We've just completed our second Big Peace retreat www.bigpeaceretreat.co.uk – which we held at a beautiful hotel near Lewes in Sussex and it was wonderful. I love meeting you all and diving more deeply into the practices that will bring us peace.

It strikes me again how dynamic this process is (I thought the Big Peace would be about floating round in white clothes, with angels and birds tweeting in the background) But no! It's funny, human, brave and messy.

The Big Peace is about accepting all parts of our humaness – the dark and the light. One of the great things about a retreat like this is that we hear that other people also have an 'inner pessimist' – just as mean and ugly as ours – who beats us about the head with their stories of gloom and doom. And I love the 'aha' moments when we realise we have choice. That the inner pessimist is not real – we're making it all up and that if you can make up that vicious soundtrack, you can choose to make up a new, supportive, nurturing script for your life.

And ah! Bisto, it's so much more peaceful – and fun!

Here's an exercise we did on the retreat. Try these questions and create your own mini-retreat.

1. What
   is it you want to change?

2. What
   is the thinking behind your current behaviour?

3. What
   are the costs of that thinking?

4. What
   would your life be like without that thinking and behaviour?

5. What
   would you have to think differently to create new behaviour?

6. What
   actions can you take if you acted as if this new thinking was true?

7. Are
   you willing to let go of your old thinking and willing to embrace your new
   thinking?

8. Paint
   me a picture of what your life will be like with your new
   behaviours/thinking in place?

9. What
   do you commit to DO DIFFERENTLY to make this thinking a default setting in
   your life?

10. Paint
    me a picture of what your life will be like on one year from hence with
    this new thinking in place?

Let me know how you get on with these.
xxx

I’ve been a bit grumpy the last few days. Well, not grumpy but less peaceful somehow….more caught up the little dramas in my head. I’ve had a cold and feeling a bit sorry for myself. But I realised that perhaps without my daily focus on peace with The Big Peace programme, I’m more inclined to grizzle.

Right now, for me, it is a conscious decision to focus on peaceful thoughts…they certainly don’t just happen.

I have to choose to FEEL differently in the moment.

Three things I find myself coming back to: the exercise that Michael Neill taught us in his interview (and in his book Feel Happy Now). Put your hand on your heart (and tell me….sorry, broke into song) and think about someone who you love and let that love run up and down your spine, down to the tips of your toes, up to the top of your head and that upwards and then round again until you feel you’re totally loved up. Great way to change your mood.

I’ve just bought Steven Sashen’s advanced meditation CDs but my favourite is still the ‘all that is’ that he took us through in his interview. That feels a great one to do when I’m arguing with reality.

And thirdly is that dose of inspiration. Because I was writing the The Big Peace daily, I was constantly researching and focussing on the question ‘how can I feel more peaceful’? What I focus on expands.

How are you feeling now the 30 day programme has finished? Any changes?

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There has been a lot of fuss about a new book called The Secret by Rhonda Byrne, which talks about the ‘law of attraction.’

I came across this ‘law’ years ago in a book by Esther and Jerry Hicks called Ask and It is Given. (Hay House)

According to the ‘law of attraction’, thoughts have an energy that attracts like energy. In order to control this energy, we must practice four things:

1. Know what one desires and ask the universe for it. (The “universe” is mentioned broadly, stating that it can be anything from God to an unknown source of energy.)
2. Focus one’s thought upon the thing desired with great feeling such as enthusiasm or gratitude.
3. Feel and behave as if the object of one’s desire is already acquired.
4. Be open to receiving it.

What a belief system! An interesting one to adopt? What do you think? I asked one of my clients to read the ‘Ask and it is Given’ book and to write a review, after trying on the belief system for size – here’s what she said:

“There are very few books in my experience which make you feel better about life. Ask and it is Given, however, is one of them. This book helps you identify exactly what it is you really want right now and then provides all the necessary tools and processes you need to acquire it.

I’ve no idea how manifestation works, all I know is that it does. After focusing on a diamond ring I wanted, you can imagine my surprise when only one week later I was proposed to with the diamond ring of my dreams. The secret, I believe, is truly believing that you deserve to have it and then imagining that it’s about to be delivered to your door at any moment.” Sarah, film-maker.

The law of attraction – could this be a peaceful way of living our lives? I know that it can sometimes have the opposite effect ie. “I’ve been forcing myself to think positive thoughts but I still haven’t got what I want….it’s not working! this/my life is rubbish,” I’ve heard people say.

Maybe that happens because we’re going about it in the ‘if I do this…..i will get that……” mindset. The idea of feeling peaceful is to feel peaceful (or content) whatever happens versus ‘I’m only going to focus positively/think feel-good thoughts if it’s going to manifest me great riches’. The focus is surely to feel content anyway versus giving to get. If like attracts like, then that mindset isn’t exactly the most attractive one! The ‘great riches’ are just a bonus, surely?

When I ask my clients what they want….they will often come up with a list…….a yacht….a day off……to be out of debt…….whatever….Then I ask them “what will it give you?”

Their answers vary from everything to freedom, to love to security. This is what they REALLY want. So the first thing we do is have them focus on that. If they can make the leap and realise that they have the access to that emotion RIGHT NOW, then the manifesting the yacht is just a matter of time and taking the right actions.

The Big Leap is realising that the yacht won’t give you freedom, it will just take them from A to B and will probably be great fun to sail. However, they can have freedom in their life right now by changing the way they think.

Freedom….happiness….love – it’s an internal state. As Michael Neill said in our recent interview, it’s a choice we can make right now. He’s right. YOu can be happy…at peace right now.

Let’s do it. Think of someone or a place or a time when you felt happy/peaceful/free…..what does it feel like? Where are you feeling it in your body? Let that feeling expand up, down and sideways, let it flow out the top of your head, through your feet. You are free. Already. Now. It’s a choice you can make right now in the present.

And then you can decide if you still want to save for that yacht.

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I am! We’re in the last week of the 30 day Big Peace programme and I am definitely feeling more peaceful.

How do I measure that? I’m not so irritable with my husband, I am loving with being with my son….(i had a blissed out moment in Princess Diana Gardens in London), my eating habits and coffee consumption seem to be OK……even when faced with doing my tax. Something is working.

It’s that old adage….what you focus on expands.

And Michael Neill’s word’s keep coming back to me……’peace is not a destination, you can feel peaceful now’ and then he took us through that exercise. Do listen to his inspired interview.

and also Rachel Pryor’s words – is your heart at peace or at war? just noticing when I’m ‘at war’ really helps.

All good in this moment.

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Michael Neill was fabulous and a real inspiration. He gave some great tips that are quick, practical  that you can use right away to feel better and at more peace right in the moment.

Here’s the interview

What do you think? If you have any thoughts you’d like to share, please leave a comment.

Suzy xx

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How excited I am! We got to talk to guru extraordinaire last night – Byron Katie – on what I think is a fast-track method to inner peace (not that it’s a race!). Do listen to the interview or download her worksheets/get yourself a ‘work’ buddy from www.thework.com (it’s all free!)

And now…..guess that? Michael Neill…author of Feel Happy Now! has agreed to talk to us. Must admit I’m in a bit of a flutter. I’m  a not so secret raving fan of Michael (named as ‘the finest success coach in the world today’ by Paul McKenna, indeed!)

Michael’s newsletter pops into my inbox every Monday and I always read it  and feel happier/perkier or enlighted in some way – how often can you say that? Check out Michael’s website www.geniuscatalyst.com and sign up for his newsletter and we can form a fan club.

Anyway…..he has agreed to give us a 20 minute interview on all his best stuff on finding inner contentment. Will let you know as soon as  I’ve posted it.

I feel pretty content right now.

How are you? We are now 12 days into the programme. How are you feeling?

I was feeling a little bit rubbish yesterday as you’ll hear if you listen to the Byron Katie interview but after doing my ‘work’ and 4 question process….I feel like I am welcoming my stressful thoughts because it gets me nearer to feeling peaceful. Yerwhat?

Listen to the interview and all will be revealed!

Suzy xxx

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