WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER: THE POWER OF TRUE CONNECTION

Lately, I have been doing a lot of yoga. I get myself to class once or twice a week and I also practice at home. I have been dabbling in and out of yoga since I was 18. But something has just been pulling me to this beautiful practice lately. It has been calling at me to get myself there. To lay still and simply listen. There is definitely something larger than me right now that knows I need it. 

I love my teacher. At the start and end of my class she always shares some wise words, an inspirational message or some beautiful insights. I have found that in each class, her words have resonated with me,  so deeply. It is as if I am being told exactly what I need to hear.

My most recent class was no different. As I lay there in savasana, her words washed over me. She finished the class with this simple message...

"We are all one. We are all in this together"

So simple. Yet so profound.

+ We are all one -- We are all the same. We are all made of the same stuff. Whether we believe it or not, we all go through similar challenges, similar joys and similar experiences. We are not as different as we may think we are.

+ We are all in this together -- This journey. This life. This process. We are all here, just doing the best we can. We all want the same thing. Happiness. Peace. Love. Fulfilment. We are all on the path just trying to carve out a life that makes our heart sing.

Unfortunately, as a society, I think we have forgotten and completely lost touch with this simple truth.

OUR SOCIETY OF SEPARATENESS

I felt deeply inspired to expand on this teaching in a blog post because I think it is a huge one.

We live in a world where there is a lot of separateness, disconnect and competition. There is war, fighting and hatred. There is racism, sexism and terrorism. There is so much you against me, and us against them. 

In the workplace, we compete against each other for promotions and pay rises. Our schools breed rivalry as we work and struggle to be better than our peers.  Or politicians fight against each other for right and wrong. As women, we judge and evaluate our fellow sisters so that we can feel superior. On the roads we cut in, cut off and zig zag through traffic in the effort to get ahead of another.

All you have to do is listen to the news and you will hear stories of people against people. You against me. Us against them.

We have been taught to be so focused on ourselves. Our wants. Our desires. Our need to be better, faster, stronger, more successful etc. We have forgotten the most beautiful and powerful truth of why we are really here.

We are here to connect. We are here to love. We are here to serve. We are here to let go of all the crap that we think makes us different, and remember that we are all one. We are all the same.

CREATING CONNECTEDNESS

Creating true connection, starts with each of us as individuals. As we each change ourselves, who we are being, and how we are thinking, gradually the whole world will begin to change. It all starts with us. All great change, starts within us.

+ CONNECT WITH YOURSELF
To truly connect with another being, we first have to master the ability to connect with ourselves. I believe this is the first step.

Someone who does not know who they are, and does not feel secure in themselves, is much more likely to want to make others feel smaller in an attempt to make themselves feel bigger. This comes from a place of insecurity, separateness and fear. However, someone who is deeply connected with a strong sense of self and feels confident and certain about themselves, will feel comfortable to lift others up and see them become their best.

Take some time to really get to know yourself. Get familiar with your good and bad, your positives and negatives, your strengths and weaknesses. Through getting to know yourself you will see that we are actually not that different from each other. When you are comfortable with your own flaws, you will be less critical and aware of the apparent flaws in others.

+ BE VULNERABLE 

You cannot truly connect with another human being unless you are willing to be vulnerable. When we allow other people to see who we really are, good and bad, it tears down the walls that separate us. 

Anytime we are living in a false sense of self, protecting ourselves with distance and superiority, we make it impossible for anyone to get close to us. We must be willing to be raw, real, authentic with warts and all exposed. Doing this removes competition. It eliminates you vs. me. It creates a space of truth and oneness and allows two people to see each other for who they really are.

+REFRAIN FROM JUDGEMENT 

"Don't judge a man until you've walked two moons in his moccasins" -- Sharon Creech. 

How often do you judge another person? Label their actions as good or bad? Pass an opinion on who they are or what they have done? By doing this you are separating yourself and trying to give off the false impression that you are perfect. 

When you remember that we are all one, and we are all in this together, then the need to judge another falls away. We can empathise and understand that the other person is just doing the best they can. When we can acknowledge that we too, have made mistakes and done things we are not proud of, we can let other people off the hook when they do it too.

