you and your meditation, reflections on who you are, where your life is right now and where you want to be, this quality time will enhance your levels of understanding for others, you will be more empathetic towards yourself and to others, your life will benefit from the quality time you give yourself…TRUST ME… give it a try, if you need help, I’m here to help you, if you need help with meditations, just let me know and i will send you some to help you along the way, but please, please my friends…get in touch with yourself and start to enjoy the rest of this life 🙂

Namaste with Love

Always

Mark

The New ABC’s Attention, Balance, Compassion

Published 27/01/2015 by inspiringyourspirit

Mindfulness.

I’m a Mindfulness practitioner and teacher myself but although Mindfulness is a word commonly used and many people say they are Mindfulness practitioner’s, life coaches etc, may are not! Also, many people ask me what Mindfulness is and how it can be useful for them,their family, their children, their employees, their teams etc so I thought I would share this short TedX video by Susan Kaiser Greenland, her talk explains the simple meaning of Mindfulness into a new learning process “Teaching The New ABC’s, Attention, Balance and Compassion.

I do hope you like this short video and that it will bring you a greater understanding of how Mindfulness could fit into your life and the life of your family,friends and workplace.

If yo need any help, please let me know.

Namaste with Love
Always

Mark

Meditation, Gratitude, Giving Thanks and Joy

Published 12/01/2015 by inspiringyourspirit

“If we cannot be happy in spite of our difficulties, what good is our spiritual practice?”

~Maha Ghosananda

Buddhist monks begin each day with a chant of gratitude for the blessings of their life. Native American elders begin each ceremony with grateful prayers to mother earth and father sky, to the four directions, to the animal, plant, and mineral brothers and sisters who share our earth and support our life. In Tibet, the monks and nuns even offer prayers of gratitude for the suffering they have been given: “Grant that I might have enough suffering to awaken in the deepest possible compassion and wisdom.”

The aim of spiritual life is to awaken a joyful freedom, a benevolent and compassionate heart in spite of everything.

Gratitude is a gracious acknowledgment of all that sustains us, a bow to our blessings, great and small, an appreciation of the moments of good fortune that sustain our life every day. We have so much to be grateful for.

Gratitude is confidence in life itself. It is not sentimental, not jealous, nor judgmental. Gratitude does not envy or compare. Gratitude receives in wonder the myriad offerings of the rain and the earth, the care that supports every single life.

As gratitude grows it gives rise to joy. We experience the courage to rejoice in our own good fortune and in the good fortune of others.

Joy is natural to an open heart. In it, we are not afraid of pleasure. We do not mistakenly believe it is disloyal to the suffering of the world to honor the happiness we have been given.

Like gratitude, joy gladdens the heart. We can be joyful for people we love, for moments of goodness, for sunlight and trees, and for the breath within our breast. And as our joy grows we finally discover a happiness without cause. Like an innocent child who does not have to do anything to be happy, we can rejoice in life itself, in being alive.

Let yourself sit quietly and at ease. Allow your body to be relaxed and open, your breath natural, your heart easy. Begin the practice of gratitude by feeling how year after year you have cared for your own life. Now let yourself begin to acknowledge all that has supported you in this care:

With gratitude I remember the people, animals, plants, insects, creatures of the sky and sea, air and water, fire and earth, all whose joyful exertion blesses my life every day.

With gratitude I remember the care and labor of a thousand generations of elders and ancestors who came before me.

I offer my gratitude for the safety and well-being I have been given.

I offer my gratitude for the blessing of this earth I have been given.

I offer my gratitude for the measure of health I have been given.

I offer my gratitude for the family and friends I have been given.

I offer my gratitude for the community I have been given.

I offer my gratitude for the teachings and lessons I have been given.

I offer my gratitude for the life I have been given.

Just as we are grateful for our blessings, so we can be grateful for the blessings of others.

Continue to breathe gently. Bring to mind someone you care about, someone it is easy to rejoice for. Picture them and feel the natural joy you have for their well-being, for their happiness and success. With each breath, offer them your grateful, heartfelt wishes:

May you be joyful.

May your happiness increase.

May you not be separated from great happiness.

May your good fortune and the causes for your joy and happiness increase.

Sense the sympathetic joy and caring in each phrase. When you feel some degree of natural gratitude for the happiness of this loved one, extend this practice to another person you care about. Recite the same simple phrases that express your heart’s intention.

Then gradually open the meditation to include neutral people, difficult people, and even enemies- until you extend sympathetic joy to all beings everywhere, young and old, near and far.

This excerpt is taken from the book, “The Art of Forgiveness, Lovingkindness, and Peace“ by Jack Kornfield

My Dear friends, we certainly have so much to be thankful for, need I mention even a few? However, we do forget to give thanks and speak out our gratitude on a daily basis. It has been shown that being grateful raises our levels of happiness and joy and these raised levels of happiness attract others that are also happy; thus enabling our lives to be filled with more joy each and every day. So today, ‘Go on, give it a go’, meditate, bring people and things into your minds eye and into your heart, give thanks for everything in your life, good and bad and feel the peace and the love that this meditation brings to your heart and soul.

I did this; this morning….’A big smile on my face right now’ when I think of this process of gratitude 🙂 A simple meditation and mindful eating of my toast and honey. I gave thanks for the honey, the sweetness on my tongue, gave thanks to the Bee for collecting the honey, to the flower that attracted the bee, for the sun the rain and the soil that raised the flower in order to attract the bee, for the seedling that brought life to the flower, for the person or animal that brought that seed to that piece of soil, for the soil that gave its nutrients to the seed, for the sun that shone its warmth and helped the seeding grow, for the rain that gave the flower life, for the cloud that made the rain, for the rivers and oceans that brought about the cloud, for God for his creation of the earth and then I came on to the toast and the butter on my toast, and my mouth, my tongue for experiencing the sweet sensation of the honey, for the goodness and nutrition the honey, the toast and the butter were giving to my body, and this process of thankfulness went on, and on…Interestingly, this process of giving thanks brought about a real enlightenment to me, honestly I have never experienced mindful eating so much as I did this morning, I have experienced it many, many times before but this morning it was different, set at a really different level, I awakened to something very new, something great, something that brought peace to my heart and my soul, a total experience of joy…

Toast and Honey will never be the same again 🙂

Namaste with Love my dear friends
Always
Mark

Endless Light and Love

My Spiritual Journey

MBSR

All posts in the MBSR category

Do you Over Think Everything?

What Thoughts Do You Keep In Your Mind?

10 Science Based Reasons to Start Meditating Today

Inner Peace…Achievable?

Transforming Anger into Loving Kindness

Connecting With and Understanding Yourself…. Enjoying Your Life To The Full

The New ABC’s Attention, Balance, Compassion

Meditation, Gratitude, Giving Thanks and Joy

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