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Things I like at the moment

”If you listen, you’ll hear her breathe.”

 

It’s in the little things. Ordinary moments turning into excitement. Fulfilment. Do you know you already have everything you need? Life. You have life. This second. Filled with anticipation. Filled with the little things. Everything you need. This very moment.

 

”while in stillness

i hear your heart beat

not am i even next to you

yet i imagine every sound.”

 

Humid & light summer nights at sea

”Breathe her in.”

The stars, the moon, a warm, gentle breeze. Everything we need. Everything we asked for. The stillness speaks louder than our words. If you listen you’ll hear her breathe. Take a glimpse at the ocean. Allow the sound of the waves to caress your soul. You have talents; share them. You have a voice; speak up. You have dreams; believe in them. You’re human; be brave. Take a glimpse at the ocean. A glimpse at the heart. If you’d followed your intuition, we would never had been apart.

 

Books, books, books

”Turn a page.”

Mind travelling at its best. I fell in love with turning pages a few years ago. Since then I’m lost. Lost in words. In another lifetime. Another dream. Taking care of my soul. Page after page, word after word. You see, you don’t have to go far to travel the world. Turn a page, explore your senses.

 

Stretching

”Relax, and let go.”

What better way to relax the body. Whenever I feel stressed out, or drained of energy I stretch. The best cure after a long and rough day at work, or immediately after waking up. Put on some relaxing and calming music and stretch out those sore muscles. A lot of emotions are stored in the hips. Release old emotions, such as fear, anxiety or sadness through different hip openers. Yin yoga for the win.

 

 

Sunrise

”Whatever the day brings, kiss the sun.”

Time and again I fall in love with the sunrise. Early morning, a mug of coffee and the light pink sky. The magical hour happens when most of us are sleeping. My darling, don’t miss out on life. Wake up with the sunrise. Wake up with the birds. It happens right before your very eyes.

Life. Right before your beautiful eyes.

 

Linda

 

Whatever you are, be a good one

 

”Shine your light on this world.”

 

Once upon a time…

… there was a little girl with a big heart and a curious mind. However, this shy and quiet little girl didn’t think much of herself. Always comparing herself with the bright and clever ones, the extroverts, people with confidence. Never did she dare to speak up, cause who would even listen to what she had to say. Though, she had a whole little world inside her brain; always dreaming, planning and visualizing. Creating stories,

and no one to tell. 

And the day came, when her heart got stolen, broken and totally cracked open. Dark months went by. However, gradually sunlight started pouring in, leaving her feeling lighter and brighter.

Her heart might had been broken, but her soul finally had woken. 

And while her brain was still busy dreaming and creating stories, she knew there was one goal more important than the others; to be herself.

To crack open. Cause the world needed her open.

The world needs you open.

OWN WHO YOU ARE

 

People will try to tell you who you are, don’t believe them. You know who you are. You don’t need to be accepted by others, you need to accept yourself.

Look at yourself in the mirror. Do you like what you see? I’m not talking about the way you look. Do you like the person underneath that beautiful skin? Who is that person?

Who are you?

Once you have accepted yourself – your flaws, insecurities, all of you – no one can use it against you. Be gentle with yourself, life can be ruff enough. You don’t have to make it more difficult by talking down on yourself. Hiding. Speak up. Be brave. You’re human. You’re magic. Just like everyone else you have the right to be here. You matter.

Be the light.

Stop explaining yourself to people; do what works for you. Find the stillness within, listen to your soul when it speaks. What does it say? Listen. Be present. Be alive. Talk kindly to yourself. Be proud of who you have become. Don’t be afraid to be. Be sassy. Be you.

Don’t be shy, darling human; it’s about time you let that inner child come out to play.

 

Be effortlessly yourself.

The world will love you for it.

 

Linda

 

Dreamy mornings

”darling sun, you woke me up from my dreams. but then I realized, this one is way better.”

Why a healthy morning routine? It reduces stress, helps you set your mood for the entire day, makes you more productive and ahead of the day. Furthermore it makes you feel calm, relaxed and centered.