+ SERVE 

There is no better way to connect with another person, than being of service. To do this you have to get over yourself and make someone else's needs a priority. When you are of service, what you want for yourself does not matter. You are simply there to support and enable another person to get what they need. Being of service is simply about helping another. 

To do this you must be humble, generous, loving and kind. It may be as simple as listening to a friend when they are in need, letting someone else take a seat on the bus, doing a favour, lending a helping hand, volunteering your time, giving away something you own. 

Whatever it is, it is not about you. You have no hidden agenda. You are not afraid about anyone else becoming better than you, or getting more than you. You simply know that you are equal with this person, and that by serving them, you are in essence serving yourself.

THE ART OF AUTHENTIC LIVING: HOW TO LIVE AND BREATHE YOUR TRUTH

Today's post is about being-ness. It is about learning how to be the person you truly are. It is about creating your self and your life from the inside out.

A key aspect of this is authenticity. Being your authentic self. Living your authentic life. To me, this means: find out who you are, and then live it and breathe it.

"What does it mean to live authentically? Living authentically is what you're doing when you find congruence between your inner world: your feelings, values, gifts, needs, spirituality, and passions, and your outer world: your job, relationships, home, and community. When you live an authentic life, these things support and synergize each other" --Susan Piver

For years, I read about the practice of living authentically, yet I never really experienced it. I knew it as a concept. An idea. But embodying authenticity and stepping 100% totally and utterly in to your truth, is a completely different experience. 

I grasped fleeting moments of authenticity when I would find myself immersed in a project, in an area of passion or in a creative task. I felt aligned. I felt like I was doing exactly what I needed to be doing in this moment. I felt clear headed and centred. It was like I was exactly where I needed to be.

While I caught the occasional glimpse of authenticity, living these principles as my daily truth felt impossible. For so long, I felt like I knew who I was on the inside, but I never felt that it was reflected on the outside in my day to day life. 

It has not been until recently that I have actually began to walk my talk. To live and breathe my truth. To be who I really am. For me, living authentically means showing the world who I know I am and ensuring that every decision, every action, every word is aligned with that.

Since I have been doing this I have been feeling new emotions, experiencing magic, witnessing synchronicities. Life has a new level of flow. It has purpose and meaning. I have a goal that feels greater than I will ever be.

WHO DO YOU WANT TO BE IN THE WORLD?

Many of us are not motivated by the idea of living an authentic life and discovering our true selves. Rather we are happy to live a life that bring us superficial satisfaction, fleeting feelings of pleasure, and the love and approval of others. We play a safe game. We do what we think is right. We follow the pack. We keep ourselves comfortable. 

We are very often conditioned to live this way. We are taught who we need to be in order to get love, or what we need to do to get praise. We consequently throw our own inner guidance out the window and replace it with the guidance of others. We lose touch with what we really want for ourselves. We forget who we were really born to be.

To live an authentic life we have to be willing to let all of this go. We have to let go of our old ways of being. An authentic life is about unlearning all the messages you have received from your family, your peers, your environment, and relearning your truth. It is about discovering who you really are.

WHAT ARE THE QUALITIES OF AN AUTHENTIC LIFE?

+ Embodying your truth: You live so completely and utterly in line with your truth, that you never doubt yourself. You honour and trust yourself so completely that you can follow what is right for you whether or not other people like it or agree with it.

+ Living from your heart space: This means that everything you do is motivated by love and comes from a space of love. Your heart is what guides you. You follow your bliss.You can not be authentic if fear is running your life.

+ Being on purpose: You know exactly what you are meant to be doing with your life, and you are doing it. You are connected to a larger meaning in your life rather than the simple day in and day out actions of surviving. You are here to serve.

+ Intuition: You are connected to your inner self. You have an inner awareness. You can connect with your body, your soul and your self, and hear the guidance that comes from the higher part of you. You act on your inspiration.

+ Knowing yourself: You have a beautiful and keen self awareness. You are willing to peel back the layers of your self and discover what is who you really are and what is not. You are comfortable getting familiar with the wonderful aspects of yourself, as well as the deep, dark and not so nice aspects.

+ Courage: You have such a commitment to your authentic life that you are willing to do whatever it takes. Overcome any fear. Triumph over any challenge. Take any risk. 

