"What are you doing here?" A large question ...

Lots of questions about purpose at the moment - I think it must be the moon or the alignment of the planets poking you or something.  (Porpoise?)

But it’s a great question: “What am I doing here?”, everyone asks it at some stage. Since I believe that what I'm doing right now IS my purpose, here’s my experience of coming to this point:

I was told early on to follow my bliss. Do what I loved doing as much as possible because life was short. It made sense, so I did. Even though I had a heavy study programme at university, I tried to balance it and so I went out and listened to bands as much as possible and kayaked and snowboarded my little patootey off.

So Passion is important in life. Doing stuff you love. Now maybe you need to get a job so you can take care of your responsibilities while you do that, earning those fun tokens, maybe if you’re lucky you can find a way of being paid to do what you love. Just be careful you don't turn what you love into a work drudgery.

In living your Passion you also realise that it only increases when you share it, when you help others, and that's nice too - they win and you win and they win in an ever ascending spiral.

Then there’s Presence. If you’re aware, doing your Passion, what you love, it makes you Alive, it immerses you in the moment easily. You soak in Presence more and more and that bleeds out into even your most mundane of tasks. Wonderful! Presence will also give you Patience, contentment, full enjoyment of each and every moment. It will help when you are in those times when you don’t understand why, as in why is this happening to me? Why am I doing this? Why am I here?

More importantly, Presence means you are centred. That is the core of all Purpose - you are most effective and Alive when you’re centred. Without centre you can rush around all you like and have little influence. Presence means your words and actions become aligned with your own innate wisdom. You already know what you want to do or say, many times you doubt it - that you’re good enough, that it’s the right thing, that it's worthy enough, and “who am I to say/do that any way?” The more centred you stay, the more doubt just evaporates and you're no longer afraid just to try, to experiment.

The more centred and filled with Presence you are, the more you are a lighthouse for anyone seeking the same truth within themselves. Your centred Presence is a balm for any troubled soul, and you won’t get lost in their suffering. It truly is, and that is before you say or do anything.

Be guided by Passion and Presence. You will find that Passion and Presence begets your Purpose.

Following those two brings you clearer and clearer to understanding what you’d like to do, what you’re here to do, but most importantly how you’d like to be - and that is the most crucial thing, I think, because the internal is your foundation for what you do. Get the internals right and the externals follow nicely.

I’m rapidly typing this because it's coming out faster than I can write, and so I hope you get what I mean. Let me know if you have any questions at all.

Go well! Arjuna

PS. Presence, Passion and Purpose - meditation can be more than “just” a meditation, it can be an enhancer of all of these things. It allows you to tap into your own innate wisdom more and more, so you truly live the life you were born to live.

Want to know more? Head this way:

https://arjunaishaya.leadpages.co/sane-fb

Numbed? No way - what mindfulness is not

Reading a newspaper article this morning as I was sipping my coffee and feeding the toast/hummus/avocado machine that is Bubba (she's a hipster babe, what can I do?), and I spluttered, a little. The article was about corporate mindfulness programmes to help workers deal with stress. It stated that corporate mindfulness was turning the workers into meek accepting drones. That such practices were getting rid of negative thinking and therefore glossing over, ignoring and not dealing with the root of the problem of working stress in the first place.

Let me tell you something …(just wait a mo while I climb up on this high horse here - hence the artists impression above ... righteous or what?)

And it is something that confuses many people.

They start to do this stuff because they want to get calm - and they do - but they also start to get a little bolshy as well.

They start to see all the places in their lives where they’ve meekly gone along, agreed, given their power away, not said or done the things they felt strongly about.

A regular practice comes along and a fire starts to burn within you, a quiet roar where you see all the places where you have compromised and played small. And boof! As well as calm and contentment you get clarity and JUICE to really live how you want to, you get the courage to go ahead with those difficult words or those difficult actions.

Part of mindfulness and meditation is about acceptance, for sure.

But it’s rational, completely rational acceptance. It’s realising how useless it is to get stressed about all the uncontrollable things that most people get upset about - it is accepting the things you cannot control, in other words. But it equally gives you the clarity to see where you can and want to change the things you CAN control.

And that is the key point that gets missed in this article and similar views. This practice will not numb you. It will not suppress you. It will not and does not turn you into a doormat. It makes you more alive, more You, not less.

