HAPPINESS FROM THE INSIDE-OUT

If something in your life is not working what do you do? The natural reaction is to change it right? If your not happy in your job, you find a new one, if your not happy in your relationship then you end it, if your not happy being single then you look for a relationship, if your feeling fat then you go to the gym, if you always seem to spend more money than you have, you create a budget plan, if you think you're smoking too much, then you try to quit, if you don't like your living situation you look for a new home..... you get the picture.

We are taught that if we want to create change, then we just jump in to the outer world and we make it happen.

However, often we go out making these changes in the hope that this will make us happy. We are convinced that the reason that we are unhappy is because something in our life is not right. We blame our unhappiness on the things outside of us.

For as long as I remember this is how I have lived my life. But if I have realised anything over the past few years, it is that outside change doesn't always guarantee happiness. Often these outer changes are just band-aid solutions. They are temporary fixes. They give you an initial buzz and then pretty soon that wears off and the underlying feeling of unhappiness comes back. That's when you start looking for the next thing to satisfy you.

What if the key to happiness doesn't actually lay outside of us, but rather inside us?

I have come to a significant turning point in my life. I have realised that true, long lasting, genuine happiness does not come from those things outside of me.

It is true that outside things, events and circumstances do create feelings of happiness in us. But if you depend on them for your happiness, you will always be powerless. They will always control you. The key to having these things in your life is to see them as beautiful additions, rather than as necessary things that you need to have to define you, to give your life meaning and to make you happy.

Over the past few years, I have tried to change pretty much every outside circumstance in my life in the hope that it will make me happy. I have tried everything from moving house, to changing jobs, to going overseas, to moving interstate, to ending relationships, to starting relationships, to making new friends or letting go of old friends, I have tried losing weight, changing my hair colour, wearing different clothes, taking up new hobbies.... the list goes on.

I have recently grown tired of continuously trying to change the circumstances in my outer world in order to make me happy. I felt like all I was doing was spending my life searching for something outside of me to heal the inner dissatisfaction I felt. I kept telling myself when I got this next thing, or made that next change then I would be happier, but it didn't work. That nagging empty feeling just kept lingering.

So, this realisation has caused me to go on a different search. Rather then searching outside of me for something in my world to make me happy, I decided to take the search inwards. I am now embarking on a new journey.

This new way of living involves me refraining from my constant need to change things outside of me and instead look inside me. The inner world is the place of your beliefs, your feelings, your thoughts, your emotions, your perceptions and interpretations, your memories, and who you are being. This is where change starts. When you shift the way you see, experience, interpret and feel the world, your world will actually change. Inside change means changing who you are as a person. You change from the inside out. You realise that if youre feeling unhappy, there is nothing you can get in the outside world that will fix it. Rather you delve inside to discover what the root cause of your unhappiness is and you do the inner work to heal it.

I am sure this topic will continue to feature in my future posts as it is a big focus for me at the moment. It will be an ongoing journey for me. I look forward to sharing more about how we can make the shift from living a life focused on gaining instant satisfaction from outside change, to a life focused on cultivating inner change and creating long term, genuine happiness from inside-out.

A HEALTHIER YOU IN 2010

Are you interested in improving your physical health, the appearance of your body or in creating a more balanced and healthy lifestyle? If so, here are ten tips that you could commit to taking on board in 2010.

These suggestions are not so much aimed at removing the bad things from your diet or stopping unhealthy lifestyle habits. They are more about what you can add to your life to improve your health and create a more balanced lifestyle.

I have used many of these and they have made big shifts in the quality of my life, my health and have helped me create a more balanced lifestyle. Why not try one or all of them. Or come up with your own...

1. Eat Organic

Do you know that you can get fresh organic produced delivered to your home? I get my organics delivered by miss organic which are a melbourne based company. My first box for 2010 arrived today overflowing with yummy organic goodness. If you struggle with the idea of going out of your way to make it to the markets or an organic supplier, consider getting your produce home delivered. I come home every Thursday to a huge box of amazing produce which means I don't have to go searching around the markets for the best stuff. I love using my produce to make nutritious smoothies, vegetable juices and a daily salad which I take to work. Organic produce is fresher, more nutritious and free from nasty pesticides. With services like this there is no excuse to not start in 2010.You can check out the miss organic website for more information on their company and on the benefits of integrating organic produce in to your life. Or if you're not from melbourne, just simply do a search on the Internet and you will surely find an affordable and easy way to begin eating organic.

