Empowering Life Skills Archives - Lightwords - Life Coaching, Healing, Wellness

12 Sep

Live With Equanimity

Choosing to live with equanimity—or even-mindedness—is a great step that improves our life experience.

By taking a calmer approach to life we feel better; we deal with situations more effectively and open ourselves up to higher guidance.

Here is a message from Spirit that talks about the power of equanimity in our lives.

Spirit’s Message

“Dearest ones, the toils of life are transitory experiences that move you forward along the path. And as you move, episodes both joyful and sorrowful occur.

All is best taken with equanimity. Remove yourself from judging situations as to whether you are pleased with them or not and take all life experiences with equanimity. In this way you open yourself up to receiving guidance from your Higher-self. Your ego has less power and less control over you when you do not judge.

Stay calm, stay poised. Move deeper into the loving relationship that you have with Divine Love. Open your mind to the possibility of solutions to your problems.

Stay even-tempered, lessen ego control and you will receive guidance intuitively that will help you through all of life experiences.

Equanimity brings strength, peace, direction and serenity.

Blessings and Love,

Spirit”

Equanimity: Connect to the peace within

Whilst, at times, it can be hard to stay even-minded—particularly during testing times—a helpful technique is to focus on the breath. The following exercise restores a sense of calmness to our being.

It goes like this:

Pause for a moment… then take a deep breath—preferably one from your belly—and then hold the breath for a second or two. Now slowly exhale, ensuring that the exhalation of your breath is calm and very, very slow. Sink into the feeling of peace that emerges from the slow exhalation of the breath.

Repeat the process 3 times.

Taking time to quieten the ego and to disengage from the emotional body is a helpful strategy towards establishing peace, balance and equanimity in our lives.

Three-step approach to living with more equanimity

Next time you are faced with an upsetting situation, immediately recall the word ‘equanimity’ to mind. This will remind you to deal with the situation with a more even-minded approach. Then, do the above breath exercise which will help to settle the mind and reduce agitated feelings.

Once you feel calmer, take a moment to go inwards and ask for guidance on how best to manage the situation at hand.

This three-step approach is a simple strategy that helps work our way towards living life with equanimity.

This Month’s Video

This 3 minute relaxation video will help reconnect you to the peace and calm of your deeper-self.

14 Jun

Time Is A Treasure

Time is a precious gift that is all too often taken for granted.

Last week I was given the sad news that a family friend passed away. Aged 54, his death was sudden and unexpected. A devoted family man, he gave his time freely to his wife, children, relatives, friends and those in need.

As I was reflecting on the beautiful qualities of our friend, The Universe directed me to an email that I’d received some months ago. It was entitled: The Last Wishes of Alexander the Great and I’d like to share it with you as it aptly reminds us of the purpose of time. It goes like this:

On his death bed, Alexander summoned his generals and told them his three ultimate wishes:

The best doctors should carry his coffin
The wealth he has accumulated (money, gold, precious stones) should be scattered along the procession to the cemetery and…
His hands should be let loose, hanging outside the coffin for all to see.

One of his generals who was surprised by these unusual requests, asked Alexander to explain.

Here is what Alexander the Great had to say:

I want the best doctors to carry my coffin to demonstrate that, in the face of death, even the best doctors in the world have no power to heal.
I want the road to be covered with my treasure so that everybody sees that material wealth acquired on earth, stays on earth.
I want my hands to swing in the wind, so that people understand that we come to this world empty handed and we leave this world empty handed after the most precious treasure of all is exhausted, and that is TIME.

Time is our most precious treasure because it is limited. We can produce more wealth, but we cannot produce more time. When we give someone our time, we actually give a portion of our life that we will never take back. Our time is our life.

The Gift of Time

The best present that any one of us can give to another is time. Time shared with another says many things but, ultimately, it speaks of love.

Call to Action

This month think about those in your life who are close at heart and make the time to assist them in some way. If you are not able to visit them you could Facetime, Skype or email; let them know that you care.

Also, make time for someone in need—perhaps a complete stranger. Share a moment that will leave them feeling uplifted by your presence.

A wise person uses the gift of time to touch hearts. May you have the wisdom to get the best out of life by giving your time to helping others. Assisting another is the ultimate act of love; it’s the purpose of time.

This month’s video is actually a commercial but it beautifully demonstrates the message of how to make the best use of our time and how to create happiness in life. Enjoy!

09 May

Good Food For A Healthy Mind!

Have you ever thought about the food that you feed your mind daily; food in the form of thoughts? Peaceful, happy and kind thoughts are excellent food sources for a healthy mind and research shows ingesting these thoughts daily has a positive effect on our health.

Unfortunately, many of our daily thoughts are unhealthy—with stress and worry forming the main source of our diet. Whilst it’s difficult to eradicate troublesome thoughts altogether, it is possible minimise them.

Here’s how: Firstly, consider that every thought you think feeds your mind—so, in order to feed it well, a balanced diet is needed.

Each day:

Increase positive expressions as you converse with people. For example, thank people more often for the help and the services they provide. Gratitude is a healthy food source.

Reduce the habit of complaining and blaming. Both are energy-depleting. Also, reduce negative influences that keep your thoughts focused on ‘life’s dramas’ – media news is an example. If your senses are constantly bombarded by negative information, it is more difficult to generate positive thoughts.

Introduce positive statements into your diet such as, “Today I will worry less.” “Today I enjoy being happy.” “I feel good about myself today.”

Add supplements such as joy and laughter to your day. These essential tonics generate happier thoughts.

Assess all of the kindhearted actions that you engaged in throughout the day. Recalling them to mind generates both good thoughts and feelings.