Wake up happy and start your day rejuvenated.

 

”early morning sunrise.

i opened up my eyes,

and it got me thinking of you.”

 

Below you’ll find a couple of my favourite self-care routines for a dreamy morning;

Let the sun in & meditate

As soon as you wake up, open up your curtains to let the bright & beautiful morning sunlight in. Now is also the perfect time to take a few minutes and set an intention for the day ahead. Visualize your perfect day; What are you doing? What will you accomplish?

making myself a cup of coffee…

Stretch & get your body moving

A sweaty morning workout releases feel-good endorphins. During the summer months I prefer working out in the mornings; it makes me feel super productive and ready to kickstart the day. I don’t workout every morning, but at leat I try to squeeze in a 20 minutes yoga/stretch session.

 

”wake up with the sunrise
                     &
fall in love during sunset.”

 

Cold shower & skin routine

Who doesn’t love a refreshing, cold shower in the morning? 😉 At least I do. It really gets me going, and if my body for some reason hasn’t yet woken up, it sure will during the shower. Taking care of the skin first thing in the morning is crucial; however, I like to keep it simple – after washing my face I use an eye creme, facial oil and a moisturizer with sun protection.

Nourishing breakfast

My favourite meal of the day. One favorite at the moment is a smoothie rich in vitamin C with frozen banana, frozen mango, buckthorn berries, turmeric, oat milk, peanut butter and vanilla powder. And not to forget; a second cup of coffee.

Reading a few chapters & writing

If I have time I like to read a few chapters in the morning; fiction or nonfiction, depending on the mood I’m in. Otherwise I try to write a page, or two, just to wake up the creative spark. A tip is to write down one small goal you wish to accomplish during the day. Writing down your goals makes you significantly more likely to achieve them.

 

And of course, not all mornings are dreamy like this. However, I’m a true morning person so I don’t mind spending a few extra hours during the early hours. Waking up with the sun.

 

Hope you have a wonderful morning

and a beautiful day!

Linda

How to change and replace limiting beliefs

”You don’t grow when things are easy. You grow when you face challenges.”

 

Limiting beliefs can be very sneaky, and so powerful that no matter how hard we try to control our thoughts and emotions they keep preventing us from attracting what we want in life. But what are the most common limiting beliefs stopping us from reaching our fullest potential? And what can we do in order to change and replace them for good? 

A limiting belief is a belief that stops us from doing something or changing; almost like an invisible barrier that prevents us from what we truly want. It’s something that we say to ourselves and that blocks us from moving forward or achieving our goals. The nasty voice in your head that says; I can’t do it.

Limiting beliefs are generally based on past experiences, our childhood, the way we were raised, our culture etcetera. They are deeply rooted within us, usually on a subconscious level, and therefore, we might not be fully aware of what they are, and the negative effect they have on us. Limiting beliefs are strongly connected to fear; fear of not being enough, fear of failure, fear of rejection.

Below you’ll find some of the most common limiting beliefs, and some strategies for combating them.

”I’m not good enough.”

This one is closely related to comparison. We easily compare ourselves to other people and their beautiful and successful lives. We think that we’re not capable of achieving our goals, or even worthy of the success, money, abundance or love. If you think like this you need to change your thinking. Change it today. Change it now. It doesn’t do you any good. Actually, it destroys you. Know that you’re worthy of all the love, joy, peace, success and happiness that you’re longing for.

Work on respecting yourself. Learn to respect others for their hard work. Be genuinely happy for other people and their success. If other people can succeed it means you can too. You just have to believe that you’re good enough, and that you’re capable of attaining your dreams.

You’re good enough. You’re perfect, just the way you are. You’re you, and that’s your superpower.

”I can’t do it.”

What you think you become. So if you think you can’t do it, then of course you can’t do it. When you change your thinking it will change your life.