Want some? Get started here, with this free guide:

https://arjunaishaya.leadpages.co/sane-fb

Go well! Arjuna

PS. How can I help you?

The Pause - you’ve been doing it all along

Last time I talked about how “The Pause”. Gettit?

The Pause has capitals for sure, because it’s a meaningful (and meaningless) moment or minutes where you just stop and do nothing. Where you collect yourself, where you break up the busy-ness and the haste and the “got to get things done” for a period of time of your choosing.

It looks like you’re zoning out, you’re switching off, blanked out perhaps … and you are in a sense, but more like you’re zoning IN to what is real and true and calm and centred about you.

Kids do it all the time - I think we perhaps get it “beaten” out of us, told to pay attention, to stop “day dreaming”, you know?

Many people wrote in with exclamation marks and said how what they were already doing now made sense to them. Perhaps it was that pause over a cup of tea, the morning walk where they stop and just stare out at the scenery. Those precious moments just listening to that wonderful piece of music. Taking more time in the shower, feeling the hot water make your body lose and heavy.

Whatever - it’s taking time to remember to live, rather than just rush.

Some were worried it was some kind of epileptic fit, something wrong, something broken … and I don’t know your particular case but I bet good money it’s more about taking a quick moment from all the activity.

Completely natural - it’s required for your sanity even.

If you think about your wellbeing like a bank account … so many people only spend, spend, spend. They are far into overdraft, and if you’ve ever been there it’s a tough place to be in. The Pause is about depositing goodness (energy, balance, perspective, mind space, good humour) back in so you don’t run out.

We naturally do it as kids and the only thing is adults forget, or think they shouldn’t, that it’s not important.

Actually it’s the most important thing in the world. And it’s not rocket science, so keep it simple. Go well! Arjuna

PS. For me, learning meditation took The Pause to a greater level. I recommend it, fully and completely. It meant I was able to pause while even in the middle of vigorous activity. “How so??” you might ask … and it’s a great question.

The Pause is a wonderful to do in your life.

When you do it, you start to recognise that the present, silent space that you tune into when you completely pause all activity is also there in the middle of activity, all activity. It’s a weird thing to explain in words but if you’ve ever had a Flow or Zone experience you’ll know it super well.

The thing about Flow and Zone states is that the intensity gets dialled up hugely. Everyone is trying to chase and recreate this intense experience and yet a subtle, quiet one is under their nose, the whole time. They're missing out because they're everywhere looking except for the one place it is, here.

Anyhow, if you'd like to know more to meditation and mindfulness here's a couple of free guides I think you'll really like: www.arjunaishaya/freestuff

The coolest and most useful trick in the world

Standing on one foot used to be the trick I wanted to do so much. I was 2, I think, at the time … then it was learning to juggle. That was pretty cool when I finally managed it, then I found I could juggle AND stand on one foot. Then I did a yoga class and realised I REALLY needed to up my game … but hey, enough about me ...

Balance - a very cool trick! The balance I want to talk about here isn’t so much about standing on one foot and doing tricks like some bizarre yogi acrobat …

The best, most USEFUL, kind of balance is much, much different.

This is the kind of balance that loves having goals, getting stuff done, becoming, but at the same time is based in absolute contentment in what you have right now.

It’s a tricky thing - and yet to live well, contentment is very necessary. So often people get overwhelmed when trying to hold together a busy life. Negativity can creep in "I'll never be able to do that" ... Or annoyed when you hear about someone else’s adventures, comparing and regretting the state of your life that means you can’t do what he or she’s doing.

The best kind of balance is indeed founded in this moment in time. The future, the past, comparison - all of these things are not of now. They don’t help contentment at all. And yet just being content without passion or purpose means you probably won’t even get out of bed.

You can, and you should, have a foot in both camps. You will find they nurture each other. With goals comes excitement and aliveness. With contentment is the end of overwhelm and stress. And it means you have the clarity and perspective to get to where you want, with style and without angst. No matter what happens, no matter the ups and downs of outrageous fortune, you are secure in presence and contentment.

So tune into now. Find balance.

Go well! Arjuna

PS.

Balance takes practice. It’s your natural state so to speak, but definitely take practice to remember how to be this way.

Simple though, when you practice the right things. Here's a little free cheat sheet I put together of all the ways you can live a balanced, content, alive life: https://arjunaishaya.leadpages.co/sane-fb

Check it out!