If you catch yourself in ‘worry mode’, here’s a little trick: Liken ‘stressful thoughts’ to ‘fat’ in a diet. As with too much fat, too many worries will clog your system and weigh you down!

To stay in great shape, pay attention to the food you feed both your body and mind. Ensure kind-hearted thoughts are part of your daily diet!

Here is a fun video clip that that provides positive food for the mind! Enjoy.

08 Mar

Self-Love Time!

I held a retreat last month and part of the focus was on love—including self-love. Self-love is an area with which most women struggle. We spend a lot of our time giving to our partners, children, family, friends and work colleagues but when it comes to giving to ourselves—being kind to ourselves—that is more difficult.

A way to develop self-love is to engage in self-care. Self-care is an act of self-love. When we self-care well we attend to the many responsibilities in our lives with more enthusiasm; we feel better emotionally—feeling less resentful, frustrated and angry when managing life’s demands.

Care about your whole self

Most of us do not engage in good self-care with respect to our body, emotions and our spirit; we may care for one area of our being and forget about the others. However, all aspects of our being need to be nourished with love in order to feel whole and complete.

Therefore, we need to take good care of our body, as our body is the vehicle that carries us through life. Looking after our emotional wellbeing is very important too, for our emotions play a big part in our enjoyment of life. And giving attention and love to our spirit is essential if we want to live a balanced life. Self-care strategies that feed our soul are the ultimate acts of self-love.

Here are some examples of self-care acts that will help you to be more kind and loving towards yourself.

Physical self-care

Joining an exercise or movement class to keep your body in good shape

Eating healthily

Regularly treating your body to a massage, a Reiki session—or whatever therapy you enjoy—that will help to maintain or improve the condition of your body

Emotional self-care

Being honest to yourself about your emotional wellbeing and undertaking strategies that help you to feel less anxious and frustrated—more peaceful and content

Setting boundaries, knowing when to say ‘no’ to things—instead of taking on more commitments

Seeking professional help when your emotions get the better of you

Spiritual self-care

Making time for yoga, meditation, prayer or contemplation—quiet time that brings feelings of peace and balance to your life

Subscribe to an online course or attend a spiritual group where you can learn and have the support of like-minded people

Feed your soul with words of wisdom from inspirational reading material

Self-love is our responsibility

We have a personal responsibility to take care of ourselves. If we don’t ensure that we are in a good place physically, emotionally and spiritually, it makes attending to life—to all of its demands and responsibilities—much more difficult.

So it’s time to be aware of how to care… for yourself!

Action Challenge

This month make self-love your focus. What little things can you do that will help you to be kind and gentle to yourself?

We feel much better and we are able to give more easily when we have had a little top-up of love ourselves. So start loving your-self today!

To learn about my number one self-love tip, watch my 3 minute video.

01 Dec

Stress Less This Christmas

The festive time can be a time of great stress. The rush to get things done; the pressure to buy gifts; over-indulgence in food and alcohol all take a toll on our body.

What can we do to minimise stress during a time of year that is meant to be peaceful and joyful?

Here are 5 tips that will avoid raising your blood pressure!

Make the decision that you want to “stress less” and enjoy the festive season. When this becomes your focus, you’ll find it much easier to achieve.

Plan ahead and avoid leaving things to the last minute. Delegate so that some of the pressures and responsibilities are taken off you. Keep Christmas Day simple. You can still have fun without spending loads of time and money.

Start early. If the thought of shopping stresses you, start early; make a list and get it done in one day. Alternatively, order on-line. Be mindful of over-extending your finances. Why add more pressure to your life when it’s the heartfelt presents that we often cherish the most!

Acts of kindness bring serenity to our life. Try inviting a friend, who would otherwise be lonely, to join you on Christmas day; donate food to charity; give something to someone who has little. We feel joyful and peaceful when we do loving acts such as these.

Walk! If there are times when stress does get the better of you, go for a walk. Walking reduces the production of the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline. It uplifts your mood. Perfect!

The best present

The key to getting the most enjoyment out of the festive season is to give yourself a present—and the best present of all is the gift of peace!

You deserve this priceless gift and so does your body.

Make it your goal this Christmas to experience more joy—less stress!

17 Nov

Thumbs Up To Volunteering

Could the act of volunteering be good for your health?

Scientific research shows that people who engage in voluntary work enjoy many health benefits such as a longer life, lower rates of depression, less heart disease, enhanced social skills and they stay more physically and mentally active.

Research studies indicate people – particularly those over the age of 65 – who engage in 100 hours of voluntary activities a year, enjoy the abovementioned health outcomes. Other studies indicate that volunteering – as little as 5 times a year – can help lessen stress.

As well as the physical and mental benefits, there is a deeper aspect to volunteering. Helping each other is a fundamental desire of our inner-being. When we ignore this inner-call, our lives feel unfulfilled but when we help others our lives feel whole and complete!

Consider beforehand

The desire to help others is the first step towards volunteering.

However, there are some important considerations to take into account before engaging in voluntary work.

Determine the skills you have to offer.
Work out the amount of time can you can spare and how often you are willing to help i.e. weekly, fortnightly or monthly?

Ways to volunteer

There are many opportunities in our community for volunteers. Places that are always looking for help are hospitals, senior centres, live theatres, youth organisations, sporting clubs and schools.

Becoming an email companion to someone who is lonely or maintaining a website for a charity are examples of ways in which you can volunteer from the comfort of your home!

There is no end to the creative ways in which you can volunteer and the good news is, it doesn’t matter what type of voluntary work in which you engage – the benefits to your health remain the same.

So if you want to bring more vitality, longevity, purpose and happiness to your life, engage in volunteering.

It helps others and it helps you!

Category Archives: Empowering Life Skills