the Untethered Soul

When a new title, the Untethered Soul, arrived in store it was met by excitement by a huge number of customers. So I decided to find out what was written that was causing such a stir!

The first chapter held me... the topic - the voice inside your head. I don't know about you, but sometimes the chatter that goes on in my head drives me crazy! I remember ages ago learning to become the observer to the chatter and when I am calm and centered I can get that state ... generally in meditation I can become the observer. The daily situations that trigger my stress levels are the times when I forget to 'be the observer' and the voice goes on and on.
In the first chapter the author, Michael Singer says " ... if you watch you will come to see that much of what the voice says in meaningless. Most of the talking is just a waste of time and energy. " Wow! how true is that.
So what do we need to do... as I read through the book I found some really simple concepts to help me in moments of stress. Let me share them with you:

• remember that you are the one inside that notices the voice talking
• accept that the voice inside will never be content
• reclaim your life by releasing the hold your mind has on you
• drop into the centre of your consciousness, the real you is behind everything, just watching.

That is the real you! that is where the freedom lies. Go for it!

Radical Gratitude

Gratitude is a quality I have heaps of time for. Whenever I am feeling a out of sorts I will run through all the reasons I have for being grateful in this world. And 99% of the time it is enough to shift the emotional feelings in my body to being more cheerful.
When I read this new book - Radical Gratitude by Andrew Bienkowski and Mary Akers I was instantly grateful for being alive in this time and this country. Andrew and his family were banished to Siberia from their home in Poland during the Russian invasion. As the story of his family unfolds around lessons in gratitude I was left with a deep sense of awe.
Let me quote a section that has stayed with me for days and I hope for ever.
" Remembering the many things in our lives for which we can be grateful (yes, even the painful experiences), and spending a bit of time and energy each day on practicing gratitude, helps to make gratefulness a way of life. And the ability to focus on the good, to feel grateful, to practise gratefulness is within each of us. When we consciously choose to acknowledge and share our gratitude, we see how quickly gratitude grows and spreads to others. We begin to understand - once gratitude opens the door- that we are all connected" ... Page 17
I now start and finish the day with a silent prayer of gratitude for everthing and everyone in my life....