Archive for December, 2008

Don't forget that we're trying to light up Mugabe in the next 21 days. At the following times, between 6-7 am, or at 12 – 1300hrs or at 19-2000hrs,
there should be people meditating around the world at that time in any one of several different countries and sending love to Mugabe. Why, oh why? you may ask.

Big
Peacer Jacquie Wilson has created a campaign with her friend James
to give Mugabe and his leaders an 'energy makeover' in attempt to bring
an end to the violence and destruction currently devastasting Zimbabwe.

James was shocked when
at a church service the vicar said:
“What’s needed is someone to go in and assassinate Mugabe and get rid of him
once and for all!” Whilst I understood his perspective entirely, I was surprised
that a man of God should say such a thing. It got me thinking," says James.

 "I believe it is entirely possible that, if
we were to very specifically send light to Mr Mugabe and his henchman, that we
could raise their energy enough to come to the negotiating table and sign a
worthwhile agreement and stop this reckless destruction of a nation. There are
several of us who have been doing this for a while now, but doing it
individually and at unspecific times, we are not enough – we need the power of
many collectively to achieve this."

So
instead of sending violent thoughts to Mugabe or feeling powerless,
James and Jacquie are urging us to send love every time we meditate or
pray,
for a period of at least 21 days starting on 21^st December, the
winter solstice and the shortest day of the year to Mugabe and his team. It needs to be specifically
directed to Mr Mugabe and his henchmen.

"We believe that with this collective energy makeover, it
will ease their fear, selfishness and aggression just enough to allow for the
necessary agreement to take place. If it achieves more, all well and good but
all that is needed is to create the start of real and necessary change is
simply the willingness to make a reasonable deal," says James.   

James and Jacquie propose that we focus our energy at as by doing
so, we actually multiply the power of the energy generated substantially. They have come up with
three times of day, based on the hour between 6.00am and 7.00am, 12-1300hrs and 19-2000hrs. 

I mentioned this what I was doing to a journalist friend of mine today and she was rather dismissive and cynical. Ok, this exercise may stretch your belief system, if you don't believe in sending energy/love/raising vibrations etc but have you got anything to lose? Apart from an hour a day.

But just imagine, if we can shift something….imagine if that was possible….imagine…..

Big Peace December Day 20

I'm just gearing up to the 23rd December where I'm meeting with my closest girlfriends to have a Christmas dinner and a end of year review. We are asking the following:

2008 was the year of………………
(What will you remember 2008 for?)
What did you learn about yourself and life in 2008?
What made you happiest in 2008 and how you can do more of that in 2009?
What was the biggest leap you made in 2008 and what did you learn from that?
What is your greatest wish for 2009?

We are going to be creating 'vision boards' for 2009 – my poor girlfriends! all they wanted to do was have a glass of champagne and a gossip.

But it is a really great exercise to do at this time of year.

It's been rather a big year for me in terms of learning and leaping. In May, I made a big decision to leave my 15 year marriage, I've found a new path in The Big Peace, I'm creating new projects and businesses and I'm learning about the power of love and how it can transform the most horrible of situations. And when we drive our life from our Big Peace place (where our inner coach resides) then everything is really Ok, despite grief and lots of snot and tears.

I am alone for the first time in my adult life but feel more connected and loved than I have ever felt.  And that's quite a big ask. My parents died when I was younger so I don't have a traditional safety net to support me, my poor brother and sister-in-law are going through their own crisis right now as my beautiful sister in law Paula is battling breast cancer for the second time and about to embark on  her second chemotherapy session on Christmas Eve.

It's a big year for me and my family, facing big life and death questions. Which has led me only to dive more deeply into The Big Peace place. I am no good to anyone when I operate from fear and seperation. I can only do what I can do – I'm very human, as you know but if we can leap from fear into our Big Peace place, then I feel miracles can happen and they DO happen.

I always thought I would be serene, organised, tidy and floating round in a white gown smiling and hearing piped angel music when I found my Big Peace. But no, life is still a confused jumble, hectic, messy, snotty with pizza stains down the front of that metaphorical white dress. But I have never felt so alive or so connected, so sure that whatever happens I'm living the life I was meant to live. With lots of wobbles, sobbing and leaping back into fear in between.

Diving into The Big Peace is my intention for 2009. And I'm staying in the Big Peace bath as long as I can – even when my fingers go wriggly.

A short exercise today. You can do the above or just simply ask this one:

Studies by one of the 'happiness scientists' Martin Seligman at
University of Pennsylvania found that taking time each day to write
down a trio of things that went well and why, works brilliantly to
make us feel better about life.

 "Our studies show people are less depressed and happier three
 months later and six months later, " he says.

Create a daily habit and start today – ask yourself:

"What went well today and why?"

What a night! Spent last night with a group of Big Peacers at the wonderful and inspirational launch of Planet Positive. Steve Malkin, my wonderful Big Leaping client has created an way of us all saving the world and reducing our carbon footprint.

"Planet Positive is all about: action not words. It is about taking
responsible steps to reduce global warming and also to help people in
the developing world have a better life.

We want you to
become Planet Positive. Measure and reduce your carbon footprint, then
offset the remainder by 110%. Be positive about tackling climate
change, take Planet Positive action," said the wonderful Steve from the front of the room. 

I'm a great believer in action. So join Planet Positive today and create a better way of living.

Apart from the inspirational message we also got to raise a glass (or, er two or three) with some of the lovely Big Peacers who have been following this blog. Great to meet you Lucy and Caite (wow! I loved your dress, Caite is a fashion designer….check out her website!) Lovely to see you again Tina and got to meet a brilliant website designer Tracey – I also love your concept. The Simple Web Company.

And not to mention the wonderful Ali Atwell, motivational speaker who makes you laugh – a lot!