HOW TO LIVE MORE AUTHENTICALLY

+ Identify your passions: Do you know what you are passionate about? Honestly. Do you know what excites you, inspires you and ignites your little heart? To live authentically, you have to be living in line with your passion. So, if you do not know what you are passionate about I suggest you sit down and start to find out. Get out of your head, listen to your heart and hear what it is telling you.

+ Journal: Journalling is a fantastic tool to help unveil your passions. Start by simply sitting down and free writing, without judgement. Write lists about all the things you love to do. Write about your ideal life. What would be the most amazing way you could spend each day of your life? What are those things that you do, where time just passes? What makes you come alive?

+ Become self-aware: Self awareness is a undervalued principle. Yet, it is the first step to creating beautiful and powerful change in your life. Start to get curious about yourself. What are your beliefs? What are your values? How have you become the person you are? Take some time to introspect. What decisions have shaped your life? What experiences have defined your life? It is impossible to live an authentic life, if you do not know who you are.

+ Choose love: Living authentically will require you to relinquish all of the fear based thinking you have been indulging in. You must choose to love yourself and make decisions based on what you love. You will be required to step out in to the world and in order to do so you will have to let go of the fear that has been keeping you small. Think in loving, support and limitless ways rather than fearful, negative and limited ways.

+ Take inspired action: As you start to connect with your authentic self, you will realise it is not enough to simply know who you are. You have to experience who you are. This means taking new actions and creating experiences in the outer world that match who you are. As you connect with yourself you will feel inspired to act in new ways. It will be these new actions that will begin to define yourself in a new way and change how you are living your life.

+ Let go of others opinions: You are going to have to give up on putting other peoples opinions before your own. You will have to stop worrying about what other people will think. You cannot live an authentic life if you are continuously trying to mould yourself to the preferences of others. To play a big, true, real life you must march to the beat of your own drum and know that the people who truly love you will you support you no matter what.

"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind" -- Dr Seuss


So, over to you! I would love to hear more about your journey...
+ Do you feel you are living an authentic life?
+ If so, what practices have you used to help get you there?
+ If not, what do you need to do to get you there?

QUIT YOUR FUTURE TRIPPING! : HOW TO LOVE YOUR 'NOW'

With all this new year goal setting flying around, I am finding myself getting caught up in a severe case of future tripping. My mind is completely overwhelmed with all of my future goals, and as a result it is taking me away from simply enjoying this delicious present moment. 

I have a bit of the grass is greener mentality. The grass over there seems so luscious and beautiful and as a result it makes the grass here look totally dull and boring.

Sure, there is nothing wrong with feeling super psyched about all the exciting things you want to manifest this year. However, trouble arises when you find that your future fantasising leads you to feel totally and utterly dissatisfied with where you are now.

This pretty much sums up exactly what is happening to me. Let's see if you can relate....

(above: my new affirmation!!)

MY FUTURE TRIPPING WOES

At the moment I have a day job. I enjoy my job. There is nothing wrong with it. However I do not love my job. The main aim of this job at the moment is to pay the bills so that I can support myself in my transition to start up my own business. Each day after work, I literally rush home so that I can start work on what I am really passionate about. In the evenings after a long day at the office, I do not watch tv or sit on the couch. I work. I write on my blog. I work with coaching clients. I study. I connect with my like minded peeps in the world wide web. I meditate. I read. I brainstorm about my future plans and I design and develop all the exciting components of my dream job. And I love it.

Basically outside of work, I do what I love. And I love it so much that sometimes I cannot sleep. And then, I wake up and I go back to my reality and it feels like a slap in the face. In comparison to where I want to be, where I am now seems totally boring and uninspiring.

So, herein lies my problem. How do we remain happy day in day out with where we are in our lives, while also allowing ourselves to get ridiculously caught up in all the delicious details of our future?

The answer? 

We have to learn to love our NOW, while at the same time being excited about what is coming

LOVE YOUR NOW

This is the trick. You have to find a way to love, enjoy, appreciate and adore everything about where you are now and what you have now, while you wait for all your awesome future stuff to come to you.

This requires a delicate balancing act. It is a balance between...