Start telling yourself ”I can do it”, ”I can do anything I set my mind to”. You can be successful at almost anything if you dedicate yourself to it. Your only limit is you. Of course you have to be strategic here, and last but not least, you need to take action. Nothing good will come out of it if you lay on the coach all day, every day. You need to start putting yourself out there. You need to just go for it. You need to take action.

”I will be rejected.”

We’ve all been rejected at some point in our lives; at work, in school, in a relationship or for something that we’ve created. Rejection is part of the human experience. And while it can hurt your pride immensely, start to look at it as a learning experience instead. Sometimes it’s good to not take oneself too seriously, it’s not the end of the word if you get rejected. Maybe it’s the perfect time for reflection and changing things up.

Do not fear rejection.  You can’t please everyone, however, always please yourself. Strive to do your best, no matter what. If you’re content and pleased with what you’re doing a rejection won’t feel as bad. At lest you know that you did your best at the time being. I know that this is easier said than done but – practise, practise, practise.

”People will judge me.”

Let’s face it; people will always judge. People love to gossip, and there will always be people who will judge you and your life. Maybe people should be more concerned with their own lives instead of focusing on what other people are up to. And maybe you should ask yourself; ”Am I judging other people?” Cause if you’re judging others, it’s easier for other people to judge you too.

Most importantly, you can’t control what other people are doing. Let others be whoever they wish to be. Be you and do what you love to do, without the fear of being judged. We should be less judgemental, to others as well as to ourselves. Encouragement – that’s what we need more of.

”It’s too late.”

It’s never too late, darling friend. ”But I’m too old to find another job”, you might say. ”I’s too late, I’m already too overweight.” ”I’m too old to start a company.” ”Too old to start studying.” 

Whatever you might feel that you’re too old for, you’re not. No matter your age or circumstances it’s never too late for anything. It’s better to have tried and failed, to not have tried at all. Life is too short for sitting around wondering what would have happened. Do it!

Strategies in a nutshell

 

1. Awareness

The first crucial step is to become aware of our limiting beliefs, cause then, and only then, we have the power to move past them.

Start to journal; write down your thoughts, feelings in order to become aware of what’s stopping you from moving forward. Without awareness, you can’t really proceed. Take the time to get real about what’s holding you back. When you’ve figured this one out, then you’re ready to move forward, ready to take action.

2. Change your words

Focus on positive thinking. Focus on the things you have, the things you’re grateful for, rather than lack. Change the way you speak about yourself, the way you speak about others. Give yourself the love and respect you deserve. Be impeccable with your words. 

”I attract love, joy, abundance and success.”

”I’m worthy.”

”I’m strong, confident, happy and alive.”

”My life is filled with blessings, love and kindness.”

”Money flows effortlessly and easily to me.”

Words are powerful, therefore, choose them wisely. And yes there will be days when it will feel difficult and challenging. Days when nothing seem to go as planned. Don’t panic. Pause and breathe. Be kind to yourself. Speak with love, integrity, passion and joy.

Start listening to the voice within. What does it tell you? If you don’t like what you hear – then change it. Your have the power.

3. Take action – change your limiting beliefs to more empowering beliefs.

Set an intention every morning; ”Today will be a great day”. ”Today I’ll be successful in everything I do. ”Today I’ll do my best.”

As soon as you notice the negative voice within telling you that ”I can’t do it”, change it to a more empowering sentence; ”I can do anything”, ”I’m confident”. 

This is, however, a learning process. It’s about changing old habits, since, as I mentioned above limiting beliefs are usually deeply rooted within, generally based on past experiences, our childhood and the way we were raised. Changing these limiting beliefs won’t happen over night. Be patient with yourself, and above all trust that you’re able to fight them.

 

Once and for all, are we ready to crush our limiting beliefs?

Linda

Dear July…

… it’s you, since no one else makes sense.

”One of a kind. Dear nature, you’re one of a kind.”

 

5 am. Finding stillness. Seeking magic. Being free as the ocean, beautiful as the wildest flower. Inhaling confidence, exhaling doubt. Breathing in the warm days, and short nights. Wide awake, we are, while watching the sunset gracefully transforming into sunrise. Dancing with the waves, moving with the breeze. I’ll be all there, wherever you’ll take me.

