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Meditating through a newborn’s screams

Pre-baby, I had the luxury of allocating anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour and a half for meditation in any given day. Regularly meditating means I’m nicer, calmer and generally more ‘together’. And, when I’m working giving readings or coaching, it’s imperative I meditate beforehand as it grounds and centres me, and helps facilitate my connection.

Now, post-baby as the sleep deprived mother of a screaming newborn, my meditation practice looks a little different! Meditating with a baby in the house is a little more difficult, but not impossible. As Little Miss completed her second month of life, and her screaming and demands escalated, I realised she was actually presenting me an opportunity to practice what I’ve learned in a very new way.

For the first couple of weeks of her life, I didn’t meditate. And this probably made matters worse. Then I remembered that meditation isn’t just about the time I’m sitting, formally practicing meditation. Rather, it’s about taking what’s learnt during meditation into all moments of the day. It’s about practicing mindfulness at all times. My challenge was to be mindfully present during these new routines with my baby, rather than letting them distract from my meditation.

Once I looked, I found plenty of times with Little Miss that I was not mindfully present, but rather, allowing my mind to wonder aimlessly. I quickly turned this around and began meditating in a new way. For example, while Little Miss feeds, I meditate. While trying to soothe her screams, I meditate. Given, it’s a different type of meditation to what I used to practice, but it’s meditation none the less. All it takes is an awareness that your mind is wandering, then calling it back to the present moment.

I like to take this further, focusing on my breathing and opening my heart chakra. You can try this yourself, without a screaming baby. Simply be present in whatever challenge you are facing and spend a few moments slowing your breathing and centering your attention on your chest. Sometimes I simply smile to my heart and from my heart.

Just with Little Miss’s feeds alone, I can steal 15 minutes here and there to meditate through the day. But, this is a tip for anyone – why not meditate while brushing your teeth, on public transport, while on hold on the phone. Simply bring your mind back and be present.

Where’s the most unusual place you’ve forced yourself to be present?

Image via theorganisedhousewife.com.au

Understanding your mum this Mother’s Day

This is my first Mother’s Day celebrated as a mother, albeit a relatively new one. Regular readers of my blog will know I have a darling daughter, affectionately called Little Miss, who is now three months old. Over these past months I’ve pondered what lessons we will learn together, how we will grow and shape one another, for this is most definitely a two-way street.

As much as a mother will rear her children, so too do the children teach the mother! In fact, children choose their parents before the parents are even aware their children are on the way. Similarly, you chose your parents – even if once you’re here, living out your life and karma, you can’t fathom why you made the choice you did! The choice of parents is an important one for a soul as it sets you up for many of your life lessons.

Knowing there is a reason you were born into the family you chose, as well as the families you may later find yourself in, may help you better understand your relationship with these important people. There is a much deeper connection between mother and child than perhaps you’d considered.

Of course, mothers can take on various forms. They are not just birth mothers, but adoptive mothers, foster mothers and those ‘surrogate’ mothers you meet along the way, who take you under their wing and nurture and develop you, just as your agreements have foretold.

So, this Mother’s Day, while you are celebrating your mother or perhaps your role as mother, spare a thought for how your relationship came to be. To all those mothers, I wish a very happy Mother’s Day.

This post also featured on Miranda Kerr’s Kora Organics blog.

Image via Obaz.com.

The Little Sage’s School wants your input please

For a little while now, I’ve been looking to further develop The Little Sage’s School. I’ve got lots of ideas for workshops and courses and classes… but I thought I’d better find out what YOU really want.

So, here I am, ready to be told what it is you’d like to learn, and how you’d like to learn it.

What do you want to know?

psychic/intuitive development
communicating with spirit and mediumship
meditation techniques
chakras and auras
dream interpretation
discovering your life purpose
manifesting and the Law of Attraction
what else?? all of these/none of these?

How do you want to learn it?

in a one-off workshop
weekly classes
online seminar/webinar
email courses
how else??

I’d genuinely love to know, so I can tweak the courses I’m already developing and offer something that would truly benefit people. Maybe there is a whole area of learning I haven’t even thought of yet! I’m also trying to find ways to reach as many people as possible, as not everyone can attend a workshop in Brisbane. There is only one of me to conduct the classes – so, should I hire people to help run the courses or do you want me? Or would knowing I’ve developed the course and made it available online/on CD/DVD be better?

Any other ideas??

Would love to hear them – please leave a comment below or visit the Facebook page to leave a comment. All your feedback will be gratefully accepted.

Image via www.eighteen25.blogspot.com.au

Swings and Roundabouts

Twitter is a great place for meeting new folk. Recently, I ‘met’ @LittleMissMelbn and subsequently found her blog. While reading through her posts about her recent jaunt in Paris, I found a great article about the people who come in and out of your life. This came just a few hours after I was posed the question:

“Are you friends with them because of the depth of the relationship or simply out of habit?”

As I’ve blogged about before, you tend to be given information at a time you need it most. I’d been rethinking some of the people in my life after hearing this question, then I stumbled upon the Little Miss Melbourne blog post, and her words struck me.

“What I’ve come to learn is that people come and people go, but they always leave something behind.”- Little Miss Melbourne.

I’ve published the blog post below with her permission.You can also read it on her blog here.

Swings and Roundabouts

People come and people go. Sometimes the ones that come into our life and stay there are those that we feel indifferent about. Sometimes the people that come into our life and then go can be those whom we’ve held the strongest connection with of all. So there seems to be no rule in life and no guarantee of how long someone will be a part of our overall journey. The person you’re closest with now might not be so in a month, a year or a decade – there’s just no telling.