Appreciating everything you already have + Loving the present moment + Making every day the best it can be 

While also...

Focusing on the end goal you are working towards + Dedicating huge amounts of your physical and mental energy to your future outcome +  Feeling super excited and eager about where you are going

Now you get why it can be challenging, huh!

HOW ON EARTH DO I LOVE MY NOW? (I hear you ask!)

I want to share with you what I do to bring myself back to the present moment. This stuff is tried and tested and it really helps. So if you too have a case of the future trips, try out these hot tips...

+ Open your eyes: Personally, when I future trip, I am 100% percent stuck in my head. Often I find myself getting quite lost in the future world in my head. Life becomes one big daydream. When this happens I stop, open my eyes, and focus on something in my immediate environment. Start to actually look at what is around you and in front of you. We miss so much beauty and magic that is right in front of us when we are in our heads 

+ Make peace with where you are: Stop resisting it. Stop complaining about it. Stop noticing all the things wrong with it. Simply accept it. This is your reality in this moment. Make peace with it.

+ Remember, life is a journey: Yes, it sounds cliche but it is actually true. There is so much involved in the journey you are taking as you move towards what you want. Life is not purely about getting things. It is about who we become in the process. The reason things take time, is because we first need to go through the process of becoming the person we need to be in order to be able to handle what we are getting. 

+ Find the positives: When we are unhappy in a situation, the main reason is because we are focusing on all the things we do not like about it. I have no doubt that if there is an area of your life that you are wanting to change or move away from, you spend most of your time thinking about what is wrong with it, rather than what is right. True? So, start finding the positives. Start looking for what is great about where you are. Trust me, there are things. Search for them. The more you focus on the positives, the more positive your situation will become.

+ Learn a little patience:  In this day and age, we all want everything at the click of a finger. We are no longer prepared to wait. Patience, as a quality, is actually a beautiful skill to practice. The gift of being patient is that it makes you slow down. We are all so rushed these days. But having to wait for something, makes you stop. You are forced to stop and wait in a situation where you would normally trying to make things happen as fast as possible. Have a little faith in the divine timing that is going on, and practice a wee bit of patience.

So, over to you! I want to know...

+ What area of your life are you future tripping in?
+ What practices do you use to help you love your now?

LOVING ME, LOVING YOU: IT IS ALL ABOUT RADICAL SELF LOVE!

GUEST POST: WRITTEN BY VIENDA MARIA

Read the original post here

"You must love yourself before you love another. By accepting yourself and fully being what you are, your simple presence can make others happy" -- Unknown

It is my understanding, from what I have observed, experienced and learnt about life so far, that all negative, unhappy, unkind, insensitive thoughts, words and actions stem from a lack of love. And in order to create more love in our lives, firstly we must start with loving ourselves.

RADICAL SELF LOVE

I love the term radical self love, which I believe was coined by Gala Darling, as it so eloquently encompasses exactly what we must feel for ourselves. Radical self love is knowing, understanding and accepting oneself fully. It means that we allow ourselves to be exactly who we are, reverie in it even. We support ourselves without question and stop criticising ourselves. We stop the banal chatter in our minds and drop the beliefs that we are underserving, unloveable or unworthy of all the good we would like in our lives.

Radical self love means that you know that, by the mere fact that you exist, you are worthy of love, of success, of wealth, of friendship, of beauty, of safety, of fun, of anything and everything that you dream of, and aspire to be...

Why is self love so important? Because what you feel, think and believe about yourself is exactly what you get. If you think you are wonderful, unique and deserving of the best, that is what you will get. If you believe that you are unworthy, unlucky, and always finish last, then that is what you will get.

WHAT IS IT THAT YOU WANT?

Countless books have been written on this topic and the one that I continuously recommend is by Louise Hay, called, You Can Heal Your Life. Not only does Louise tenaciously describe how and why radical self love is so important, she also gives and entire step by step guideline on how to change your thoughts and belief patterns. One of my favourite parts of her book no less, is that back pages which explain common physical ailments that are reflected and can be changed by our thought processes.

Not only is self love important as a realm of creating your own Universe, it is important in the relationships you create with others. No one will ever be able to love you more than you love yourself, so you must love yourself first in order to be able to let others love you. And the more you love yourself, the easier it is to love others. Suddenly your world opens up into a myriad of magic and compassion, and anything and everything becomes possible for you.

