Are you feeling excited about September yet? Can you feel transformation happening?
The key is all about Refurbishment. Not of our home or of our work space but of OURSELF!
This will bring in new energy. Life may look a mess but everything is happening in divine order.
It’s time to inject more fun into your life.
It’s a real challenge to be fully present and have fun when your head feels like a tangled ball of wool.
Doing something you enjoy while judging, analyzing, worrying, fearing, or regretting in your head is like experiencing the world with dark glasses on. You can see everything, but it’s all dark.
I don’t believe it’s possible to completely silence the nagging inner voice that constantly interupts and judges. That little mental ‘inner critic’ on your shoulder will interrupt on occasion all throughout our lives.
But I do think it’s possible to slow it down and even stop it for lengths of time. It is entirely possible to enjoy a fun experience and make a conscious effort to make fun the norm and not the rarity.
It’s actually quite simple. Silencing the inner voice and experiencing more joy comes down to these three things:
Practice mental quiet.
Incorporate things you enjoy into your day and practice mental quiet while you experience them.
Find things to enjoy in the things you don’t and practice mental quiet while you experience them.
Let’s break it down:
1. Practice mental quiet.
The mind is like a muscle. Just like you go the gym to build your body muscles, the way to train your mind is to meditate.
I suggest meditating for thirty minutes in both the morning and evening to produce a clearer mind. I’ll be honest with you, most people say they don’t have the time, but you can meditate and fully be in the moment when you go for a walk, do the gardening, the ironing or in a stretch/yoga/pilates class. Or you can just sit and meditate!
If the above does not appeal to you, you could try one of these ideas:
Once a day, find a quiet place to do something that doesn’t require much thought: colouring, knitting, crocheting, or building model aeroplanes, for example. Focus solely on the activity and the sensations of doing it. Commit to breathing deeply and remaining silent throughout the whole experience and your brain will eventually slow down.
Colouring in pictures is fun
Once daily, sit in nature and simply observe. If your mind starts wandering, notice where it’s headed and then come back to your focus. At first you may feel tempted to get up or at least be mentally productive. With consistent practice, that will fade.
*Turn off your mobile phone/tablet – even if it’s just for an hour.
2. Incorporate things you enjoy in your day and practice mental quiet while you experience them.
Grab a pen and paper and make a list of things you love to do…..
If you start judging, fearing, stressing, or analyzing, notice it and bring yourself back to the present moment.
Say to yourself….
Stop. Put those thoughts aside. You can think them later if you want to. The most effective thing you can do right now is let yourself enjoy the moment. This moment—this joy. I deserve it.
3. Find things to enjoy in the things you don’t and practice mental quiet while you experience them.
There are plenty of things you’ll have to do in life that won’t seem fun in any way. Sitting in a traffic jam can make you feel totally frustrated.
What if you viewed that time as a gift? Listen to music, chat to your passengers or if alone enjoy the quiet and practice mindfulness.
When we were kids, fun was a priority. We always did the things we loved simply because we loved doing them. We didn’t stress about homework at the park because play time was for playing. A boring journey wasn’t an obstacle—it was where we played ‘With My Little Eye I see something beginning with……’
There’s a whole lot of thinking that can get in the way of mindfulness and presence. Are you ready to refurbish and let more fun into your life?