But what about them?

A big concern many people have with taking time out to do something like meditation is basically, “how will they cope without me?” Ever get the guilts even when you pop down to do the shopping? “I can’t leave them, because they NEED me” - do you know that?

That's a big one for many, mums especially ... and if you don't do this and/or you're not a mum  - but you know one - perhaps this might help you understand and help them?

The fact is that kind of living can definitely lead to guilt and resentment in you because you never get time alone; and it means they just think you’ll do everything. You get exhausted and grumpy, they get wary in case they step on your toes the wrong way ... it all gets a bit messy.

Taking time for you is important. I used to love it when my mum went away because I got some time just with dad. Not that there was anything wrong with mum, its just dad was different, and we didn’t get to see him as much as mum. It was cool and different, not bad at all!

The other thing is, by taking a small amount of time out of your day they get a better version of you back. A small investment in yourself means you can give so much more: Less worry and resentment and guilt and snappiness. More ease in the chaos, more good times, more energy, better sleep.

“Just do it!”, I say. In no way is it selfish. Put your own oxygen mask on first and then you can really help others.

You may know this - but perhaps you've let it slip. Why not start back up again?

Go well! Arjuna

PS. Here’s a little challenge that will mean you can just ignore those thoughts that create mayhem for you: https://arjunaishaya.lpages.co/houradaymindful/ 

Your enrolment has been accepted

The most amazing thing (I personally think) is that you are enrolled and being educated in a very prestigious school ... and perhaps you don’t even realise it. If you are pay attention, if you are willing, the university of life is trying to teach you in the exact ways where you can be more free, have more fun and be more effective with less struggle and overwhelm and negativity:

Where and how you can truly be alive.

It’s trying to show you everything. It’s constantly pointing the finger, inviting you (sometimes in what may seem the strangest of ways) to really look and see how you can respond to life better. It’s constantly asking “how do you REALLY want to live?”

It’s a great question is it not?

How DO you want to live? At the end of the day, what do YOU want it to mean to be you?

With struggle and stress and overwhelm and negativity? Or fluidity and humility, confident and calm, content and with a sense of humour?

The great thing about this school is there are no failures. You always get another shot. There is always another lesson. Not to punish you - but to HELP you. All of this, no matter how it may seem, is indeed to help you! If you have the right attitude you will see this.

Isn't that cool? You're being looked after - you just need to accept the invitation.

Go well!

Arjuna

PS.

Freely choosing your response IS a definite education. A skill that requires practice and persistence. It’s a kind of fitness, an ability that you CAN develop.

Here’s an excellent way to get really good, really quick: https://arjunaishaya.lpages.co/houradaymindful/

Can I sell you a book? (it’s not really about that)

Someone was teasing me about flogging my (soon to be finished) book in a recent blog. It was all good natured and tongue in cheek, but the reason I’ve been telling you and quite a few others ISN'T just to sell a few copies. The REAL reason for my blabbing away about it is that the more people know about it, the less I can procrastinate and mess around and delay and not finish the thing.

I’ve done that for far too long.

My reason for delaying is always perfectionism. I can work on it, and work on it, and work on it, but perfectionism says “It’s not yet done” … and so it never gets done. "It's not good enough yet" ... and so it never ever gets released out in the wild.

Do you have a project like that?

It could be something big, like a book or some studies. It could be something “small” like doing some daily exercise or closing your eyes to meditate.

Sometimes its just that you are "too tired, and you’ll start tomorrow", or "next weekend" ...

Often you don’t feel like it, so “what’s the point even starting?” … Or - it just isn’t going as well as you think it should, so you quit early and go home … Or like me - it just needs a little more work before anyone else can see it … Or - you need to learn a little bit more before you start actually even doing something … right?

There is such power in just doing it, no matter how confident or ready or educated or how you feel about something.

Its amazing to me how someone would rather clean their whole house than sit quietly for 10 or 15 minutes. The hardest thing about meditation is sitting down and staying down until your time is up. Actually, I only know how hard it is to start AND finish because I have that voice too.

The good thing is - honestly - that voice loses it’s juice, it’s power, the more you just ignore it.

Here’s what I have learnt - and there’s a fellow called Pat Flynn whose email the other morning said exactly what I was feeling about just doing it: _______

"It doesn't have to be perfect. It doesn't have to be good. But you do have to finish what you start." _______

If you have people who know what you’re embarking on, what your goal is, that helps you hugely. Because when that perfect voice and the quit voice comes in, you have that extra bit of outside accountability and help not to listen.