"I'll tell you, the more I think, the more I feel that there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people" -- Vincent Van Gogh

HOW TO PRACTICE SELF LOVE

The best way I can think of how to describe how to practice self love, is to treat yourself as you would your best friend. Somehow, somewhere, we have learnt to put ourselves last, to put up with less than we would like or expect. So start pretending you are someone external to yourself, someone you truly love and admire, and treat yourself as so. 

Would you allow your best friend to stay in a relationship that is obviously detrimental to them? No! Would you allow your best friend to behave in ways that makes them sick, sad, tired or unhealthy? No! Would you allow your best friend to be in situations or with people that made them feel bad? NO!! So, why would you allow these things in your life?

Now is the perfect time to make those changes. Every day show yourself how much you love yourself, by protecting yourself, nourishing yourself, pampering yourself and giving yourself the best that you can. Start thinking positive thoughts about yourself and your body. Compliment yourself and watch in awe how the world around you begins to change to reflect your new perspective.

image source

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

This post was written by Vienda Maria. Vienda is a philosophising wordsmith and life coach who lights up when she helps others realise their full potential. Want to know more? You can read more from Vienda Maria here, or connect on Facebook and Twitter.

HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON TIPS: 4 SECRETS TO CREATING HARMONIOUS RELATIONSHIPS

The area of relationships can be one of the most challenging facets of life to master. It can also be one the most beautiful.

Relationships provide an opportunity for you to connect with another person and gain an insight in to their experience of the world. We all see the world differently which is why relationships can be challenging. It is in relationship with another, whether it be intimate or not, that you are able to learn the most about yourself. It is through your relationship with another that you get to experience yourself in a certain way.

We are all different in each relationship we enter. In some we are loving, in some we are cold, in some we are authoritative and in others we are extremely vulnerable. Relationships allow you experience different parts and aspects of your personality, and they are a beautiful space for you truly connect with another human being.

All day every day we a forming and experiencing different types of relationships with a variety of people. Some relationships are plutonic, some are intimate, some are professional and some are genetic. Either way, we come in contact with a huge amount of different people and experience many different depths of relationships with others.

We have a choice what part of ourselves we will bring to these relationships, although at times it may not feel that way. We may sometimes think that someone 'makes' us feel a certain way, or we cannot help but get angry/upset/distant when we are around a certain person. Sometimes people just push our buttons and we feel like we react uncontrollably. But this is not true. We always have a choice how we are going to act in every moment. It is up to us to choose to either react in a loving way or a hateful way.

This is the key to relationships. It is about choosing who you are going to be. And then being that way, regardless of what the other person does. It is about refraining from judgement, criticising, blame, arrogance, and selfishness. It is about learning to open yourself up, to be authentic, vulnerable, loving, accepting and forgiving. At the end of the day it has nothing to do with that other person, and it has everything to do with who you are choosing to define yourself as in this moment.

4 SECRETS TO CREATING HARMONIOUS RELATIONSHIPS

1. ASK YOURSELF HOW CAN I GIVE?

Sometimes I feel like we have really lost touch with what this holiday season is all about. As children, we are taught to believe that Christmas time is all about what we can get. What gifts will we get? What chocolates will we get? How much will we get? etc..  Then as we get older, this mentality of continuously trying to get as much stuff as we can, seems to pervade every area of our life. While, I completely believe in graciously receiving all the gifts (both tangible and intangible) that the world has to offer, I also feel that things have become a little unbalanced.

This holiday season, why not try shifting your focus from what you can get, to what you can give. Take the focus off yourself, and off all your needs and wants, and put your attention on others. How can you be of service? What gift can you give to someone that will truly warm their heart? How can you contribute in a way that will help and assist another person?

When you approach any relationship with the mentality of giving rather than getting, your experience of that relationship will completely transform. Try making this shift in focus in each of the various relationships you have. It may be with your partner, your parents, your friends or your work colleagues. Rather than thinking purely about what you want to get from these relationships (eg: love, affection, attention, gifts, generosity, praise) instead think about how you can offer these to someone else. 