Wherever you are, I’ll be all there, with power and an open heart.  

July is all about feeding the soul with burning fire. Burning passion. Breathing in nature and embracing every day with curiosity, bravery and kindness. It’s about doing one’s best. Accepting oneself. Loving oneself. Being aware and learning from mistakes. It’s about knowing ones worth, and having the ability to inspire other human beings. Improving the quality of life. Challenging the body. Loving the body. Loving life. It’s about a life that’s flourishing and exciting. Beautiful and unexpected. It’s about life.

Awaken your creativity, dear human. Awaken your soul. Find the bright light within. Know that life is amazing, exactly as it is. You’re amazing. Every breath a sign that you are. We are. Cherish every heartbeat, every sunrise. Every divine second. It all happens right before your very eyes. Hearts illuming, red roses blooming. Breathtakingly beautiful this precious moment alive.

 

”Speak only if it improves upon the silence.”

– Gandhi

 

Darling July, I welcome you. Teach us how to become one with what is, within and without. Still and alert. Precisely as nature at 5 am. 

Promise dear, you’ll keep us safe.

Darling promise,

this time

your burning sunlight

will last forever.

Darling remember,

wake me up

before you disappear.

 

Linda

Dear Future Job

Dear future job,

 

I can choose to continue to scroll through job ads without finding any position that fits my profile. OR I can choose to throw myself out there, head first, making myself visible, so that the one and only, spot-on job (you) finally can find me. Working together, successfully ever after.

If you would examine my brain you would most probably think I am a chaotic mess. However, that is far from the truth; I am organized, altruistic, driven and creative (thanks to my disorganized brain). Although my mind is constantly chatting – you know, I am one of those who think before they speak – I always seem to somehow separate and remove all the clutter from the important information, the things that make sense, make us proceed.

I love writing. Writing is my home. Whenever I feel sad, in love, anxious, eager to inspire or excited I return home. Please, prepare yourself – being with me involves writing.

Another thing that I am deeply passionate about is people. We are wonderful creatures, aren’t we? Complex, yet wonderful. If we only knew how magnificent, imagine all that we could accomplish! I once got a self-made painting from a young, happy customer whose day I had made. There is no monthly paycheck in the world that is comparable to a gift of kindness.

Excellent people skills they say. Perhaps you will become aware, that there is truth in that statement; all the years in customer service, as well as working within communications, building long-term relationships with influencers, have thought me enormously. Humans want to be seen. Want to be heard. We want to be encouraged, amused and valued. We need someone to believe in us, especially when we are too scared to believe in ourselves.

Dear future job, I am passionate about a lot of things; I guess I am passionate about life. With me, you will become to realize the importance of education. When we face challenges and stumble upon questions we do not yet master we do the research – we gather information and we learn. Together we grow.

What is more, together we practice kindness, diplomacy and creativity. Our vision is to inspire, make humans aware that there is so much more to life if we had the courage to step outside our comfort zones. Together we value heart-warming gestures, hard work and purpose driven actions.

Therefore, dear future job, when you are ready for a deep, fulfilling and successful relationship do not hesitate to contact me. It will be grand, and I am as ready as I will ever be.

(And yes I have a degree and all that. Actually I have two… So do not worry.)

Yours sincerely,

Linda Maria Vestman

Flow with it

 

”When in doubt, practise yoga.”

Almost every morning, after I’ve had my morning coffee, I practise yoga. It’s by far one of the morning routines that I appreciate the most. Letting my body quietly awaken while I stretch out my muscles; Absolutely lovely. Yoga has helped me tremendously in so many ways; not only to find stillness, but to learn to listen to my body and its needs. Yoga can be anything from a tough, sweaty workout to more calm, mindful movements. Find your favourite. Find your kind of flow.