And so many other interesting people. I got rather enthusiastic over a bio-degradable plate that you can use at festivals or parties, which comes with a sunflower seed. So once you've eaten your nosh, you plant the plate AND seed in the ground. June you have a barbecue with your mates, and by August, you have a sunflower field in your back garden! www.uutensil.com How cool is that. Brilliant idea.

A great night -  inspirational, fun, lots of wine with wonderful people. It made me happy but no surprise there.

Virtually all the happiness exercises being tested by positive psychologists have found that those that make people feel more connected to others work best.

That seems to be the most fundamental finding from the science of happiness.

 "Almost every person feels happier when they're with other people," observes Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, author of Flow:The Psychology of Optimal Experience.

 "It's paradoxical because many of us think we can hardly wait to get home and be alone with nothing to do, but that's a worst-case scenario.  If you're alone with nothing to do, the quality of your experience really plummets."

A 2002 study conducted at the University of Illinois  found that the most salient characteristics shared by the 10% of students with the highest levels of happiness and the fewest signs of depression were
their strong ties to friends and family and commitment to spending time with them.

Today is a simple exercise – book a night out with your mates who you love and who love you.

Cheers!

I am a big fan of Marianne Williamson, author of the best-selling Return to Love. I went to a talk she gave in London a few years ago and she wryly talked about the angry young woman she used to be when she embarked on her marches for peace in the '60s.

Finally, she talked about the shift she made from 'fighting for peace' to 'being peace' and quoted Ghandi: "Be the change you want to see in the world," she encouraged us. 

 "When we stop fighting for peace out there and start creating peace 'in here', miracles happen," she said.

Which is why I loved the email I have just received from a Big Peacer Jacquie Wilson who has created a campaign with her friend James to give Mugabe and his leaders an 'energy makeover' in attempt to bring an end to the violence and destruction currently devastasting Zimbabwe.

James was shocked when
at a church service the vicar said:
“What’s needed is someone to go in and assassinate Mugabe and get rid of him
once and for all!” Whilst I understood his perspective entirely, I was surprised
that a man of God should say such a thing. It got me thinking," says James.

 "I believe it is entirely possible that, if
we were to very specifically send light to Mr Mugabe and his henchman, that we
could raise their energy enough to come to the negotiating table and sign a
worthwhile agreement and stop this reckless destruction of a nation. There are
several of us who have been doing this for a while now, but doing it
individually and at unspecific times, we are not enough – we need the power of
many collectively to achieve this."

So instead of sending violent thoughts to Mugabe or feeling powerless, James and Jacquie are urging us to send love every time we meditate or pray,
for a period of at least 21 days starting on 21^st December, the
winter solstice and the shortest day of the year to Mugabe and his team. It needs to be specifically
directed to Mr Mugabe and his henchmen.

"We believe that with this collective energy makeover, it
will ease their fear, selfishness and aggression just enough to allow for the
necessary agreement to take place. If it achieves more, all well and good but
all that is needed is to create the start of real and necessary change is
simply the willingness to make a reasonable deal," says James.   

James and Jacquie propose that we focus our energy at specific times of day as by doing
so, we actually multiply the power of the energy generated substantially. They have come up with
three times of day, based on the hour between 6.00am and 7.00am in 3 different
locations around the world. All you need to do is fit in with one of those
times daily, and you will be contributing substantially to this effort.

For times to meditate and for information: email James and Jacquie

lightupmugabe@googlemail.com

I am a rather massive believer in the power of love and I love this campaign and will be joining them on the 21st December. Let's create a miracle together.

Big Peace December Day 15.

After a roller coaster weekend for me, I want to go back to observing my thoughts. So thought I'd share this exercise.

The renowned meditation teacher and writer, Stephen Levine,
talks about seeing our thoughts as boxcars on a freight train. 

He asks us to imagine standing at a railway crossing, watching a
freight train passing by and challenges us to try to keep looking
ahead into the present, rather than being pulled towards looking
into each of the carriages:

'As we attend to the train, we notice there's supper in one boxcar,
but we just ate, so we're not pulled by that one,' says Levine.

'The laundry list is the next one, so we reflect for a moment on the
blue towel hanging on the line to dry, but we wake up quite quickly
to the present once again, as the next boxcar has someone in it
meditating and we recall what we're doing.

A few more boxcars go by with thoughts clearly recognized as
thoughts. But, in the next one is a snarling lion chasing someone
who looks like us. We stay with that one until it's way down the line
to see if it gets us. We identify with that one because it 'means'
something to use.

We have an attachment to it.

Then we notice we've missed all the other boxcar streaming by in
the meantime and we let go of our fascination for the lion and
bring our attention straight ahead into the present once again.'

I loved this description of the way our thoughts work while in
meditation. But I also think it's a wonderful description of how
our thoughts operate in general.

Without the instruction or intention to keep our eyes straight
ahead in the present, how many of us realize that we have a choice?

How many of us remember that we can simply focus on another carriage
- the one with the supper or the laundry list in it? Or simply focus
on looking straight ahead into the present?

How many of us realize that whatever we put our attention on can
eat us up, whether it be a lion or a thought?

Negative thoughts are like snarling lions – they have us hooked. We
are attached to them and we do focus on them and wrestle with them
because we think if we don't, they'll eat us.

The irony is that the more we wrestle and fight them, the more
power we give them. However, to step outside and be able to observe
our beliefs dissolves their power.

Meditation is a great way to start training the mind to start
observing our thoughts versus be eaten by them. 

Today, see if you can observe your thoughts rather than be in them.
Sounds more simple than it actually is.

When I first tried this I was completely freaked out.
('You mean they are just 'thoughts' not reality. So what's reality????)

Just try it and see how you feel.