2. PRACTICE THE ART OF REALLY LISTENING

Around this time of year we tend to spend a lot of time with various different people. We might be at work functions, at family dinners, at lunches with friends or at our partners family do's. It is a time to get together, celebrate, connect, catch up and share experiences together. As part of this, it is likely that you are going to be involved in many conversations. You may have to make small talk with your boss at your work Christmas lunch, you may get stuck in a long conversation with a grandparent about everything that's happened in your lives in the past year, or you may have the chance to reconnect with a friend that you have not been able to see in months and have an awesome chat. No matter how it happens, the holiday season will involve a lot of connection and conversation.

When you're in these situations, how often do you really listen? I mean, really listen? Truly listening to someone means being 100% present for them. It means that all your attention is squarely on them and you are concentrating on what they are saying and totally taking it all in. How often do you really sit and place that much focus on another person? Instead what we normally do is politely nod along while meanwhile we are often thinking about a thousand other things. We may be preparing our next comment or point in our heads, thinking about ourselves and how we look or feel, or even completely daydreaming and thinking of something else.

I encourage you try to really listening to the people who are talking to you this holiday season. If you have ever experienced the feeling of having someone be 100% present and there for you while you are talking, you know it feels pretty special. This is another tool that completely transform your relationship with a person, and enable you to authentically connect in a whole new way.

3. LET GO OF PAST GRUDGES

Get really honest with yourself for a moment, and answer this question. Is there anything that has happened in the past that you are carrying around in the present and holding against another person? Answer honestly. Are there any past issues that you have with another person that are still bothering you? Do you feel resentment towards anyone? Are any of your current relationships being affected by a grudge you are holding against that person? Do you have anything bothering you that has not yet been resolved and instead you are carrying it around inside you like a dead weight?

When you spend time with friends, family members and other loved ones, you want to be able to be present with them and simply experience your relationship with them in this moment. But how often (especially in family situations) do we have old past hurts, problems, issues, resentments, judgements or grudges that we are letting get in the way of the relationship. Rather than being able to simply enjoy the presence of the people we love, we spend the whole time stuck in our heads letting old stories take us out of this special, present moment.

Do you realise that when you do this, the only person you are hurting is yourself? You are simply poisoning yourself with negative thoughts. You are draining your energy with disempowering thinking. You are putting a wedge between yourself and someone who you deeply care about. I know that you care about them, because if you did not, you would have let go of the resentment years ago.  I love this quote from Buddha --"Holding on to anger is like holding on to a hot coal with the intention of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned."

So, why not this year, try letting the past be what it is; the past. It is gone. Been. Done. Over. Let go of petty problems. Let go of old issues. Drop the drama. Release the story. Forgive the person. If there are issues that need to be addressed then it is up to you to find the courage to have the tough conversations. I do not mean yelling and making that person wrong. I mean stepping up to have a real, heart driven, honest conversation about how you're feeling. Do whatever needs to be done to let go of past grudges to you can enjoy the special moments now.

I think this recommendation from Walter Anderson is beautiful -- "If you're angry at a loved one, hug that person. And mean it. You may not want to hug - which is all the more reason to do so. It's hard to stay angry when someone show you that they love you, and that's precisely what happens when we hug each other"

4. APPRECIATE THE POSITIVE ASPECTS

I believe that all of us have in us, the capacity to demonstrate a full rainbow of different personality traits and qualities. We all have the capacity to be sad or happy, mean or kind, outgoing or shy, generous or stingy, friendly or cold, angry or peaceful, weak or strong, confident or insecure, and the list goes on. I am sure each of us have had moments in our life where we have shown aspects of our personality that we were not overly proud of. Depending on the specific situations and environments we find ourselves in, the various parts of ourselves will be displayed.

Would you prefer that the people in your life remember you for all the great qualities and traits that you posses and express, or all the not so great ones? And isn't it the best feeling ever when someone notices a great quality about you and appreciates or acknowledges it? It makes you feel pretty damn spesh huh!

The same applies to the other people in our lives. Think of a person who you do not overly like, or who you do not really enjoy spending time with. If I asked you to describe them, I have no doubt your list of their negative personality traits than would outweigh the positive. But going back to what I said earlier, it does not mean that this person only possesses negative traits. What it does mean however is that seeing that is all you are focusing in about that person, then that is all you continue to experience of them.

