Monthly Archives: February 2013

by | February 28, 2013 · 9:04 am

How to Stay Positive in Challenging Times

by Pragito

Are you having trouble staying in a positive state of mind when challenging circumstances present themselves?  The Universal Laws state: so without, so within. Everything is a mirror. We cannot change the reflection, but we can change the original(ourselves),and then, automatically, the reflection changes.

Here are my top 5 Keys that can help you cultivate not only a positive mindset but also the feeling state necessary for the positive Law of Attraction. The more you focus on bringing awareness to accepting and loving yourself, the more your inner beauty and harmony is reflected in your outer circumstances.

  • RELAX AND ACCEPT

Relax and accept the challenging situation. Don’t fight it because that will make it worse. The more relaxed you are, the more productive you are. Creativity arises out of a relaxed state. And it’s creativity that you need to come up with solutions to the situation you are in.  Notice that I use the word “situation” and not the word “problem”. There is no such thing as a problem, only a situation. When you shift your perspective and see the situation as it is,without negative commentary, then you come up with creative solutions, and/or you find the right person to help you.

  • WATCH THE MIND

Make a practice of watching the thoughts of the mind with non-judgment and compassion for yourself. It is not the thoughts that are the problem, it is our identification with them, that creates stress and anxiety.

For 5 minutes a day sit with eyes closed, body relaxed, and observe the thoughts of the mind. You don’t have to censor them, or force them to be other than they are, simply observe with non-judgment, and let them pass by.

Over time, you become less identified with the thoughts, and more connected to your creativity, wisdom and clarity.

  • CREATE POSITIVE THOUGHTS

A powerful way to undermine the influence of negative thoughts on your well being is to create a practice of saying positive thoughts to yourself. At the beginning these might seem tedious or silly, but, believe me, it works! The easiest way to break a bad habit of self-judgment and criticism is to create positive phrases that you repeat to yourself as often as possible. Even if you don’t really believe them in the beginning, say them anyway! Over time they become a habit and the negative thoughts simply dissolve.

  • SURROUND YOURSELF WITH POSITIVE PEOPLE

Be alert to people who like to complain, bad-mouth others, and/or have a depressed outlook on life. AVOID THEM. Keep yourself in the company of positive thinking people. This is a powerful way to keep yourself in a positive energy field which will LIFT YOU, rather than bring you down. Your life is not determined by outside circumstances, but rather by how you respond to those outside circumstances.

Remember that all things are possible, there is a lot going on that is unseen to you.

The more you keep yourself on a positive vibrational level, the greater your chances of having positive outcomes to challenging situations.

  • BE GRATEFUL, LAUGH, CELEBRATE

Be grateful for what you have. If things are really bad, be grateful for being able to breathe, get out of bed in the morning, use your legs. Be grateful for the sunrise and sunset, for the beauty of the sky, the trees, the birds and flowers. There is always something to be grateful for. Put your focus there and celebrate what you have. Laughter is a powerful attractor factor. Seek out ways to bring more laughter into your life. You will be amazed at the miracles that occur.

MEDITATION: BEFRIENDING THE MIND

Benefits:
When you befriend the mind you are surprised how radically life can change. It becomes much easier to disidentify from the mind’s constant chattering and see yourself, and life’s situations, with more clarity and objectivity. You see life’s dramas with perspective and compassion, and insights and understandings arise naturally.

Directions:
Find ways to befriend your mind. The mind is our bridge from the subconscious to the conscious, our gateway of expression to the outer world. Be grateful for it. Find ways to appreciate the insights, understandings, and creativity it brings. See it not as an enemy but as a friend.

As this friendship with the mind deepens, your mind no longer disturbs you. You are not fighting it; you are simply letting it’s thoughts pass by.The mind and the ego want to make it complicated, but it is not. Life sings a different tune when you are not controlled by the mind. Your natural joy, spontaneity, self-acceptance, love and compassion arise quickly and easily.

For Pragito’s latest book “Laughter, Tears, Silence”, guided meditation CDs, and to join her Laughing Buddhas Network community (it’s FREE!) check in at her website www.discovermeditation.com

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by | February 21, 2013 · 9:01 am

Strategies to get you writing again.

by Karen Rowe

Break your goals down.

I’m willing to bet that you’ve set a goal of writing…and finishing your book…a number of times. So where have you gone wrong? I’m willing to bet that your end goal has likely overwhelmed you.

Here’s my suggestion: break your goals down to manageable, bit-sized chunks. In her book Four-Day Win, Martha Beck calls this ‘playing halfsies:’ She says, “by making your goals broad and far-reaching, you guarantee they will be immediately sabotaged by your inner meanie.” We start out with what we think are realistic goals, but most of the time they are not; otherwise, we would already have accomplished them. Play halfsies with yourself until your goal is ridiculously easy to attain, or until essentially, it would be an embarrassment not to complete it.

Here’s how it looks:

Your goal is to write a book? Great. How do we make that more attainable? Break it down.

Write a book¦Spoon-feed¦Do an outline¦Spoon-feed¦Create a mind-map¦Write the first chapter¦Spoon-feed¦Write the first two pages. Keep spoon-feeding¦Write one paragraph. Now you’re getting the hang of it. Keep on going¦Write a sentence.

What would an even smaller portion of a sentence be?

Start with a word.

Your first goal is to get one word on the page. It can be any word but you have to choose it, and put it down.

And for those of you who are still stuck, have some fun with it! I like to be silly or absurd, so it could be dipthong, mollycoddle or wombat.  Sometimes even throat-warbler mangrove.

If one word worked out, go for a second. Still doing alright? How about that sentence now?

Most importantly, keep writing.

Pull One Over On Yourself:

I have this little trick I do. I know that I am much more productive in the morning. I work hard, in short, focused sessions. I can word quickly and productively and uninterrupted for up to 3 hours and then I hit a wall. And before I know it I’m doing ‘make busy’ work. Checking my social media, answering emails…not really productive.

So my trick is to have 2 projects on the go at the same time. If it’s not 2 books, it’s 2 manuscripts I’m editing, content I’m building for my Writer’s Challenge, a blog post.

There’s always something I could be writing.

The way I trick myself is by taking a ‘break’ from one to work on the other. My tiny little pea brain thinks it’s getting away with something. ‘Ha, ha,’ it mocks! ‘I’ve got you fooled!’

The second project will feel like a godsend; it’s an escape but it’s still productive. Here’s the real trick, though: When I’ve had enough of the second project, I’m usually ready to return back to the first project. At this point, I’ve usually forgotten what was bothering me on the first project and I hit it head on, right over the hurdle that seemed impossible before. I’ve found this works with almost anything! And your book will be no different.

Treat your mind like a 5 year-old (because sometimes it is) and you’ll get far more done.

 

 

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