On being thankful

Today I gave thanks for the opportunity of meeting a wonderful spiritual life coach, Akrura dasa of Gita Coaching. This man travels the world offering workshops and coaching individuals to achieve a fuller life, not only spiritually but also with issues of this physical reality. I met Akrura in a kirtan, where he led the chanting for the elevation of our consciousness. His interest didn't terminate in the people who were gathered there. So grand is his generosity, his intent was to benefit the whole of humanity with our chanting. "Sound travels around the globe" he said "our chanting will vibrate and spread its benefit to all".


After the kirtan, I eagerly approached him to share that I too am a life coach, helping individuals get in touch with their inner power and fulfill their true potentials. I never expected his reaction! Akrura opened a vast smile that reminded me of a child who has just gotten exactly what he asked from Santa! I shared with him that I coach people holistically, approaching the body, mind and spirit. He was interested in meeting with me to know more about my chosen path.  


Our meeting a few days later was another surprise! Akrura ate a cucumber and a green pepper, part of his raw food diet. This, along with his chanting must be what makes his being so light. "Tell me how you put awareness in the body and soul during your coaching session." Having him listen curiously to my holistic approach to coaching was probably how a musician felt if he was so lucky as to jam with Jimmy Hendrix! 


Before I left, without my asking, Akrura openheartedly gave me most of his and other leaders' work which would take me years to compile. 


How could I not take the time to thank this beautiful soul and my "lucky stars" for having met him?

Gratefulness, simply put, is about getting in closer touch with the origin of which every blessing, benefit or support comes from.  Giving thanks keeps you in contact with the creative force, universal energy, God or whatever you choose to call the unseen power that ultimately rules our existence. 

I ask my coaching clients to report to me on a weekly basis, what it is that they are thankful for in their lives. Some have never had the chance to think about this and therefore don't know what to write. I sometimes get: "I have nothing to be thankful for, can't you see the state that this country/the world/my life is in?" I remind them of their health, or their mother's health or even the blessing of having their children close to them. This automatically puts things into perspective and I see genuine gratitude in their face. 


Being grateful helps us focus on the positive aspects, things and people that enter our lives and therefore compels us to want to share positive things with others.


Try it yourself! Can you make a list of five things you are grateful for today?

Be prepared

"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity"!
Seneca

Just Breathe

Yesterday a client came in like a hurricane. He was extremely anxious as he entered my office several minutes late. He started telling me how he ran around the whole day, a photo shoot that was supposed to take two hours took four, and then he attended a meeting and then he had to come see me and still needed to go to kickboxing class after our appointment...

I was out of breath just listening to him. Before we did anything, I asked him to take two minutes to breathe. After the two minutes, he had a huge smile on his face. It was all he needed at that moment. To be reminded to just breathe.

Here's a great post via zenhabits

Breathe.

Breathing can transform your life.

If you feel stressed out and overwhelmed, breathe. It will calm you and release the tensions.

If you are worried about something coming up, or caught up in something that already happened, breathe. It will bring you back to the present.

If you are discouraged and have forgotten your purpose in life, breathe. It will remind you about how precious life is, and that each breath in this life is a gift you need to appreciate. Make the most of this gift.

If you have too many tasks to do, or are scattered during your workday, breathe. It will help bring you into focus, to concentrate on the most important task you need to be focusing on right now.

If you are spending time with someone you love, breathe. It will allow you to be present with that person, rather than thinking about work or other things you need to do.

If you are exercising, breathe. It will help you enjoy the exercise, and therefore stick with it for longer.

If you are moving too fast, breathe. It will remind you to slow down, and enjoy life more.

So breathe. And enjoy each moment of this life. They’re too fleeting and few to waste.

—

Tip: Put the word “Breathe” as a screensaver or desktop pic, or put it up as a note on your wall or fridge or on your desk. Then do it every time you see the word.

Where are you going?

"You'll never leave where you are until you decide where you'd rather be"
Angela Oberer

I often hear people say that if they didn't need the money, they would leave their job. I have also heard: "If times weren't so tough, I would be free to do what I really love". Or the one everyone must have heard or said at one point or another: "I can't leave him/her, because he/she needs me".