Things happen in life which shift and change our relationships for us, usually through a process of events or something as simple as a realignment (or a misalignment) of perceptions. For a certain period of my life this made me somewhat skeptical of relying on anyone to be in my life when I had no idea how long they might be there for. Luckily, LMM has had a very good life with many positive influences so it didn’t take long for this insecurity to be absolved.

What I’ve come to learn is that people come and people go, but they always leave something behind. Despite the quality or quantity of time spent as a guest in our little world, the encounters we have can shape or alter the perceptions we hold or even change who we are as a person altogether. We may not be conscious of it, but we also leave something behind with those who enter our realm. Like swings and roundabouts, we go round and round in life getting something from others, while always leaving something ourselves.

I also like the idea that people are “guests in our little world”. I believe that people do come and go and that their reason for being there may be beyond what either of you are currently aware of. What do you think?

My Easter Project: creating inspiration boards

Last week I blogged about how to make a mood or vision board and I finally got a chance over the Easter long weekend to dabble with this.

I decided to make both. My mood board is now above my desk, where I can frequently look up from my laptop to help set the tone and colour scheme for my blog and also some other creative projects I’m working on for The Little Sage (hopefully to share here soon!).

A mood board above my work station helps keep me focused

I also made a vision board for 2012. I figured Easter was a great time for this, given it is traditionally known as a time of rebirth and renewal. I’ve left a little space on this board to add photos of Little Miss (I still need to print these out) and also to add pictures of some items I’d like this year, like a new laptop and an iPad.

My 2012 vision board hangs in my home office, so I see it every time I walk in

I chose to make my boards on pinboards, which means I can quickly and easily alter the images as the mood takes me.

Using a pinboard for my boards means I can easily change and update

Lots of mags, notebook, pen, pins and scissors – ready to create!

What do you think?

Easter – a time for renewal and growth

Almost nine weeks ago I welcomed my first beautiful child into the world and only now am I resurfacing, somewhat aptly at a time traditionally known as a period of rebirth and renewal: Easter.

Watching my little girl over the past two months, I’ve caught myself thinking about the hope and innocence a child promises. I’ve wondered what my parents hoped for me, and reflected on what I had once hoped for myself and what hopes I now hold for the future. In some ways, my life is beginning again. No doubt, becoming a parent is life changing but regardless of where you are in your life, you can harness the energy of the Easter season to review your hopes for the future.

Easter signals change and is the perfect time to renew or refresh any area of your life which requires a rebirth. Just a few months in to the year, now is the perfect time to reflect on your new year’s resolutions, or redefine the direction you intend to move in from here. Maybe it’s time to commit to a new project or relationship, or to bring into being a new way of looking at things.

No matter what you decide on, Easter offers a chance to begin again. So, where are you starting?

Happy Easter!

Image via Martha Stewart.

How to create… a mood or vision board (before there was Pinterest)

Ever created a mood or vision board?

From a creative viewpoint, a mood board can help collect your thoughts and set the direction and tone for your project. Designers and creative types often work from this starting point. Placed near your workspace, they can also help keep you inspired.

Who wouldn’t want a workspace as beautiful as this one below, found at Design Sponge.

Beautiful inspiration with home office mood board

On the other hand, a vision board is more frequently used to help aesthetically pull together your hopes, dreams and goals for the future. It is a visual affirmation. Based on the same technique as a mood board, a vision board is a helpful way of keeping yourself focused on where you’d like to take your life. Check out one of Claire’s Challenges from 2011 when she created a vision board.

How to create your own mood or vision board:

Materials:

Scissors
Glue
Poster board
LOTS of magazines, printouts from your favourite websites, fabric swatches, or your own photography or any other media which takes your fancy
Notepad and pen

Method:

Take some quite time to reflect on what you want to achieve. If you are creating a mood board, this will be about the general feel of the project you are embarking on. Jot down some key words and phrases in your notebook. If creating a vision board, you may want to sit quietly and picture your goals – where would you like to go? Meditation can help here – simply take some quiet time to reflect on what you’d like, or see if there is some other guidance which comes to you in your meditation. Perhaps list out your hopes, dreams or goals or create some positive affirmations.
Dig through your favourite magazines or print from your favourite blogs and websites for visual representations of your goals, as well as any relevant text you find. If you’re truly creative, you may want to hit the streets and photograph your own images. Choose images and phrases which reflect what you’ve jotted down in your notes.
Once you’ve collected your images, text and maybe even samples (fabric swatches, for example) then collate them to form an appealing display on the poster board. Try laying it out first, before you glue into the final position.
Be sure to hang it somewhere you will view it often, to help keep you focused on the end outcome you’re after.

Check back soon to see what progress I’ve made with my mood and vision boards.

Featured image via Pottery Barn

Meditating through a newborn’s screams

Have you also read:

Understanding your mum this Mother’s Day

Have you also read:

The Little Sage’s School wants your input please

Have you also read:

Swings and Roundabouts

“Are you friends with them because of the depth of the relationship or simply out of habit?”

“What I’ve come to learn is that people come and people go, but they always leave something behind.”- Little Miss Melbourne.

Have you also read:

My Easter Project: creating inspiration boards

Have you also read:

Easter – a time for renewal and growth

Have you also read:

How to create… a mood or vision board (before there was Pinterest)

How to create your own mood or vision board:

Have you also read: