Tag Archive | Religion and Spirituality

Florence meet Chuck.Chuck meet Florence

Mar14

Sometimes all it takes is a little inspiration.This can come from humour, philosophy, common sense or just believing that you belong. You have a tribe. Certain people inspire and motivate you. They say things that resonate. Support and encouragement come naturally and you are not judged.

Florence my jam jar has a particular talent for seeking out people who do just that and today she has teamed up with Chuck Palahniuk, an American novelist whose quotes are sometimes a little off the wall but are thought-provoking nevertheless.

For those of you who don’t know her yet.

This is Florence, my jam jar.
She is full of inspiration and
on rainy days when things are looking bleak
or I feel a bit down, or I need motivation
or just when I feel like it
I delve in and pick out one of the tickets upon which are written inspiring and thought-provoking quotations such as.

All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring.

Every woman is just a different kind of problem.

Everyone smiles with that invisible gun to their head.

Sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken.

The lower you fall, the higher you’ll fly.

When did the future switch from being a promise to a threat?

Think on.

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What’s my favourite word?

Feb12

My favourite word is TOLERANCE as in ” the capacity for or the practice of recognizing and respecting the beliefs or practices of others.”

I must have been twelve or thirteen years old when our Headmaster at the time spoke about the meaning and importance of tolerance and his words have stayed with me for all those years. At the time I had little appreciation of how increasingly important tolerance would become in our wider lives be it racial, religious, political or cultural.  We would all benefit from being more tolerant.

Tolerance however begins at home and teaching your child not to judge or make uninformed assumptions, to avoid stereotyping and not to exclude a person just because they are different may be one of the most long-lasting and beneficial life-lessons they can learn.

I have made a big effort to instill my beliefs about being tolerant in my son and I am never more proud of him then when he talks to me about his disgust at school bullies and his disappointment when peers tease and torment less able pupils. On occasions he has stepped in to stop it and protect those targeted.

He understands the importance of accepting people for who and what they are. Although extremely bright and capable himself he doesn’t boast and he doesn’t criticise or mock those less able. His friends are an eclectic mix and make his life more diverse and interesting.

I am convinced that the practice of tolerance is the way forward in today’s mad, bad world and hope that more people are more tolerant about more issues in future. 🙂 We can but hope.

Meditation

Dec30

I have always suffered from being over-active both physically and mentally often doing far too much than is good for me. It is difficult to find something that relaxes me without being too physically demanding but I have always been intrigued from afar by the concept of meditation. It sounds perfect; losing yourself in yourself, blocking out those random destructive thoughts, instead focussing on deep, regular breathing.  Whilst being treated for severe depressive bouts however I was advised not to meditate. Apparently it can have adverse effects on your mental state and well-being if not done under supervision or in controlled conditions and can actually heighten feelings of despair. So, if you are thinking of taking up meditation as an escape from your depression you need to be very careful and either do plenty of research or look for experienced help before setting off down this route.

Recently I have found that there are several alternatives to the silent, traditional, mantra-driven and introspective meditation, which probably suit me better. I have therefore chosen short guided meditations set to background music to help me clear my mind of all that mental detritus accumulated daily.  These are designed to help you relax body and mind and discover inner peace whilst being guided by an experienced meditator.

It seems to be working so far and in a very short time I have come to look forward to my twenty minutes of “me” time, sitting cross-legged in the middle of my bed, nursing my nugget of rose quartz listening to tropical rain storms, waterfalls, whales and dolphins, imagining that I am stranded on a desert island.The only downside is waking up to reality. Now that can be depressing!

All this is very new to me and I have a lot to learn but the early signs are that meditation will help me to relax and enable me to cope better with my emotions which can be volatile at best. I look forward to regaining some control and objectivity instead of being ruled by my all-too-often gung-ho- heart-rules-head approach. I will keep you updated as to my progress and my experiences which may help you decide whether meditation is for you. In the meantime, here are a few resources which have set me on my way.

Meditainment-Guided meditations

Meditations for relaxation

Rose Quartz;

  • Encourages self-love
  • Heals emotional body
  • Eases heartache
  • Relieves loneliness
  • Releases repressed hurts
  • Promotes forgiveness
  • Offers inner peace