Diving into the river of life

Hi again

As this is my last post of 2009 I’d like to share an idea I picked up which has been having a big impact only life recently.  I got it from an amazing friend and Sufi teacher called Shanaz who lives in Andalusia.   My wife and I were visiting Shanaz and his wife Jennifer at their home in the idyllic spot in the Sierra Las Villas and talking about all things spiritual as we tend to do.

Shanaz suggested that life is like a river, and when you think about that river you know that the water flows fastest in the middle of the stream.

Most of us are looking to achieve success happiness and  abundance  more quickly but we are just dipping our toes in the water or dabbling in the shallows where progress is slow.   To really make the most of life we must cast our fears aside and dive in to the centre of the stream and allow life to carry us to our destination.

May you dive into the amazing adventure that is life and I hope we bump into each other downstream somewhere.

Namaste

How are you today?
We all ask this question or our colleagues, friends and family members many times every day and others ask us the same question.

But how do you they and you respond?
I’m a Scot and our stereotypical response is “Not bad thanks”
Another friend of me replied “I’m fine” whilst yet another said “Not so good, its been a terrible week!”

What’s become obvious to me recently is that I and my friends seem to be confusing how “We” are with our external situation. We are linking our own internal state to what’s been happening around us. Seems a natural enough thing to do on the face of it but isn’t there a danger in it.

This kind of stinking thinking is really a case of mistaken identity, we are mistaking our own internal identity with the labels we give to our behaviours and external results and this in turn condemns us to always be at the mercy of our circumstances.

Imagine if you could break this link so that externally you could be having a difficult, bad or even c**p day and still be amazing internally!

How would that change the kind of results you get in your life?

So next time you ask me how I am I will reply “I am amazing!” regardless of what life is throwing at me.

Namaste

I have started to read an amazing little book by Vietnamese Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh after hearing him on a BBC documentary a few months ago.

His message is all about living in the now through the principle of mindfulness and the book I am reading called “Peace is every step”. Whilst all the articles I have read so far have resonated deeply. One right at the beginning seems to hold the key to a more peaceful and fulfilling life.

It’s so simple you might be tempted to dismiss it but don’t – just try it out for yourself and see what you think.

Breath in and say to yourself “Breathing in I calm my body”
Breath out and say to yourself “Breathing out, I smile”
Breath in and say to yourself “Dwelling in this present moment”
Breath out and say to yourself “I know this is a wonderful moment!”