Because … it doesn’t have to be perfect, it doesn’t have to be good, you just have to start. And if you start, just finish.

Then you have the things you say you want in your life.

You can meet your goals, have amazing adventures, go new places, spend quality time with people - all with freedom from overwhelm and stress and struggle and negativity.

You get to decide how you live your life - and that is worth its weight in gold.

Alrighty?

So lose perfectionism, lose doing it tomorrow, lose waiting until the conditions are great, and just start - and then finish.

Go well, Arjuna

PS. You know what? I am really quite excited to finally be finishing this book. It’s been years in the writing. I feel like I have - almost - achieved something. And that is quite the motivation to get it done.

The interesting thing is I don’t really care how many people read it. Just having it out there is the main thing.

Perfectionism? Having people like it? Well - who cares when I can send my dad a book that I wrote? Ha!

PPS Oh - talking about accountability - I have a little 7 day challenge to become more mindful. We have a little facebook group so I can help you actually do the 7 days.

Here’s all the info - https://arjunaishaya.lpages.co/houradaymindful/ Many many people have been saying they aim to do 7 days, and then keep going because the benefits are so good. Good reason to join in, no?

What you’re looking for is what you are

I used to have a sweet little fridge magnet, attached not as you’d expect to my fridge, but no - it was on my toaster, just because that’s the way I do things. How bohemian, you might say? Exactly. But it reminded me - when I took the trouble to pause and connect and put myself in the place to truly be reminded - to stop the struggle, stop the fight to become, to secure.

What did it say?

“You already are what you seek” If you’re like me there’s a bunch of things you would like to do. There’s also a particular way you want to live your life. Open, free, unchained, adventures, growth, discovery, kind, helpful, big smile on your face.

To be more focussed and effective and efficient and unswayed by the ups and downs of outrageous fortune? You already have it - you just need to stop and slow down and be that.

To be more free and fun, living a big fat happy bloated life? You already have the means right here, right now, right within you.

Stop looking and frantically searching to become that, and JUST BE IT. If you have an effective meditation tool like the Bright Path Ishayas Ascension it will simply remind you of that state of being so much so you’ll never forget.

Closing your eyes therefore isn’t about escaping the world but equipping you with the means to tackle all your challenges head on. Calm, clear, content. Alright?

Good work - go well, go to it, live well! Arjuna

PS. I am so excited about my new book - just putting finishing touches on it, finding a cover, working out how to make it into a real paper book, and so, if you desire, will have it very soon.

Until then there are a million ways of making sure you put yourself in the space of remembering. If you haven’t seen the Facebook group perhaps stop by and check it out:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/anhouradaymindful/ 

Goodbye!

There goes 2017. Where did it go huh? I’m starting to sound like my father, heh heh. You might be the sort of person to take this time to look at what you want to do differently. What you want to do more of, and less of, and even what you want to do the same of.

For me, I’d like to eat more apples. I’ve had some delicious ones lately and I think they’re probably a good thing. Much better than a pack of crisps - which I am a recovering addict of.

In your review of 2017, you might want to make sure you include more meditation or mindfulness in your day. Everyone, me included, is banging on about it - perhaps there is something in it? And how are you going to know unless you give it a try, regularly? Well that is right indeedy - you won’t know unless you do it.

If peace and calm is important to you - Why not practice it every day? Just a little bit, that’s a grand place to start.

Do it on your terms. If you like using an app, do that. If you like breathing, do that. If you like staring off into space, do that. If you like walking, do that. Just do something!

Do something! Life only gets better when you show up for it. And that is the problem with all lives - everyone thinks so much about living they rarely actually experience it.

So don’t be like that - learn to show up. If I can help with that? Let me know.

Go well! Arjuna

PS. Here's the best place to start being more mindful, stress free and enjoying each and every moment of your life:

https://arjunaishaya.lpages.co/houradaymindful/

A very nice tale about fish

After Christmas - and its a lovely time to relax and perhaps take a little introspection. A little examination of how you doing at all of this. After all, New Years is coming and bringing with it all of the resoluteness of being inspired to do things different. So - Why do you do all the hard work you do?

There’s that classic story of the business guru chatting to the fisherman. You might have heard it?