I’m far from being a yogi, but I don’t care; I really enjoy it, and that’s the most important part. You need to be enjoying the things you’re doing. Or in other words; you need to be loving the things you’re doing. It becomes so much easier then – to work out, and to take care of the body. Your body is your home, and therefore it needs to be taken care of ❤

A gentle flow.

Namaste

 

Fel
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A good human

Let’s talk about self-development.

”We are magic, aren’t we?

Humans

Life is not about reaching the destination, it’s about enjoying the journey. Life is not about waiting for opportunities to come to you; it’s about creating opportunities. I read somewhere that we people don’t decide our futures; we decide our habits and our habits decide our futures. 

Cultivating self-development, self-growth, should be on top of your to-do-list, or in other words it should be a daily habit of yours to always strive to be the best version of yourself. You see, life is your call. Every area of life is your call. Life isn’t happening to you; life is responding to you. You’re the creator – you decide what your life will be. You decide how the next chapter will begin, and how the story will unfold.

”Wild. My darling, be wild. Don’t let them tame you.”

  • Surround yourself with people that encourage intellectual, emotional, artistic or spiritual growth. People that encourage you to be the best version of you.
  • Learn to become the watcher of your thoughts; be aware of them, but don’t let them affect you, or your state of mind. Simply acknowledge them, and then, let them go.
  • You can’t have too much knowledge. Educate yourself, try new things, read books, travel, speak to strangers, speak to the stars, learn a language, learn to dance, learn to love. Love yourself.
  • Remember you’re amazing, just as you are. But there’s nothing wrong with wanting to improve. Wanting to learn. Grow. Life is an ongoing learning process – you’re a work in progress, a beautiful work in progress.
  • Every single moment you have the opportunity to change your life; start by changing how you feel – choose happiness, choose positivity and bravery. It’s never too late to change. Plot twist.
  • Dare to imagine the impossible. Always imagine the best outcome whatever situation you may be in. Believe that you can, and you will succeed (eventually; be patient). Trust yourself, and your Self will be forever grateful.
  • ”Respond intelligently even to unintelligent treatment.” – Lao Tzu
  • Show appreciation towards life – say thank you, thank you, thank you. Dear life, thank you.
  • Stop complaining, stop criticising and finding faults in other people and yourself. Instead focus on things that make you grow, things that make other people grow. Be an inspiration. Be a good human.
  •  Live for today. It’s what you feel right now that matters, because it’s the only thing that determines your future. Every morning when you wake up is an opportunity to change things around, to change things for the better. To choose love instead of fear, joy instead of sadness, excitement instead of boredom, thankfulness instead of  ignorance.
  • An open mind is a loving mind.

 

Linda

Power of Thoughts

”Dear sunrise, you bring me peace of mind.”

Thoughts are a huge part of who we are. The human mind is a beautiful, yet complicated and sophisticated machine, and it’s estimated that an average person has between 40.000 to 60.000 thoughts per day (National Science Foundation). What is more, 80 % of these thoughts are negative, and 95 % are repetitive. 

Nevertheless, one important aspect to bear in mind is; you’re not your thoughts, you’re simply having thoughts. Most of the thoughts that are running through the mind we aren’t even totally conscious of. These so called subliminal messages go un-noticed since they aren’t perceived by the conscious mind. However, whether we notice these thoughts or not they will affect us to some extent.

Pay attention to your thoughts

According to the facts above it might seem that all we do is complain, whine or have thoughts that diminish our own or other people’s self worth, and mostly without even being aware of it! According to Eckhart Tolle one of the ego’s favourite strategies to strengthen itself is through complaining.

”Every complaint is a little story the mind makes up that you completely believe in. Whether you complain aloud or only in thought makes no difference. Some egos that perhaps don’t have much else to identify with easily survive on complaining alone. When you are in the grip of such an ego, complaining, especially about other people, is habitual and, of course, unconscious, which means you don’t know what you are doing.”  (A New Earth, Eckhart Tolle)

The first step in order to change negative thought patterns or limiting beliefs is to become aware of them. Start listening to the voice inside your head. What does it tell you? Once you learn to recognise and identify these thought patterns you can start to have a choice about how to react, and with time consciously make a choice to let them go.