As stated in the very truthful quote above, one can never leave (a place, a relationship, a job, you name it) if he does not make clear in his mind where it is he would rather be.  Or how it is she would rather be living, working, spending her time. So making excuses is the next best thing to do!

Most people don't realize that "deciding where you would rather be" takes more than the mere decision.  It is not enough only to think about it, daydream about it once in a while, especially if you do it in a shy way, scared that someone will find out where you would really like to be.  Or scared that God will punish you if you want something different, and God forbid should you want something MORE!!

The first, and probably the most important step, to leaving where you are is to announce where you'd rather be! Announce it to your mind, the universe, and anyone around you that you think might help.

How do you announce it to your mind? You "see it" with your mind's eye. You see yourself in that position, visualize every possible detail. Make it substantially detailed! What will you see when you are in this new place? How will you look, how will others around you look? How will they see you? How will you be dressed? What will you see when you look around you in this new role?
What will you hear? How will you be speaking? How will others be speaking to you? Do you hear sounds around you?
Finally, how do you feel being in this new situation? What feelings do you get when you visualize yourself there? Pay attention to these feelings that come up, they are valuable feedback. Visualizations provide information for your brain and it starts "searching" for this reality. The more detailed the visualization, the more information your brain receives. Careful visualization creates a neural network that hold these "memories", even if they are future memories. Your mind cannot tell the difference between something you "see" and something you visualize.


How do you announce it to the universe? You talk as if you were already there "I am a cabaret singer"! You are training yourself and your mind to actually BE in that new position. You practice with affirmations, even if you do it only while looking in the mirror! That's how actors become so believable - they practice and practice until the day they themselves believe they are their character. Talk like you believe it, even if at first you don't! Practice does make perfect!

Don't be afraid to announce your desired destination to others. It is very important to know that you can use people around you as resources. Yes, I did put use and people in the same sentence and I am not ashamed of it! You need not be either! You will be surprised to find out that there are many people who will be happy to help you. Share your dream with others, you never know who or what they might know, it could be just what you need!

What about you, are you happy where you are?

A Shaman in town!

The great Mexican Teacher, Shaman and Healer Monyca Bouras, is in Athens! I feel blessed to have the opportunity to benefit from the teachings of this conscientious and powerful “curandera”!

For those of you not familiar with the term, the word shaman comes from the Tungusic language of Siberia and now a days is used to describe a practitioner. Yet, I prefer to have my teacher explain that which she understands all about: 

Monyca, what is a shaman?

Monyca - The Shaman in the old days, was the lawyer, the physician, the priest all together, the same person. In the original communities in human kind, it was the king and the shaman. The king was the leader and the shaman took care of all other parts of the community.

Shamans are found in all societies. A shaman is someone who understands reality in a wider way. By understanding it one can move it. Understanding is the power! Shamanism is the path of wisdom.

When you say one can move it, do you mean the energy?

Monyca - For lack of a better word, I would say affect or modify energy and therefore, reality. The actual healing, the cleansings, the understanding of situations and illnesses does this.

Why would someone see a shaman today?

Monyca - Shamanism is valuable to the everyday person for it transmits / teaches a different view on life. In life we have certain things we feel we HAVE to do (find a job, buy a house, get married) and if you’re still not happy when you achieve these goals, you feel lost.

The shamanic point of view is wider, more open and permitting. It is limitless, not in the way that one doesn’t strive to have a house or a partner but in that it recognizes that these are just pieces of something bigger. Widening your comprehension of what life is, eases tension.

Can you further explain what you mean with limitless?

Monyca - OK let me give you an example: a person can be very worried and stressed out because they gained weight, or their boyfriend left them and then one day a doctor tells them: “you have brain cancer”! That really puts things in perspective.

Of course you don’t have to get cancer to widen your perspective. One of the great teachings of shamanism is that at the end of the day, the understanding that there are more meaningful things in life, gives you the freedom of not caring so much and not taking things so seriously. And that is a beauty!

How did you come into this path?

