Don’t let any idea of who you should be get in the way of being who you actually are.
On worry and an uncertain future
Mindfulness and other cliches
Is "normal" life that safe?
Pronoia – the world is out to get me, good
Overlook nothing
The friend I never met
A Buddha's focus and deep understanding – what would be the point for you?
Thinking about life, or truly tasting it?
Wonder Woman
I went to the movies for the first time in months.
Bunked off work,
And on a super sunny afternoon we strolled into the cinema.
Wonder Woman if you must know.
No great cultural masterpiece, but how wonderful and entertaining.
How cool to be out at the movies!
Set free from regularity and the "same old same old".
Skipping work and going out and playing.
Just like the old days.
Innocence, the joy of simple things, play.
I figure if you learn to enjoy the simple stuff, the big stuff will be amazing.
But you have to be in that frame of mind, in that attitude.
You gotta have your eyes open and notice.
Otherwise you just miss out as you speed from task to task.
And that would be a shame because you end up speeding through everything and missing out on life itself.
So my words for today are innocence and notice ... and play.
Take a breath, take a moment.
Be aware.
Life is good. Enjoy it.
Go well! Arjuna
PS.
Here's a ton of ideas of how,
A free 7 page guide with 108 simple ideas to keep it simple, no less:
Give and take
Just went for a run.
I'm in Cornwall, and so of course I'm scoffing cream teas.
Cos that's what you have to do in Cornwall.
And I love clotted cream, you see.
And in order to eat many of these delights, as well as the fish n chips and all that good holiday food,
I went for a run up and over some serious coastal paths,
To help my digestion and my appetite.
Balance.
If I did nothing but ate at the rate I'm used to I'd be the size of a house.
Which is fine if I'm ok with being like that -
But I don't want to.
So balance.
Give and take.
Karma, perhaps if you like the meaning being used in terms of cream tea.
It's a necessary in every part of life.
If you're busy working and managing a family,
You need to take time to recharge.
Regularly - To recuperate and retune.
You can't keep taking from your internal "bank account" without giving some back.
Otherwise you fall over.
You don't fall over straight away, but you do start to get frazzled, don't you?
Life gets a bit serious and a bit fraught.
A bit snappy.
You miss out on the simple pleasures.
The things that make life profound.
So if you value your sanity,
If you want to choose to have a good life -
(And the good life IS your choice)
You need to stop and recharge.
How?
Head this way and I'll show you exactly how:
https://arjunaishaya.leadpages.co/sane-fb
Give and take - balance.
Do and don't do ...
Makes all the difference.
Go well! Arjuna
PS. Ascenders!
You have 2 weeks until your day is here.
Why not?
You give a day of your time, and it gives you so much more:
Difficult to practice
Had an email recently,
It said that what I talk about is difficult to practice.
And I get that.
Being appreciative, accepting, self- loving, trusting, compassionate, patient, fun with a great sense of humour …
Is all tricky to do -
In and of themselves.
And if you already feel like you’re trying to be the perfect mum,
For example,
All of this can seem like another nail in the coffin,
Another load to add to your back,
Another standard to live up to -
Of all the things you have to do,
And are good at forgetting and failing at.
Do you know what I mean?
But here is the answer to all questions in life:
Get present,
And everything flowers from that.
Get full of your own presence and awareness,
And you become more of everything -
More alive, more calm, more content, more creative,
Less overwhelmed, frazzled, harsh and judgemental of yourself.
It’s a wonderful thing -
A “buy one, get a million things free” type deal.
So don’t worry too much about all the things you have to “be” (as well as do),
(Though if you realise you have a choice and can choose to be more appreciative? How wonderful)
Just get full of presence.
Keep it this simple,
And life transforms from that.
Hurrah for simplicity.
Here's a bunch of simple, different ways to be more present and mindful,
If you were interested:
https://arjunaishaya.leadpages.co/sane-fb Go well! Arjuna
PS.
And Ascenders already have the ultimate tool in simplicity,
If you’d like a whole day to remind yourself, to inspire to greater heights?
Here you go!
Acceptance
Got sent a really nice quote,
I’m a sucker for good words you see,
______________
“One does not walk into the forest and accuse the trees of being off centre nor do they visit the shore and call the waves imperfect. Why then, do we look at ourselves that way?”
~ Author Unknown ____________
Acceptance is the basis for all goodness.