The fisherman wakes early, catches a few fish for his family and friends and then heads back to eat and enjoy time with his family and friends and explore his world.

The business guru suggests that he can help the fisherman be more successful. If the fisherman works really hard for a period of time, expanding his operations and employing more people, he could be rich, really rich.

“What would be the point of being rich?” the fisherman asks of him.

“So you could retire, wake up early, catch a few fish, return home and enjoy your life at your leisure”, replies the business guru.

The fisherman is puzzled, “Isn’t that what I’m already doing?”

Sometimes we do stuff the long way around. I see it all the time, people struggle and push and try and strain … and all for what?

So in some future moment, you can relax and be happy? Why not relax and be happy NOW?

Have a little look at what it means to be successful - to you. Not to anyone else, but to you. What is success? What are real riches, in your eyes?

If it’s exactly what you’re doing right now, carry on. If not? Why not make some changes? Life is too short for anything else, right?

Let me know if I can help, with any of this.

Go well, Arjuna

PS. One thing I know for sure that will help you live the life you want to live, is this: https://arjunaishaya.lpages.co/houradaymindful/ 

The Rock for President?

Long time readers will know with how much affection I hold the Rock. I know he’s going by his more grown up name, now he’s a proper actor and all - but he’ll always be the Rock to me. The thing I love is that he looks like he’s having the time of his life. A real rags to riches story, now it seems like he takes nothing seriously, obviously working hard but enjoying all of it. He knows he’s not doing any fine acting, he’s just an entertainer, wanting to make people happy, helping them forget their troubles for a time or two.

Now - imagine my pleasure when I see that he is considering running for President of the US of A? If Reagan and Trump can do it, why not the Rock? Now wouldn’t that be fun? Perhaps.

Anyhow, the only point in this email is to remind you to have fun. Regardless of your goals and ambitions, whether life makes sense to you or not, whether you are struggling with something right now or not, see if you can’t enjoy what you have a little more. And why not?

No one else is going to do it for you. But all the worry and the struggle and the pushing and the drama … none of it is useful to get what you want. Survive the tough times you may have to, but at least stay reminded about what is most important to you. To you.

Ultimately happiness is not about what happens to you, but how you decide to respond to it. That, I believe, is the secret to a good life. Go well! Arjuna

PS. The more present and aware you are of this moment in time, the more able you are to create your own responses. This is very different from blindly reacting to life.

To get more present and aware, here’s a excellent little “training programme” for you. Super simple, super supportive, just super: https://arjunaishaya.lpages.co/houradaymindful/ 

Don’t do a single thing!

I assume you’re reading these little whitterings of mine because you want to live the fullest, richest life. You want to be a better person - to enjoy your life, to help your loved ones, to make your community and your world a better place too.

The fact is you are already this better person that you seek.

This whole path is knowing that better happens just through the means of being present - because there, when each of us stops trying to improve, defend and correct ourselves, there is a space of presence and goodness. It already exists within, by just resting you are it.

That is the whole purpose of meditation and mindfulness. It is to relax into what is already there. It is dropping the insistences and demands and prejudices of your mind and being what you have always been.

You can’t think about this - you have to be it. The thought about it is nothing, the experience of it is everything.

There you are, rest, let go, just be right now.

Job done!

Need help? Just ask, I'd be happy to.

Go well! Arjuna

PS. A great practice for remembering just to stop and be this true nature of yours?

Right here: https://arjunaishaya.lpages.co/houradaymindful/ 

How to be truly stylish

How many stylish individuals do you know? The style I’m talking about is found in the free agents. The ones who have that sense of “nothing to prove, nothing to hide”. They’re not busting their buns trying to be noticed, or trying to be something for someone … they’re just content in who they are. _______

"Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn” - Gore Vidal _______

Style is not letting anyone define your life for you.

What a powerful thing, style, isn’t it? I bet you’ve had those times when you just feel settled. Content. Comfortable in your own skin. Self-contained. There’s an inner sense of “ahhhhhh”. There isn’t even a sense of not giving a damn, you’re just free to live.

This kind of style is a skill you can obtain.

It requires perseverance but no strain. It requires awareness and returning to the present moment. It requires seeing all those self-critical and harsh judgements and condemnations that go through your skull and being indifferent to them. It requires being willing to actively praise and be grateful for your life and for others; it requires an end to gossip.