2. Add in a new form of exercise
We can get stuck in an exercise rut, so this year why not try something different. Are you yet to try yoga, surfing, or rock climbing? Is there a new fitness goal that you have? Do you normally exercise at the gym? You could try a class you have never done before or why not try exercising outdoors. My new thing in 2010 is boxing classes. Boxing is completely out of my comfort zone and totally not the type of exercise I would normally take on. But I have been hearing people raving about it lately and I think the fact that it is new and exciting will help me jazz up my exercise regime a little. I am a runner from way back, and I enjoy nothing more than running outdoors. But, this year it is time to try something new. Is there something new you are willing to take on this year?

3. Wake up earlier 

Could you commit to waking up half an hour earlier each day? Would that benefit you? What morning practice could you integrate, and how could you best use this time? Some ideas or ways to use that extra 30-60 minutes in the morning include; sitting down and planning your day or setting your goals, making your lunch, exercising or going to the gym, doing some yoga or meditation, reading the newspaper and catching up on current events, getting to work earlier to increase your productivity, getting started on your to do list, or even just relaxing! Since I have committed to waking up earlier my whole life has changed. I now have a valuable morning routine that includes yoga, meditation, journaling and making my lunch. I use this time to set my energy for the day and ensure I head off to work feeling calm and organised.

4. Get to bed earlier

If you want to start to wake up earlier, it may also be helpful to start going to bed earlier. Getting a good night sleep plays a huge role in your health and your ability to feel alert and energised through your day. Even getting to bed 30-6o minutes earlier can help, especially if it is in those precious hours before midnight.

5. Make your lunch each day

This could mean waking up 30 minutes earlier, or you could make it the night before. Make something healthy and nutritious for yourself that you enjoy to eat and save money on buying food at work. I make a salad for lunch in the morning for work. This guarantees that everyday I am getting a dose of raw, healthy organic veggies into my diet. While it may mean that I have to be more organised and get up earlier, I have found the benefits and the money I save to be worth it

6. Go green

Add more green veggies in to your diet. Green vegetables are the most nutritious foods on the planet. Jam packed with vitamins and minerals, they are water rich, alkalising on the body and also very cleansing. You can just work to add in more of them along with your regular meals. You can have your normal dinner but include along side it a big green leafy salad or bowl of steamed greens, have a salad for lunch, or even try a green smoothie for breakfast.

7. Relax 

I have my own little tool box of strategies that I draw on to help me cope with stress. If you find this is an issue in your life, work on integrating some new practices in to your life in 2010 to help you. This may include; journaling, yoga, meditation, walking outdoors, breathing exercises, taking time out on your own, taking regular breaks at work, reading a novel, doing gentle stretching exercises, getting a massage, having a bath etc... Take time to find out what helps you feel more relaxed and make a commitment to include these things in your life daily.

8. Have it raw 

Rather than cooking for vegetables, eat them raw. Eat more fruit. Snack on raw nuts and seeds. Have a freshly squeezed fruit or vegetable juice or make an all fruit smoothie for breakfast. There are plenty of ways to add more raw foods in to your diet. Eating your food raw keeps them in their natural state so that no vitamins or minerals are damaged during heating. It also keeps all the natural enzymes which means your body doesn't have to draw on its own store of precious enzymes to digest your food. I personally thrive on a high raw diet, and I find eating lots of fresh, uncooked organic fruits and vegetables keeps my body energised, clean and glowing with health.

9. Eat smaller dinners 

Through most of winter I used to eat really big comforting dinners. Although they were usually filled with nutritious things like vegetables and whole grains, I often went to bed feeling full, and as a result I would wake up feeling groggy and unrested. It wasn't until I started changing the way I ate dinner that I started feeling different when I woke up. I now eat a small, light dinner and I eat it early in the evening so I have plenty of time to digest before I sleep. This way my sleep time is dedicated purely to restoration and regeneration rather than digestion. It is amazing how much better you feel in the morning, plus it also helps give you a flatter stomach! It is worth giving a try and seeing if you notice the difference. 