Ironically too - when there’s true acceptance,
That opens up the space for transformation,
For change.
Struggling with something?
Accept - fully and completely.
It’s the stepping back that means you can get peace,
And perspective.
Then you can go from there.
Alright?
Good - go well! Arjuna
PS.
Need help with any of this?
Try this free guide, packed full of ideas:
https://arjunaishaya.leadpages.co/sane-fb
Ascenders!
Don't miss this day, just for you.
They don’t come along very often:
The one thing you might do …
If you simply stay with what’s happening right in front of you,
Stay tuned into that -
Realise when you’re racing and getting stressed about it,
And come back to the level,
You’ll have a very happy, calm, effective life. True!
Losing overwhelm, thinking too much, reacting wildly, feeling guilty and regretting ...
The end to that begins right now.
That’s what it’s all about isn't it?
Living well.
Living well = attend to now.
Just now.
Keep it simple, ok?
Go well!
Arjuna
PS.
Want other tips like this one?
https://arjunaishaya.leadpages.co/sane-fb
PPS.
And if you Ascend?
A whole day for you to remember and be inspired about how simple this really is:
19 Things That Don’t Work
When I was a confused teenager (and adult actually),
Full of angst and self-doubt,
Looking for a tribe to belong to,
Some kind of purpose to get behind,
I often wished there was a guide book to life.
Or some sense of “live like this and everything will turn out right”.
Ya know?
Many adults are still searching for that sweet spot too -
While you actually find that within,
And so there is NO book of guidance,
Here’s some things I see that clearly don’t work: ____________
1. Bottling stuff up, not talking Resentment then explodes spectacularly, taking heads off
2. Talking too much Because there is a time to move on and talking about it endlessly is a pain in the bottom for all concerned.
3. Forgetting what is really important to you Leaving your priorities until last (which means never)
4. Taking stuff too seriously Good sign you’re getting too stressed and/or tired
5. Focussing on what’s wrong, what’s missing and totally missing all that is right and good!
6. Ignoring what’s wrong Sticking your head in the ground in the hope it will go away just gives you dirty nostrils
7. Being harsh with yourself Go on, whip yourself again and see if that helps
8. Holding grudges Eats you up quicker than a stomach ulcer
9. Maintaining ridiculous expectations of yourself (and others actually) You are you are you and while goals are awesome, take a chill pill. And who are you doing it for anyway?
10. Comparison Not so it inspires as in “well, if she can do it, so can I” but so it hurts
11. “Should” (Could and would should be there too)
12. Spending all your time in the past or the future Because life is happening under your nose
13. Worrying about what you can’t control As useful as hitting your head against a brick wall
14. Giving into fear and therefore not doing what you CAN control Not doing and avoidance isn't a path to happiness
15. Fighting, resisting, blaming Because that helps in the face of an undeniable reality ...
16. Gossip It’s only to make yourself feel and seem better - there could be other, better ways, ya think?
17. Feeling guilty for doing stuff that recharges you Why exercise or close your eyes to meditate or read a book when you could be scrubbing the floor?
18. Forgetting to laugh Life's too short for laughing
19. Forgetting to speak out your gratitude and appreciation They can't read your mind _______
There you go ....
And so - what shall you do about it?
I would personally:
Get present, get truly mindful.
Then that will show you when any of the above pop up.
It becomes super clear.
Your regular practice to close your eyes teaches you how to live the best version of you.
Like a block of ice melting in a hot bath,
Your habits and pattens leave you.
But you gotta get in the bath regular so it happens.
Want more help on that?
You got it ——————> https://arjunaishaya.leadpages.co/sane-fb
Go well Arjuna
PS.
Ascenders!
No excuses:
A whole day for you.
These don't happen very often.
A champion of the world
A buddy of mine died during the week.
A fellow Ishaya, he’d kept his cancer quiet, he didn’t want anyone to know.
I just assumed I would see him again this year, but no.
So much for assumptions huh?
A sterling dude with a huge heart -
He was built like many North American guys I know,
About as wide as he was tall,
Solid as a brick dunny.
I remember coming around a corner once and bumping into him -
Bouncing would be a better word for I hit this man wall and flew back some way.
Huge man, huge smile, huge heart, huge compassion.
He had an amazing journey.