But you can possess that self-possessed style of being free to exist however you wish. You can. Anything else is just a habit and you can create a new habit.

Start now!

Let me know if you have a question? Or I can help with anything at all.

Go well! Arjuna

PS. A good practice to gather style can be found right here for you: https://arjunaishaya.lpages.co/houradaymindful/ 

What would happen to you if … ?

What would happen if you gave up all of your shoulds, woulds and coulds? What if you quit all your insistences?

What if you dropped all your comparisons, evaluations, prejudices, judgements?

What if you stopped putting yourself under so much unnecessary pressure, trying to live up to unrealistic expectations?

What if you were nicer and gentler to yourself?

What if you stopped mentally running off and speculating over and over on an unknown future, a future you had no control over?

What if you were able to just quit worrying and being anxious?

What if you could stop snapping and flying off the handle?

What if you just spoke those words when you really need to?

What if you had the courage to change those things you want to change?

What if you had the serenity to accept the things you couldn’t?

What if you were wise enough to know the difference?

What if you stopped regularly to switch off, to enjoy, to smell the roses?

What if you looked after yourself first, even for just a small amount of time, so you didn’t end up exhausted and resenting them?

What if you stopped pining for a nostalgic past and fully embraced your present situation?

What if you were able to ignore those voices in your head?

What if you could laugh more?

What if you had those adventures?

What if you were calm and content, able to deal with the bumps of life with the greatest of ease?

What if?

All it takes is remembering that these things are important to you. And while you can have the intention to remember as much as possible - you can only remember WHEN you remember, like now.

https://arjunaishaya.lpages.co/houradaymindful/

Go well! Arjuna

“Stop being such a doofus …”

My lovely wife Sumati, in fine form: “Stop being such a doofus”

I love a gentle, supportive, guiding hand back on track, don’t you? Ha ha! Well, sometimes you can’t choose HOW the reminder comes, it’s just enough that you got the wakeup call.

See the fact is, I WAS being a doofus, completely. Have you ever talked yourself out of doing something? Of course you have. I used to do it ALL the time. I do it a lot less now, but there’s always that time to remind there’s no such thing as perfect or finished.

Talking yourself out of things: there’s this bright idea to do something or go somewhere - and then the second and third thoughts come in and give you all the reasons why you shouldn’t or couldn’t or why just staying at home and doing the same old, same old is a better idea than heading forth on an adventure. Which is exactly what happened.

I LOVE kayaking. And it’s been forever since I was went last. So when it started raining last night a ton, I got a little excited. I was watching the river coming up, preparing everything, checking the river levels again, stretching in preparation, checking the river levels … And then this morning I was all second and third thoughts. “Well, maybe I SHOULD be doing some work, maybe the river is too high, actually it’s going to be too low, ooh, it’s really cold out there …”

Enter the Sumati and the doofus uppercut. And thank goodness. Because being on the river was such a blast. Resistance. The biggest handbrake to you doing anything new, lies in your own head. Your mind loves inertia. The same old, same old. No change thanks. So I guess the moral of the story is that no matter what your plan, your idea, your new thing, expect the resistance and just do it anyway.

No one got to the end of their life and said “I wish I’d listened to all the excuses why not a little bit more”. Right? So practice not listening.

Where would you be without them?

Pretty darn happy and fulfilled, I would say. Having adventures. Living the dream.

Go well! Arjuna

PS -

Getting familiar with your own mind - so you can have free choice on what you listen to, so you can be independent of those unconscious patterns and reactions - is a giant step forward in terms of enjoying less stress and negativity and way more calm, contentment and aliveness.

You might really enjoy this sweet little challenge I got going to become more familiar with every moment, complete with Facebook group for extra goodies:

https://arjunaishaya.lpages.co/houradaymindful/

Well, it’s alright for you Mr Monk

Some people assume that since I have a modicum of calm and contentment and self-awareness, that I was born this way. “It’s alright for you” they say, assuming that I have remained static throughout my life. It’s not the case. Being the way I am now, living the life I live now, and my attitude to it all - it has come from practice. In fact, it's all come from a determination to not let the negative and overwhelmed habits of my mind win.

Which is great news -

If I can get a degree of mastery over the limitation of my own mind, then you can too - no matter where you think you are beginning from. It’s just a matter of practicing until you become so good you can do it with your eyes closed and your hands tied behind your back (if you like that sort of thing).