This holiday season I encourage you to start to notice the positive aspects of all the people you come in contact with. I am sure there are people in your life (possibly members of your family) that you at times may have a love/hate relationship with. But keep in mind that the more you focus on all the things you do not like about that person, the more you will notice them. And vice versa. The more that you take the time to notice the positive aspects in someone's personality, or their strengths or the great things about them, the more you will notice and experience those qualities.

GET THE GLOW: MY TOP BODY PRODUCTS FOR INSIDE AND OUT

Learning to love and nourish your body can be challenging in today's society. Many of us can't help but compare ourselves to others and judge our bodies against the unrealistic standards set by the media. 

This type of comparison causes us to label things in our body as wrong or bad. We become flaw-finders and nit-pickers. We strive for some form of perfection, thinking that when we look a certain way we will receive the love or affection we crave. 

In order to overcome these unsupportive habits, we must do whatever we can to engage in behaviours that are instead self-loving and nurturing. Behaviours such as eating whole, healthy food, pampering ourselves with nourishing activities and talking to ourselves in kind ways. 

I have been inspired today to share a range of products that I am currently using which help me take wonderful care of my body and support it to stay strong and beautiful. Over the years, I have moved towards a much more natural approach with how I care for myself. I have moved away from products filled with synthetic chemicals and over-powering fragrances. I have also moved away from foods that are over-processed and devoid of nutrients. In order for me to feel nourished, I need to know that the things I am putting on my skin and in my mouth are filling me up with goodness and helping my body functioning at an optimal level.

So, here is what i am loving right now. 

1. I LOVE MY BODY: ORGANIC BLACK COCONUT + TAHITIAN VANILLA BODY LOTION

I love the concept behind this body cream. The directions on the bottle read "applying body lotion is a wonderful opportunity to connect with our bodies. As you apply, thank every part of your body for giving you a vehicle to experience life! If you've been chronically telling yourself that you're fat, use this time to forgive yourself and love your fat bits"

This stuff is so ridiculously yummy. Not only is the packaging gorgeous, but the smell is out of this world. Plus, it is free from nasty chemicals and is jam packed with nourishing organic ingredients. 

This range of products were created by Toni Childs (as in, the singer). After she was diagnosed with a serious thyroid condition called Graves Disease, she embarked on a journey to heal herself naturally and created this products along the way. You can read more about her story here. 

2. GREEN GOODNESS

Whenever I have the chance, I like to whip up a fresh, organic green juice using my Huroum juicer. My favourite combination is kale, celery,  cucumber, apple, lemon, ginger and a pinch of cayenne pepper. 

Lately though, I have been finding that I don't always have the time to get around to juicing. So, I have been creating a bit of a cheat green drink which may not be as good as the real thing, but still provides your body with a whole heap of alkalising vitamins and minerals. 

Prior to going to the gym each morning, I make myself up a green shake. I find this actually gives me a big pep up before my work-out and reduces the amount that I need to eat afterwards. At the moment I am using Vital Greens powder, Spirulina powder, Barley Grass powder, Maca powder and a squeeze of half a lemon. I shake it all up together with water and drink!

3. KARPATI NATURAL HAIR CARE: SULPHATE-FREE SHAMPOO + SILICONE-FREE CONDITIONER

I was given a sample of these hair products by my local health food store, and I fell in love with them instantly. 

Over the years, I have tried a lot of natural and chemical free hair products, and I have always been less than impressed. They have either left my hair dry and dull or greasy and flat. 

However, since I have been using the Karpati products, I have actually been receiving a lot of compliments about my hair. They are moisturising and leave your hair full of body. Plus, they are free of horrible harsh chemicals that most hair products contain. 

The conditioner has a subtle coconut smell which leaves your hair smelling divine without that fake over-fragranced smell that most conditioners have.

4. YOGA DOWNLOAD

I love the atmosphere of yoga class, and feeling I get after an hour long session. But for some reason, I always seem to procrastinate on getting my self to a class. So, to overcome this, I have began practicing at home using Yoga Download.

