The Healing Power of Acknowledgement
Acknowledgement from others during difficult experiences You know when you have experienced something difficult in your life? You may recognise the healing power of acknowledgement which smooths the way forward. It’s the experience of being accepted, being seen. Whatever you’ve done or are going through, you still know that your life counts, that you matter…
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Nurture Hope and Inner Strength in your Life
As we continue to be in a transitional stage of upheaval and disruption in the world, how can you nurture hope and inner strength in your life? It could be easy to feel despair and hopelessness Yet: An active state of hope holds the field of potential for the highest possibilities for beautiful positive change.…
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What Does it Mean to Live in Beauty?
Beauty is the subject for many poets, artists and philosophers. Let’s look at a patchwork quilt of ideas about what it could mean to live in beauty. Beauty as a feeling ‘Bear Heart’ from the Muskogee tribe of Native American Indians says: ‘… the way to attain the beauty in life is through harmony. Be…
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News
Hi everyone, Today’s blustery weather is a great metaphor for staying calm amidst the storm! I hope you are safe. Buddha said: “Be a lamp unto yourself, be a refuge to yourself.” It’s a good reminder that although you may search the world over trying to find it, your ultimate refuge is none other than your own…
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Know that You are Lovable
You are Lovable A paper heart, bouquet of flowers or box of chocolates aren’t necessary signs that you’re lovable. Being in a one-to-one relationship with another person is not the highest bench-mark that you are worthy and ‘normal’. You have goodness in your heart and you’re entirely worthy of love. Your personality, thoughts and feelings…
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The Treasure of Hope
Great Hope for the New Year At the start of the new year, you may be experiencing great hope for things to come. Hope is a deep feeling of trust and belief that good things will happen and you are capable of achieving them. Alternatively, you might be feeling a hopelessness. This might show up…
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Top Blog Posts of 2019 from Place of Serenity
Top 8 Blog Posts Perhaps you have some quiet time over the festive season to sit back and relax! I’ve collated the top 8 most popular blog posts from this year. In case you missed some of them or a title here catches your eye. Enjoy! 1 How to Unhook from Ruminating Thoughts You know…
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Let’s explore happiness!
3 Happiness Myths Perhaps you unconsciously buy into these happiness myths, as described by Dr Russ Harris* (who created ACT: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy): Happiness myth number 1 That if we have food, water, shelter and friends our natural state will be happiness. The reality is that our normal state is everchanging. Just like the…
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An essential skill: your inner serenity
Mindfulness and meditation are the starting points for you to find your inner serenity. This is a deep most powerful place within you. Albert Einstein called it ‘deep time’, a state of ‘only being’. Disguises As you grew up, you found your way through a life which may have felt hostile and harsh. Starting with…
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How to be your own Best Friend
A best friend is always on your side A cheerleader and a supporter. What better than to be your own best friend and support yourself with emotional resilience, courage and kindness? These are qualities you can nurture with mindfulness and self-compassion especially when life feels so stressful or out of balance. There has been an…
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Make peace with your body stories
Let your body stories go We all have our own body with our own unique stories. Most often, nobody else knows these body stories. We judge ourselves and we judge that others are judging us. I simply want to put this thought to you: turn judgment to kindness and gratitude. Imagine that your body is…
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A Meditation for Love and Strength
Love from the Heart I invite you to place a hand gently upon your heart centre, which is in the middle of your chest towards your throat. With each breath you breathe in, imagine that your whole chest area is expanding. The heart chakra here, is associated with the colour emerald green. Imagine you’re standing…
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What does it mean to live from your heart?
How can you live from your heart instead of inside your mind with it’s linear thinking, logical thoughts, problem-solving and story-telling? Follow your breath and notice your posture and find yourself moving towards your heart-space. You might like to place a hand gently on your heart centre which is in the centre of your chest…
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How to Honour and Value Yourself
Today we live in a society that places value on financial wealth. But I don’t want to focus on that, let’s look instead at how every single one of us has value, and how it’s not related to finances of any kind. ‘Namaste’ In India, the Hindu greeting of ‘Namaste’ acknowledges that there is something…
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A Love Letter
Here is my love letter for Valentine’s Day. What would you write in a love letter to someone, or something, that inspires you? Mine is a simple love letter to Mother Earth: I want to express my love and deepest gratitude for you, Mother Earth. My heart is filled with joy and wonder at your…
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What is Forgiveness and How do I Forgive?
The word ‘forgiveness’ might sound a very heavy word and can have a lot of associations for people. For me, brought up as a child in the catholic faith, it was part of a process of judgment. You did something perceived as wrong and forgiveness only came about from an all-knowing God via a priest…
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How to create your kinder world
We all have a kind and compassionate inner self. Every single one of us. Yet how do we create a kinder world when it just doesn’t feel like it around us or within us? We feel grumpy, cross, angry or simply pre-occupied with the business of living. And we see so much nastiness, greed and…
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Create your Inner Meditation Space
When you sit down to meditate imagine that you are entering a different space. A place of serenity, of inner stillness. Imagine you are opening a door to your inner sanctuary. So all the noise and chaos around you fades into the distance gradually. Create your inner meditation space Sit down and anchor yourself with…
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Counting my Nature Blessings
The thing about taking photos on your phone is that you can have a ready-made record of your nature blessings. Places and moments in time from the year that’s just been. You can do this alongside keeping a ‘Joy Jar’. Jot down moments of joy and thanks on scraps of paper. Add them to your…
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Your constant companion – negative thinking
Do you wake up every day to negative thinking? Your Constant Companion As soon as you surface from sleep, you hit the road running and bring with you that day’s emotion. It could be contented joy, excitement or steely determination. Or it might be a gnawing anxiety, the bleakness of being lonely or a general…
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Shift from Anxiety to Self-compassion
We tend to be hard task-masters, tough on ourselves. We sometimes view gentleness, compassion and kindness as weaknesses. Does this sound familiar? Our media and the world around us is aggressive and harsh, cruel and judgmental. This further supports the idea that kindness and self-compassion are soft options. Yet a shift from anxiety to self-compassion…
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