Honestly - practice makes all the difference, and especially so when you’re ready to quit, when you’re thinking you’re useless and a loser, and what’s the point anyway? When you’re filled with negativity. When you’re filled with overwhelm, when you’re almost sick with worry and anxiety or doubt or regret.

I know these things. But no matter what is going on for you, there is a better way to live life. There is, and it’s definitely something you can have. And I think your heart knows that to be true - otherwise you wouldn't be reading this. It won’t let you quit until you find a way of living superbly, no matter what your head says.

You practice the right things and you will come out the other side. There’ll be a time when you might look back and you know you won’t ever go back to misery because you have mastered the cause of your own pain and suffering.

Then you can truly help someone else - from experience. And they’ll listen, because you’re talking the truth.

So don’t ever believe that calm and contentment, freedom from the limitations of your mind is only for someone else. That everyone else gets it, but you never will. That is, as they say, just complete bullpucky. You just ignore those thoughts and keep stepping and you’ll get there.

Alright? And if I can help? Please just drop me a line.

Go well! Arjuna

PS. Here’s a little practice that can really help you master your mind - a simple way to fill up your day with more awareness and presence, calm and joy.

And we have a growing Facebook group for direct help. Join up here:

https://arjunaishaya.lpages.co/houradaymindful/ 

Why aren’t you a vegan?

People ask me how I can be a monk and yet not be very monkly. Please note, I write monkly and not monkey, though "people" could be meaning that: Why are you so monkey and not monkly?

Why don’t I practice sitting ramrod straight with folded legs? Why aren’t I a vegan? Why do I drink coffee? Why do you drink whiskey? Why do I have a family? Why do I take all of this so un-seriously?

The fact of the matter is I have tried all of the things that are “correct”. I have tried just about everything under the sun that you are “supposed” to do. And I have rejected most of them because they didn’t work for me. I couldn’t see the benefit - again personally speaking - for me.

For example, when I was a vegan because it was the “right” thing to do, I was actually slowly starving myself. People may say that my diet was all wrong, and I should have this supplement and that supplement, but the truth is it was too rigid - for me - and it didn’t bring me any joy.

Hence the whiskey and the coffee. Even though they are “intoxicants”, a little goes a long way to making my heart sing … “lah lah lahhhh …” Joy is a very underrated propellant for transformation.

I had someone yell at me once; accusing me of not following the proper way of meditating and carrying myself as dictated by the ancient texts. I shrugged my shoulders and said “meh” - and noted he wasn’t sitting on a goat hair skin either.

Rigidity - it is the enemy of joy. It is the enemy of freedom. It is the enemy of discovery.

I’m not against rituals and useful barriers, of taking choices that don’t serve you off the table - but they have to serve a noticeable purpose and benefit TO YOU.

Otherwise it’s just dogma. And dogma just makes your life grey. It puts you in a whole world of “I should”, and that is a nasty wormhole to get trapped in.

It also has to be sustainable. It has to be something you will do time and time again. Now that will change, but regularity trumps (excuse the term) “proper but never done” every time.

So work out what works for you. Work out what brings you maximum joy - don’t just accept someone’s word for it, test it, try it. If an authority is available, quiz them about it.

Alright?

Good work - go well!

Arjuna

PS.

Mindfulness - it’s a funny concept, highjacked a little. I prefer the word “awareness” or “presence” or “noticing” … it is training to be familiar with this moment in time, but also the part of you that never ever changes - even in the middle of the biggest thought or emotional storm. The anchor that stops you flying off the handle, and all it takes to have it is a little practice.

This is a little challenge I devised to get more awareness, and therefore less stress, overwhelm and negativity with more fun, focus and contentment:

https://arjunaishaya.lpages.co/houradaymindful/

A bizarre idea on how to be happy

A question, a great question, came in this morning:

______

“I’ve been told that if you don’t suffer you can’t know the meaning of happiness. What is your take on this?”

______

Bizarro! (That is my take on it).

First of all - I love people. One of the things that makes my life that extra bit sparklier is connecting with people, hanging out, inspiring, getting to know each other. Having said that, humanity holds some truly bizarre ideas to be true, such as the one above.

You know you enjoy something simply because of the fact that you like it, it is enjoyable in itself.

For example, I love apples. There is an apple tree in bubba’s grandad’s garden that is full of the most delightful apples. I could eat them all day long. Sometimes with peanut butter, most times without. Yom, yom and yom.