He was an US soldier and did tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
What he saw and did affected him greatly,
So much so by the time he stopped being a soldier he was “a bit of a mess” -
All the drugs and the doctors and the specialised counselling couldn’t put him together again.
As a bit of a last chance effort he learnt to Ascend,
And the more he practiced the more he found he could put his skeletons behind him.
His levels of medication dropped and dropped and kept dropping until he could quit everything the doctors had him on.
At that point - when I met him - I thought he was unstoppable.
The kind of guy who would live to be 100.
Full of energy, full of fun, full of love and lust for life,
The kind of life force that you often see in people who have had a second chance,
When given another opportunity they seize it and fully make the most of each and every moment.
Now-
I turn 43 this year.
There’s plenty of things I still want to do and get better at,
Things I want to experience and become.
I hope there’s plenty of future for me.
Yet I know,
I have no idea of how much time I actually have.
In this, it’s the simple things that mean a life becomes a Life,
Now - and not when I get x, y or z.
The appreciation, the gratitude, the love, the remembering to be alive and awake to this moment, the sense of presence and stillness at the core of my being …
Without those all the achieving in the world won’t mean anything.
With them, everything I do becomes satisfying, complete, full.
And then there’s room for more. Always more.
Whoever and whatever you are, no matter your history, you always have a choice.
It might not seem like it, but you do.
Find it, make the most of that choice - it is the one thing that changes everything.
It's the one thing that will make a difference, no matter what you do.
And so I say, with feeling,
Go well!
Arjuna
Super simple trick to staying super sane in a super busy life
Yesterday we talked about poop and how resentment can build from giving to everyone without giving to yourself.
How crucial it is to take time to do nothing.
To recharge and get perspective and calm again.
I said there was another thing -
That you can do that means you stay level headed, calm and clear of a grumpy, snappy, guilt ridden, worrisome, super busy head -
Even in the busiest of lives.
Super dooper simple:
When you’re doing something, just do that one thing.
Do that thing without thinking about everything else you have to do.
Making coffee? Just make coffee.
Driving? Just drive.
Doing laundry? Just launder.
On the phone? Just listen and talk, nod your head and gesticulate (if you do that even though the other person can't see you).
On the loo? Just be on the loo.
Exhausting is it when you do one thing and think of everything else too.
You think it’s efficient -
“haha! I shall make tea and take the chance to think and plan and organise!”
Yet the result is you’re thinking ALL the time.
And that is exhausting.
It feels like you’re on the job 24/7
And you are - because you never stop, in your head at least.
Which is a huge factor.
One thing at a time.
Be in the same place as your body.
Busy as you may be, take mini-rests.
Walking between tasks?
Just walk and breathe. Walk and breathe.
Need to plan and organise? Make a time, sit down, plan and organise.
Don’t do it on the fly.
Then everything is simple and easy and manageable.
And you don’t get stress building up,
With your head becoming an unstoppable monster.
Unleashed in the small hours of the morning,
Or on your unsuspecting loved ones when they least deserve it.
(They always get it don’t they? I know that all too well from past experience)
Easier to stay on the level than try and play catch up.
Alrighty?
Awesome.
If you'd like more ideas on staying cool, calm and collected?
Download this super quick to read, yet packed full of ideas guide here:
https://arjunaishaya.leadpages.co/sane-fb
Go well! Arjuna
PS.
Small simple habits create something sensational.
You just gotta remember.
PPS.
Ascend and need a day to remind yourself of the why?
Trying too hard, or just given up and what to jump back in?
Or perhaps you’re flying and you want to take it to the next level?
Don’t miss this: https://arjunaishaya.lpages.co/advanced-day/
Pooping Poopingham
Anyone who has a young ‘un,
Knows the pleasure that comes with a blown nappy.
It’s not only the mess,
But the darn inconvenience.
Always happens right when you need to head out the door,
Or when you’re just about to put your feet up for YOUR well earned rest at the end of the day.
Which is now extended …
And has the potential to be ONE of the those nights.
I think the key underlying problem is the thought that many -
Especially women, have:
“What about me???????!”
“When do I get time?”
You give and you give and you give …
You bleed yourself dry for your family …
And what do you get?
Sumati and I been talking about that a lot -
So we can avoid resentment of any kind building up.
There’s some days she just feels like baby furniture and feeding machine in one.
