15 Ways to Be more Zen

Amidst all worldwide events unfolding, here are some ways to get in touch with what matters and be more Zen:

1. Review priorities. (What is necessary & what can you let go?)
2. Breathe & act slowly and deliberately
3. Be okay with doing less
4. Immerse regularly in Nature 
5. Designate time for Self-love/ selfcare & service
6. Integrate mindfulness into everyday
7. Face everything with inner calm and peace
8. See everyone as a Buddha/ master/ mentor 
9. Be receptive to shifts in awareness & perception
10. Set a daily intention
11. Create space for negative emotions 
12. Cultivate wise thoughts & spiritual practices
13. Face a something you fear everyday
14. Choose love, note fear (fear= resistance, love =openness) 
15. View everything as a blessing

Revitalize your life

Notice you can wistfully sit back and wait for your boat to come in or, stop hoping for success and simply live from the heart to serve others. We consciously create a better version of ourselves by recognizing and thriving on challenges the Soul creates to stretch and grow. It requires flexibility and putting up with stormy weather. In other words, as we detect our self-defeating patterns, we each have power to integrate wisdom and make new choices to break the cycle. We can also find blessings everywhere, and be gentle with ourselves through transitions. We are not the body not the mind, not the emotions. We are the Soul, not what we do or do not do, not the personality or behaviour. One is Pure LoveThis is another way to feel reborn.   

Benefits of connecting with Nature

Notice getting back to Nature is about connecting with true self. Its about finding ways to 'hang-in-there' feeling ungrounded, and reaching for what brings balance. It dawns that to explore new ventures or activities, even mind-wandering, helps strengthen our ability to clarify what matters now. We each weave a mosaic of our lives. Mindful moments are created wherever we are, come what may. Being ourselves is about living in the present, showing our true colours, nurturing curiosity, living spontaneously, letting go of what we outgrow or what outgrows us, moving on from projects at will, knowing that embracing change is part of acceptance and deepening awareness. Connecting with what is heartfelt is about showing kindness and compassion, knowing that encouraging others is encouraging ourselves. This trains us to grow adept at navigating our thoughts and perceptions. When self-directed, we nourish what resonates, thrive at our pace.

Accept what is offered

Notice Nature is the Spirit breathing. The breath is your Soul. The quality of your breath is the quality of your life. To intensify energy you receive, decode and transmit, simply breathe fully and live in integrity. Be fearless and transparent. Speak what you feel in the heart. Express and act on true feelings. The Sun sees All. One cannot hide from omnipresence.

3 Tips to settle life's shake-ups

When life seems to get shaken up, familliar ways of living no longer work.  The tendency is to seek external reasons and find ways to settle things back into "normal."  In fact, the only way to respond to shake ups and have any lasting impact, is to address what this tells us about the state of our inner world.  As part of our coaching program, we explore this in detail as well as identify personalized ways forward.  For the purpose of this article, consider these 3 tips:

1. Identify emotional needs

This implies not only identifying needs such as belonging, autonomy, connection and acceptance, but also what prevents us from recognizing and satisfying these needs so we can release resistance.

2. Investigate links to energy anatomy

Every human being has energy anatomy.  This connects coherent mind-body and spirit functions. Each of our energy centres functions individually and together in varied ways. Blockages create congestion and block energy flow. This affects life in the physical world and what perception and experience we access. It pays to explore signs and signals in the body and how this impacts mind-body awareness.

3. Practice Mindfulness

Tuning into life's shake-ups invites practising mindfulness. As we pay closer attention to what is happening within, we begin to see the nature of our projections. To explore components of our emotions, we can practice mindful acceptance of each one.  This involves recognizing and accepting sensations, watching thoughts, labelling feelings and noticing urges as they arise.