10. Learn more

Learn more about what you are putting in your body. Read labels. Understand what you are eating. Open up to new ideas rather than just eating what you always eat. It is easy to fall in to food ruts and never actually question what we put in our mouth. Become educated about what you are eating and find what works for you. Gain more knowledge on health and nutrition or on exercise and fitness and actually find out what your body needs to thrive. This will help you make food and lifestyle choices that are supportive of your body and valuable to your health.

Enjoy 2010 and do your best to create it as your healthiest year yet!

EVERYDAY WONDERS - LOVE THE SMALL THINGS

We live in a material and physical world that places a lot of importance on achieving and acquiring. It is easy to get swept up in the energy of it and lose perspective on what is really important. 

Our happiness, our identity and our sense of self-worth often comes from what we have and what we do, and and we are taught to believe that we are what we achieve.

In the search for happiness, we often look to the world outside of us for what we need. We are constantly bombarded with information which pulls us in different directions and causes us to chase after something 'out-there' to make us happy. The media uses tactics to make us feel that without this certain product we cannot be happy. We often grow up comparing ourselves to our peers, and feeling if we had what they had we would be happy. Sometimes we feel the need to gain approval from others such as our parents or teachers in order to feel good about ourselves. Other times, it is just a strong inner motivation which forces us to strive, compete, work hard, get more and do more, in the hope that we will be more.

We may believe that achieving certain things in life or acquiring different possession will bring us the happiness we are craving. We think that "when I have that apartment I will be happy", or when I "get that job I will be fulfilled" or when I "loose those last 5 kilos then I will love myself" or "when I get that payrise I will be satisfied". But the problem is that these things only bring us a temporary sense of happiness that satisfies us short term. Pretty soon we get tired of what we have again and we want something else.

Now, I am not anti-materialism. The fact of the matter is that we live in a physical and material world, and in order to survive and thrive we must learn to master our environment. I love my material possessions as they actually bring me a lot of joy. I also love acheiving goals and I gain much satisfaction from creating results. However, my challenge has been in my perspective and the value I place on these things. I am learning to detach from the importance I place on my material possessions and my outer results. I still love and value them, but they do not define me. Rather than being the means to my happiness, I like to see them as beautiful outward expressions of the happiness and fulfillment that is already inside me.

So, my suggestion for the new year is take your focus off the outer world and place it on the inner world. Remove your attention from the big things in life and begin to notice the small, simple things. Find the magic in life. Love and appreciate those small, special things. Appreciate the essence of what life is about. Create more special moments.

Have you ever had one of those moments when something simple in life literally takes your breath away? Something suddenly pulls at you or grabs your attention or overwhelms your heart with emotion. You may get stopped in your tracks and you are caught up in a moment of natural beauty or joy. When these happen, I believe it is the universe asking you to stop and notice and reconnect with your true self. Sometimes it happens in nature surrounded by natural beauty. Sometimes it happens when you are in love and totally connected to another person. It may happen when you watch a beautiful sunset, or when you play with children. Some people also experience this feeling of flow when they are involved in some creative task. Others may get it while involved in physical activity such as swimming, walking, running or hiking.

However these moments come to you, they often feel as though something else takes you over and you become consumed in the moment. Sometimes these moments come out of nowhere and surprise you. They usually arise from silence and allowing yourself to be present to your current situation. Your mind my stop and as a result you allow something else to come in. These moments also often involve some form of connection. Connection to people, to nature or to the self. It is the essence of life. It is truth and it is pure.

These moments can help you see that there is so much natural beauty and wonder in the world, and so much joy to be had with with simple things. So, I encourage you to discover these moments in your life. Amongst the busyness of your world, the action you must take and the rattling of your mind, take time to stop and find the magic amongst the noise. Stop searching for joy outside of you, and allow it to come from within. Let go of the drama and get lost in awe at the wonderful world we live in.