Most of the time that is fine for her, she accepts her new role and loves it totally.
It’s just when you get tired, and stressed, that’s when it all goes pear shaped.
We’ve been teaming it as much as we can -
So she has time to go to Zumba and get her nails done for the upcoming holiday,
All those things she loved to do BB (Before Bubba)
But most importantly so she has time to close her eyes and rest and Ascend and meditate.
Without that everything builds up hugely, fast-ly, exponentially.
It’s the recharge that makes everything fun, puts everything in perspective, makes everything manageable - even a blown nappy all down your shirt.
And allows you to give without resentment.
Give to yourself and you’ll find you can give so much more.
Don’t give and you’ll dry up and get all bitter and twisted and snap at people like some kind of human crocodile.
Maybe you have a team mate who can help you -
Maybe you’re going solo (maximum respect to you btw)
But you can always grab 10 minutes just to recharge.
To do NOTHING.
When you do it you realise how crucial it is that you do.
The other top tip to conserve energy and sanity?
I’m going to save until tomorrow.
Just cos I’m a tease.
How to do what I'm talking about above?
Get this and it'll make everything clear for you:
And it's free:
https://arjunaishaya.leadpages.co/sane-fb Go well! Arjuna
PS.
Ascender?
Wanting to know more about how to make freedom from frazzle and freneticism and snappiness more permanent?
Wanting to get rid of some bad habits or avoid getting them?
I have the day for you:
Switching off a busy head thats getting frantic
Do you have a busy head, that thinks too much?
I know you do!
99% of all humans have a head that is far too busy.
And busy in a way that is full of stress and negativity.
Sleep problems are through the roof, mental illness and anxiety on the rise.
I heard that the average human thinks something like 70,000 thoughts a day.
At least.
Before the coffee kicks in.
Now, what to do?
How do you have a calm, nice head -
One that means you don’t feel guilty for spending a little bit of time for you,
That you don’t snap and react in ways you later regret (especially with your kids),
That means you don’t spend hours thinking about what they’re thinking about what you said (whew) ...
and how you might counteract that,
Getting deeper and deeper into that anxious feeling in the pit of your stomach.
You CAN sedate with gin and tonic and/or Facebook,
That works in the short term.
But you tend to be upping the intake of both and that’s not a great long term strategy is it?
Especially when you have young kids,
And you wake with that cotton wool fog ache from a little too much alcohol and social media well into the night.
The best way is all about distraction.
Which is nice - it’s not about force, it’s not about stopping your head,
It’s about giving yourself something else to focus on.
Which is super good because you can’t stop your mind thinking.
You think because you’re alive!
Alive, I tell you!
What helps is being aware of what you’re thinking about.
More mindful and present,
Because then you shift your attention sooner.
And not let the monkey between your ears build up momentum and become a run away train.
That’s why exercise helps SO much with stress.
You’re so focussed on just making it through your pilates or your run or your swim or your gym session.
Breathing becomes the only important thing -
But there are other ways too,
Faster, simpler, smoother ways at that.
Download this (for free) and it'll give you a bunch of ideas:
https://arjunaishaya.leadpages.co/sane-fb
Go well! Arjuna
PS.
Ascenders have their own day workshop at the end of the month.
Times to retreat, even just a day are priceless to switching off
Happiness is having a bad memory
I saw that ^^^ on a coaster last weekend.
I guffawed.
Because it’s true.
Ignorance is bliss.
But not in the simplistic way you may think it is:
In reality,
What you focus on grows.
The ability to forget the bad and focus on the good?
Essential to happiness.
When I was depressed?
The other way around, it was.
(did that sound a little like Yoda?)
I forgot the good and could only remember the bad.
That’s why they say “think positive”
“They” being those people who say such things …
Because it’s a kind of mental and emotional fitness.
When you need it most,
It can come through.
But it’s totally true.
You direct your attention -
It doesn’t mean you’re being irresponsible and sticking your head in the sand,
Oh no,
You’re actually giving yourself solid perspective and foundation so you can deal with the bad simply and easily and with a light heart.
So give happiness a chance -
Forget!
Go well Arjuna
PS.
How do you forget?
Easier said than done, I know.
Let me help.
Click here and you can download numerous ways:
https://arjunaishaya.leadpages.co/sane-fb/
You’re an Ascender and want a whole day to learn how to forget?
Here you go: