Alla inlägg märkta: wellbeing

Mindfulness & Resilience

”Resilience is not about overcoming, but becoming.” – Sherri Mandel Resilience (noun) re-sil–ience ”… the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or significant sources of stress – such as family and relationship problems, serious health problems or workplace or financial stressors.” – American Psychological Association As life is filled with adversity, threats and significant sources of stress, our sense of control can swiftly disappear, and we may end up solely relying on our inner strength. Taking it day by day. And some days, hour by hour. In a Ted Talk, Shauna Shapiro talks about mindfulness as one of the most effective vehicles for how to help people transform. ”What you practice grows stronger”, says Shapiro. According to research we can sculpt and strengthen our synaptic connections based on repeated practice. However, paying attention in the present moment is not enough, says Shapiro – it is how we pay attention. She talks about paying attention with kindness. The beneficial effects of kind attention are that it decreases stress, strengthens our immune functioning and helps …

The courage to trust yourself

A key ingredient in this beautiful, yet unpredictable life is trusting oneself. As soon as you begin to trust yourself you’ll learn how to dance through life, cultivating courage, self-worth and compassion. Wherever you go, begin to plant all these wonderful things that you are. When you start to put complete trust in yourself you’ll automatically become more confident in your own skin. Go within, listen to your inner guidance. The answers are there. Trust yourself. What determines your worth? Think about it for a minute. Is it your looks? The amount of friends you have? Your income? Your job title? Where you were born? Your skin colour? Or do you depend on other people in order to make you feel valuable? Question your belief systems. Why do you have them, and where do they steam from? Be clear and completely honest with yourself when answering these questions. Writing your thoughts down might make it easier to understand yourself as you read your words out loud. The goal is not to judge yourself, but to become …

How to surrender

”When you think you’ve surrendered, surrender even more.” Take a step back and let the universe guide you on the way. Trust that the guidance you need will come to you. Or as Eckhart Tolle so neatly puts it: ”Sometimes surrender means giving up from trying to understand, and becoming comfortable with not knowing.” Life is about finding the balance between what we can control, and what we cannot. Sometimes surrendering is the breakthrough we need. During my morning yoga the teacher I was following said something that had me remember something deeply important. I was in this slightly uncomforable frog positon (uncomfortable at least to me). The teacher said that whenever we’re in a position that feels difficult and challenging it’s very common to hold our breaths and try to combat the struggle, and therefore resist the growth that comes along. The thing we instead should strive towards in that moment is to take even deeper breaths, and allow our bodies to let go. Whether you’re in an uncomfortable yoga position or going through a …

Small daily habits to improve your life

”Ask yourself; Does this support my innermost being?” While being perfect is rather boring, we should instead strive to be a bit more willing to be the best version of ourselves. A version that will change from day to day, from hour to hour even. Some days we learn, some days we win. However, we don’t stop when the mountain gets too high or the sea too rough. Rather, we adjust. We may scream a little (or a lot), we may laugh at our foolishness. But we continue, we adapt. And that’s how we evolve. ”Fragile you are, little seed. Planted in the depths of thick, dark, nourishing soil. Resilient you are, blooming flower. Early spring.” l.m.v I strongly believe it’s the small daily habits that encompass the greatest value on our overall wellbeing. Like waking up early dawn, knowing it’s time to make yourself a freshly brewed cup of coffee. The smell and sound of coffee beans grinding. The taste of creamy oat milk, nicely poured on top of a hot, steamy cup of …

How to release emotions in a healthy way

”Feel the feeling, but don’t become the emotion.Allow & release.” Ever experienced a deep need or desire to scream out loud? However, considering your surroundings, you never do. From where does this impulse stem from? Suppose this craving sneaks up during days when you feel frustrated, a bit anxious and stressed out. Pent up emotions eventually need to be released. It’s rather common to bottle up ones emotions; we might not want to face them, hence run away from them, seeking out instant pleasures from our external environment. Nevertheless, in due course they will catch up on us. With this being said, in what ways can these emotions be released from our bodies? You see, you don’t want them to build a nest within you, keeping you depressed, anxious or sick. But first things first – never ever apologize for feeling a certain way. Your feelings are valid – each and every one of them. Feelings come up for a reason, and choosing to hold on to the negative ones might make you sick. Liberate …

The sacred intuitive mind

”Creativity thrives in stillness, arises from the no-thingness.” When you allow yourself to simply sit, with yourself, and let the thoughts wander freely – no holding on, no grasping, simply observing; insights, and new solutions to your challenges might arise. One of our biggest dilemmas, I believe, is that we think about life more than we are actually living life. And isn’t it precisely because of that, that we need to remember to appreciate the moments in between. Life is to be found in the smallest of details; the morning sun gently caressing the ground, the taste of ocean air, your lovers facial expression when she’s talking about something important to her, a strangers helping hand, the sound of your sleeping child. Lately, I’ve given myself the time to sit down and write. Writing has often been the thing that has provided me with the most comfort; to acknowledge the calmness, and just let whatever that wants to arise, arise. You see, the words, more often than not, surface out of the stillness. They don’t …

Ways to be more mindful

”Be aware; make a move, take a stand, take a chance. Embrace and work with what is.” Every moment, peacefully passing by. What happens now, in this moment, guides us into the next. Pay attention to your surroundings, as well as your inner state, as it nourishes greater awareness, clarity and acceptance of what is. Don’t miss out on life, don’t miss out on what is of greatest value. Growth and transformation happen the moment you realize the richness and the depth of your potentialities. As every moment peacefully evolves, so are you.  How to become more mindful? How to become more acceptant of what is? There are several methods helping us to cultivate a more intimate relationship with the present moment, ways for us to achieve serenity. Peace of mind. Below you’ll find some of my favourites. Tranquility speaks ”Listen to the whispers of your soul.” 4.30 am. I forgot how peaceful it is to wake up at dawn. Complete darkness surrounding me, however, the light within keeping me safe. The early hours present …

The cure for loneliness

”By helping each other we’re helping ourselves.” It seems like humans are feeling more lonely and isolated than ever before. And whereas there are varying root causes to this I wish to adress one possible explanation. Self-empowerment, self-help, self-actualization, self-care, self, self, self Self-absorbtion. While I believe the self-help industry has many positive side effects, I also believe that the moment we become too self-absorbed the negative effects outweigh the positive ones. In other words, if you’re overly concerned with yourself, your own feelings and thoughts you might easily turn into a self-absorbed human being. Don’t get me wrong, I still believe in self-empowerment, self-actualization and self-growth. I believe in self-love. Compassion towards others begins with compassion towards the self. It’s nothing wrong in wanting to improve and evolve as a human being, in fact, it’s a necessity for us in order to evolve as a spieces. You’re not special. I think it was the Dalai lama who said that whenever he is having a talk in front of thousands of people he always reminds …

5 mindsets to be the best version of yourself

”Be the sort of person you would admire.” You are a different person to different people. Annoying to some. Kind to another. Talented to a few. Unknown to a lot. But who are you, to you? What does the best version of yourself look like? Being the best version of yourself needs to start with you, it needs to start from within. Other people will always have expectations from you, however, you know who you are, and what’s capable for you. When striving to be the best version of yourself, remember, that version will vary from day to day. Always ask yourself how do I feel today? What would I like to accomplish? What is my intention? Below you’ll find five mindsets on how to be the best version of yourself. 1. Take your power back To change your life, you have to change yourself. To change yourself, you have to change your mindset. It all begins, and ends in your mind. What you give power to, has power over you – if you allow …

A bird’s eye view

”The eyes are useless when the mind is blind.” How to master the art of observing life with an open mind? Where others see either black or white, to learn to see the rainbow? Life is a spectrum of moments, occurring one after the other. Anything can happen. And it’s impossible for us to know what might be hiding behind the corner. We’re allowed to change – in fact we should, change, and grow. In line with each and everyone of your breaths you are allowed to be. Exactly the one you were meant to be. For the most part of my life I’ve tried to live with an open-mind. I’m very curious, and I’ve always thought that there can’t be one answer to all of this. Of course not. My opinions do not have to align with yours. However, I will always respect you, for being you. For your actions, and thoughts, even those I don’t agree with. ”Oh, you think like that, interesting.” I think if we humans would strive to become better …