If something bad happened to you in the past it’s very easy to keep the negative emotion connected to that particular event alive by compulsive thinking. You start to see yourself as the victim. However, dwelling on the past won’t do you any good; it will only contaminate your present and affect your current state of being in a negative way. Most importantly, it will take you further away from appreciating the beauty and aliveness of the present moment.

Eckhart Tolle explains it perfectly:

”It requires honesty to see whether you still harbor grievances, whether there is someone in your life you have not completely forgiven. If you do, become aware of the grievance both on the level of thought as well as emotion, that is to say, be aware of the thoughts that keep it alive, and feel the emotion that is the body’s response to those thoughts…. The past has no power to stop you from being present now. Only your grievance about the past can do that. And what is a grievance? The baggage of old thought and emotion.” (A New Earth, Eckhart Tolle)

Change your thought patterns

Becoming a curious observer of what goes on inside your mind will eventually help you become free of toxic thinking. Don’t believe all of your thoughts, and don’t take them all that seriously – most of the time it’s the never satisfied ego that’s talking. Once negative thoughts enter your mind the ego loves to swim in it and dwell upon it. Instead, make a conscious decision to bring more gratitude and positivity into your life, and notice how you, with time eventually will heal from the negativity.

Changing negative thought patterns, however, is not about pushing away your true feelings, but rather choosing more realistic and helpful thoughts over harmful ones. This might be easier said than done, and like every other skill (or muscle) it requires practise, practise and more practise. Be patient with yourself and don’t punish yourself for having bad thoughts. Simply recognise them for what they are – simply thoughts.

The more mindful you are in the present moment the less energy you’ll focus on dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. Stop and look around. What do you see? What do you taste? Smell? Hear? Be thankful for the beauty that surrounds you.

Darling human, your thoughts are powerful, therefore, choose them wisely. The power to control your thoughts, and thereby shape your reality, lies within you. Create your life. Create you.

Linda

 

 

Friday Feeling – Patience

”No one is an overnight success story. Put in the work.”

 

Sometimes what we want doesn’t happen when or how we want it to. But that doesn’t mean the answer is ”no” it just mean ”not right now”, or ”I have a better plan for you, sincerely the Universe”.

I believe the main difference between successful and unsuccessful people is not the way they vary in their competencies, but the way they vary in their ambition, and desires to reach their potential. Persistence is key, since good things usually take time.

Below you’ll find a few important mindsets to carry with you during times when giving up is the only thing on your to-do-list;

Practise gratitude.

It’s extremely easy to get caught up in other peoples’ success stories. However, spending time dwelling on the things you haven’t achieved yet, or comparing yourself with others won’t take you anywhere. Focus on you. Be thankful of the things you have accomplished so far. Write down all of your achievements – big and small, and start being grateful for the wonderful and amazing human you are. You are you – and that’s freaking awesome. Always strive to do your best, no matter what.

Take time out.

Some days the best thing you can do is to take a deep breath and chill. Don’t take life, and yourself too seriously; remember to have fun once in a while. It’s good to be ambitious and to have high expectations on yourself, but working too hard and solely focusing on the end result can also become stressful and unhealthy. In order to keep up the motivation you have to squeeze in some quality time with yourself, your friends and your loved ones. Putting time aside for the things you enjoy doing will help take your mind off challenging tasks for a while; you’ll feel more energised and ready to tackle whatever life throws at you if you’re less stressed and more alert.

Focus on your purpose.

Why are you doing the things you’re doing? What is the purpose behind your dreams and goals? It’s a great idea to reconnect to your why when feeling frustrated and inpatient. Remember – it’s never too late to readjust your goals.

Reestablish your why and the reasons you’re doing what you’re doing. Connect with your purpose – write down why you like to do the things you’re doing, what would you like to accomplish and why would you like to accomplish it? If you end up realising that you hate what you’re doing than look at it as a tremendous opportunity to tap into yourself, to find your why again.

 

Linda