I do not need to eat brussel sprouts (which I detest) to know how much I love these apples. I do not need to even merely smell a durian fruit (if you don’t know it - look it up - the description is enough to make you shudder) to know how good these apples are. I do not need to suffer in any way for these apples to make me very, very happy.

Do you get that?

Suffering is not necessary to enjoy. Not at all.

In fact - suffering need not be apart of life. It doesn’t make you human. It isn’t necessary, at all. You were born into joy, life doesn’t HAVE to include anything else but joy.

The only benefit to suffering could be giving you the motivation to find a way never to go into suffering again. I know it did that for me.

But beyond that, a path into heaven just gets more heavenly the more you walk it. It doesn’t go through hell. That just doesn’t make sense. OK?

Now - ask yourself, if it’s even a tiny bit possible that I’m right on this, why not investigate ways of being free from suffering? Wouldn’t that make life truly amazing?

Yes indeed, it would.

Go well!

Arjuna

PS.

Well those 15 minutes coaching slots filled up quick! I might do some more in December, but what I would advise, if you haven’t already, is get onto my mindfulness challenge -

Here’s the link to all the info, and the facebook group:

https://arjunaishaya.lpages.co/houradaymindful/ 

Is there life BEFORE death? - That is the question!

I woke up this morning and looked out the window to see a wonder.

The fields at the back of the house completely white with frost, and the low autumn sun sneaking up, making everything shine with colour. Spectacular.

There are moments in life that take your breath away.

When you stop, and go “wow!”. This morning was one of them.

Someone once said that the quality of a life perhaps could be measured not in how many moments you have, but how many moments that took your breath away. That the question of whether there is life after death is irrelevant, people should concern themselves only with whether there is life BEFORE death.

The trouble is with “wow” moments is that people don’t put themselves in the way of them enough.

Life is lived at such a fast pace that showing up to now is rare -

“I’ll just get this done, and that done, and then I’ll stop” … you know it, you know you never seem to get to the end of your to do list. So busy thinking and doing and rushing around - so how will you ever fill a life with “wow!”?

In fact, a life of “why?” can become “normal” - as in “why is this happening to me?!”

It’s a tragedy because a whole life can be lost, just through not paying attention - and yet it’s the simplest thing to do. Mindfully giving your attention to the one thing in front of you.

Remembering to look up and away from your phone at the far view, at what’s around you. Remembering to stop and check out of the frantic nature of your own mind, even just for a breath or three.

The amount of wow moments you have is directly related to how often you come out of your busy head and appreciate what there is, here, now.

I know you're busy, I know people are depending on you. But no one is going to do it for you - you’re going to have to build that habit of being more Awake and Alive yourself. So rewarding it is. So great to really live, no matter how busy your life feels. So great to live a life of wow.

And how happy will your loved ones be, when they get the best version of you back? Super dooper happy.

You can do it.

Go well!

Arjuna

PS.

If you'd like to be more mindful - here's a free 7 day challenge that will be right up your street.

Everything you need to build the mindfulness "muscle":

https://arjunaishaya.lpages.co/houradaymindful/

There's even a very supportive challenge Facebook group for you to check out (details in above link).

The secret to the happiest days of your life

Happy?

You are focusing on the simple fact that all is well in your life. You’re enjoying it because everything is going great. You’re focused on the good, and my how good it is.

You can do this any time you like. Any time.  No matter what seems to be happening in your life. It’s learning to focus on what you do have and wean yourself off the focus on what is wrong, what is missing, what is lacking.

This is the simple secret to all happiness.

Gratitude. The more you do it the more you realise it has less to do what you are grateful and appreciative for, and everything to do with the fact that you are just darn grateful.

Want a happy life? Want to weather stress and the storms and the ups and downs with a stable anchor in what is great and good about you and your life? Get good at gratitude. It’s the greatest thing ever.

And here’s a cool quote I really like about gratitude:

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” 

• Melody Beattie

So simple that people just don’t do it. And if you don’t do gratitude, you just won’t know how powerful it is. So go to it!

Go well!

Arjuna

PS.

Gratitude is just one of the 108 tips I have on living the mindful, aware, stress free Alive life.

To find out the other 107, head this way for your free copy:

https://arjunaishaya.leadpages.co/sane-fb