Monyca - My grandmother was a healer although I didn’t know it because I never met her.  It became obvious that it was there, not only genetically but in the family system. I had little hints when I was a little girl, like knowing when the phone was going to ring. My mom tried to stop this from happening, by being very reactive towards it (due to fear) so it closed that opening. Then I bumped into my main teacher, Carlos de Leon because I wanted to study martial arts with him but he probably saw something in me and said I should practice shamanism.

What is it that you do exactly?

Monyca – I do healings and cleansings of spaces and people, rituals like the ceremony of light, and spiritual development counseling.  I teach Ontogonic Shamanism since 1994.  

What I found through the years is that this path has given me an enormous amount of joy. It might sound cheesy but seeing people smile again and tell me how I changed their lives is something I couldn’t live without anymore. Sometimes it is very tiring and freaky but all in all I have always had a lot of fun.

What d you mean with tiring?

Monyca - Although as shamans and healers we are taught how to handle our energy, I can get very tired after a day of many cleansings or after cleaning a big building. There have been cases when I had to sleep for 2 days after a particular cleansing. Yet, actual patterns change and people and situations do get healed and this is what’s wonderful about what I do.

Moyca will be in Greece until the beginning of October.

For a consultation call: 6970 475 857

www.monycabouras.com

Regrets, I had a few...

Sometimes I forget I am only human! 


Sometimes I expect so much of myself and am left dumbstruck when I make a mistake. As if mistakes are only acceptable when others make them. 


Have you ever felt this way? Have you ever felt the weight of regret so heavy on your shoulders you wish you could just lie in bed and wait for this feeling to pass...in 100 years preferably! 


Feeling a little blue, I stumbled across the following quote:


"Do not brood over your past mistakes and failures as this will only fill your mind with grief, regret and depression. Do not repeat them in the future" 
Sivananda 


I couldn't control my feeling of anger towards this enlightened being who so simply put forth the command to "not repeat them in the future"! How dare he make it sound so easy?! 


Choosing to ruminate over the deplorable mistake kept me stuck in thoughts of self aversion. How could I have been so wrong? How could I have done something so bad? Judgement, judgement, judgement!


It took me a few days to realize that what would really help me get over dropping the ball, and moving on to simply "not repeating it in the future" is to evaluate how useful was it? 


How useful is  bringing into my life more of what I don't want? Like author Caroline Myss once said in a lecture, our life is like an investment. Who would keep investing in shares that don't bring them sufficiently high returns? If the return on investment in not high or satisfactory, one simply does not invest again. Simple as that! 


Humans make mistakes. It's part of being human! We are constantly on the road to growth and evolution, and there is usually little growth without pain and suffering. 


So next time you, like me, make a mistake, simply thank the heavens for the teaching and do not repeat it again. Like a wise investor, take it as a lesson, keep on investing else where and don't waste your precious time judging yourself. 


To our prosperity! 

We are all in this together!

I have come across an African word and concept that describes what I wish for the world today.

UBUNTU


Although Ubuntu has a much more profound and broad meaning, one interpretation that serves my purpose is:

"I am what I am because of who we all are." Leymah Gbowee

VIA Logical Geeks

As previously mentioned, I believe Ubuntu has a very profound meaning. Today, it resonated in my heart when listening to a new friend talk about her life. I tried in vain to hide my tears while listening to the sheer hardship she endured as a child and the extraordinary abundance that she created for herself ever since. 


Yet the magic lies in that she was willing to generously share her story and help me earnestly understand that if she has done it, I, or anyone for that matter, can do the same! Not once did I see a hint of regret or bitterness for what fate dropped in her arms as a little girl. On the contrary, I saw appreciation for hardship, I saw gratitude for life just as it is.  I admired as I felt her eagerness to share these feelings with others.


We talked about the power of our dreams, "Never be afraid of dreaming" She so wisely said "For your dreams will feed your soul and that will keep you moving". We talked about the power of our positive thoughts and how angels speak through those we interact with.


For a moment I wished with all my heart that everyone around me shared in this generosity of spirit. Like the Africans, we can learn to take part on others' happiness and prosperity and know that one's success does not mean his neighbor's failure. Quite the opposite.


Kindness generates kindness and love only spreads out to more love. 


We are all interconnected! 


"I am what I am because of who we all are!"