Once you download the class, you can use it anytime you like. It means I can squeeze in a quick morning session, do a longer one on a Sunday afternoon, or build in a regular practice for each evening when I get home from work.

There are various styles and levels of yoga, and you can choose what length of class you want to use as well. 

I have been using Yoga Download for the past 2 years now and I have found it has really strengthened by practice. It is great for beginners too as you can take it at your own pace.

5. MV ORGANIC SKINCARE: ROSE SOOTHING + PROTECTIVE MOISTURISER

Last Christmas, my boyfriend gave me a pack of MV Organic skin care products. I was blown away by the richness of each of the creams, and the amazing smells of essential oils that were used in each of them.

My favourite out of the pack was the Rose Soothing & Protective Moisturiser.

I have used plenty of rose-scented creams in the past, as I absolutely adore how they smell. Yet, I often find that they are watery and the smell of rose is quite faint. This cream is different. The texture is rich, thick and creamy and the smell of rose is sweet and strong.

A little bit of this cream goes a long way, so I will sometimes just dab it around my eyes or even use it on my neck as perfume. 

THE LOVE LIST

I recently stumbled across a document I wrote around 2 years ago, which I affectionately call my Love List. It is a list about all the things in life that I love to do, that bring me joy, that make me smile, that cause my heart to sing and that basically just make my day a happier one.

I wrote this list at the time that I was starting this blog as I was on a journey of exploring ways to bring more happiness in to my life. Rather than thinking about what I could get rid of from my life that I no longer liked or wanted, I instead thought, what can I add more of to my life to make it even better? The result, was my Love List.

This list is more than 5 pages long and lives in my beautiful A4 pink journal filled with pages of gorgeous recycled paper. I only write in this journal using grey lead pencil, and every word that gets printed in it is filled with beauty and love.  I love the journal, and writing in it is actually pastime that features on my Love List.

Looking back over the list now, I sadly realised that I have not been dedicating much time to any of my little loves lately. Instead life has been dominated by to do's, errands and obligations. Finding this list was a much needed wake up call to jump off the treadmill of life and start simply enjoying it.

Reviewing this list has helped me reconnect with the principle of life being a journey, not a destination. It has helped remind me that life is to be enjoyed, revelled in, savoured and experienced fully. This is about finding what YOU love, not following what other people love. It is about delving in to your little heart and listening to what it calls you to do. It is about loving yourself enough, that you would prioritise actions on your Love List, just like you would tasks on a to do list.

The items on your list can be as small or as big as you like. I often find it is the small, simple things that bring us that natural bubbly feeling of happiness. Often it is also just about taking a moment to appreciate those little things that may otherwise just pass you by.

My Love List
I want to give you a snippet of some of the items that feature on my Love List, as it will hopefully birth some inspiration in you to do the same.

Here are some of the highlights;

• A long run outdoors as the sun is rising
• Reading my favourite book in bed
• Shopping for food in health food stores (I love how they smell!)
• Reading beautiful blogs such as this, this and this 
• Random clothing creations, hand made on my sewing machine
• Organic mangoes and medjool dates
• Anything by candle light
• Random acts of kindness
• Waking up early before the sun and the birds
• Beach side holidays in the summertime
• Post-exercise buzz
• Reading the thoughts of inspirational people such as this, this and this
• Long, hot baths
• Blue, cloudless skies
• Beautiful conversations with friends
• Writing on this blog and receiving heart-warming comments from my readers
• Drinking loose leaf herbal tea out of china cups
• Words of inspiration from here and here
• Warm sunny weekends filled with market strolls and cafe breakfasts
• The feeling of Savasana pose after a long yoga class
• The smell of fresh coffee brewing
• Freestyle painting on canvas
• Attending inspiring events (such as this one) filled with amazing like-minded people
• Perusing second hand book stores
• Fresh flowers in glass vases
• Kisses with the one I love
• The Bronte to Bondi coastline
• Inspirational journeys of natural healing like this and this
• Making freshly pressed organic vegetable juice
• Sunsets of any description

It is easy to underestimate the power of these beautiful little joys. But isn't this what life is really about!

I encourage you to create your own Love List and review it daily. Revolve your day around it. Prioritise time to delve deeply in to the things in life that bring you joy.

xxx