Page 60 of 81

The way is in the heart

December 31, 2008 /

My yogateacher Cristiaana had an event on New Years Eve with a speech and yoga class. All of us also got an affirmation, she had written different ones and put them in envelopes that we got at random. I got this affirmation:

The way is not in the sky,
The way is in the heart.
Buddha

This is perfectly inline with my own thinking. I have been working with the book Your Best Year Yet – The 10 questions that will change your life forever and as part of the process you create guidelines. One of mine says “Trust my heart and inner truth”.

This was originally posted at another (now extinct) blog of mine.

What about my 2008?

December 24, 2008 /

It is that time of the year when we look back at the past year and start thinking about the next. In Turning 2008 into 80-20 I listed what I intended to focus on during 2008:
• In fall 2007 I finished a course and became a professional coach. Coaching is my baby for 2008 and where most of my efforts will be focused.
• I will set off time for my blogging efforts with the intention to post regularly at my three main blogs. The fourth one, doodling, is for fun and requires no set schedule.
• On a more personal level I intend to enjoy life, be in the here and now.

I would say I have managed 2.5 out of three. Number one and number three are related since I love working as a coach, it makes me enjoy life and what I do. During the year I have invested more time in practizing yoga and mindfulness. I am pleased with the result on those two. My blogging has been going up and down, I will probably have to reconsider that issue for 2009.

I have decided to walk my talk and that will definately affect my plans for 2009. Plans are currently in the works, I am using the book Your Best Year Yet as a toolbox for that. To make things happen next year I intend to use The Manifestation Wheel which is an interesting concept.

This was originally posted at Forty Plus Two, another blog of mine.

Ganesha: Lord of Success – the Hindu Elephant-Deity

December 24, 2008 /

Three friends of mine have been in India and bought me a present. I got a small statue of Ganesh or Ganesha, the Hindu Elephant-Deity. I of course had to find out more about this god and what I found is very interesting and matches me in many ways.

Ganesh is the Hindu God of knowledge and the remover of obstacles or God of elimination of troubles. He is also called Ganapati (leader of people), Buddhividhata ( god of knowledge ), or Vighnahara (god to remove obstacles).

The son of Shiva and Parvati, Ganesha has an elephantine countenance with a curved trunk and big ears, and a huge pot-bellied body of a human being. He is the Lord of success and destroyer of evils and obstacles. He is also worshipped as the god of education, knowledge, wisdom and wealth.

It is interesting to read about the Significance of the Ganesha Form. I also found an image that lists the symbolisms.

I believe in life long learning, gathering and sharing knowledge. Both as coach and healer I work with removal of obstacles and elimination of troubles.

There is also a Ganesha Mudra (hand yoga) that “can be employed whenever you are struggling. Symbolizes strength when facing troubles. Eases tension.”

Read more:
Ganesha at Wikipedia
Ganesha: Lord of Success

This was originally posted at another (now extinct) blog of mine.

Sat Nam

December 23, 2008 /

Today my yoga teacher talked about Sat Nam, an interesting topic which makes me understand why she called her website “Truth is your identity”.

Wikipedia said this about Sat Nam:

In Sanskrit, “sat” means “truth” and “nam” means “identity”. There are many differing interpretations when you put the two together – some websites have given the following interpretations: “truth is my identity” and “The essence of God is within me”.

Other common interpretations include: “in name there is truth” and “the light shines in you”; light being a metaphor for truth just like in mystical Kabbalistic teachings. The words themselves have a soothing and centering quality due to their monosyllabic nature, similar to sounds made by babies.

The Kundalini Yoga website lists SAT NAM among mantras:

SAT NAM is the Seed Mantra or Bij Mantra and it is the most widely used in the practice of Kundalini Yoga. Sat means the Truth; Nam means to call upon, name or identify with. Sat Nam means Truth is my identity and I call upon the eternal Truth that resides in all of us. Chanting this mantra awakens the Soul, and more simply means “really”. It is pronounced to rhyme with “But Mom!”

Both “truth is my identity” and “The essence of God is within me” are powerful statements.

This was originally posted at another (now extinct) blog of mine.

Your Best Year Yet

December 21, 2008 /

This review is about Your Best Year Yet – The 10 questions that will change your life forever, written by Jinny Ditzler. I came across this book since it should be the topic for a breakfast seminar at CoachCompanion. The book felt right and I ordered the book at once, before being at the seminar.

I like this book a lot, it is well written and has a clear concept. The book is in three parts, first an introduction, then a part with a chapter for each of the ten questions and finally a workshop with forms for each of the ten questions. It says ‘three hours to change your life’, that is what the workshop part will take you.

You can go straight to working with the ten questions but I found it very useful to read part one and two before that. In part two with chapters per question you will get an understanding of why these questions, why in this order and what will you gain in the process. There are also examples for each question that helps you get started.

The strongest motivation for doing Best Year Yet is that you find the way to live your life so it shows what really matters to you – so you are true to yourself.

These are the ten questions, you start with looking back on your past year and then start working on the coming year:
1. What did I accomplish?
2. What were my biggest disappointments?
3. What did I learn?
4. How do I limit myself, and how can I stop?
5. What are my personal values?
6. What roles do I play in my life?
7. Which role is my major focus for the next year?
8. What are my goals for each role?
9. What are my top ten goals for the next year?
10. How can I make sure I achieve them?

Question four is about how we limit ourselves and how to stop that.

Our limiting beliefs about ourselves become like brick walls in front of us, keeping us from even thinking about how to make the big changes or set the big goals.

Question five is about personal values, that chapter has an interesting part about life pursuits. Which one is yours?
I What can I do to prove myself? To be good enough?
II What can I do with the gifts I have?

Question six is about our roles in life. Jinny points out the importance of taking care of ourselves:

You must take care of yourself so you can take care of others and carry out your responsibilities.

In question eight about goals, Jinny connects back to values from question five:

Value-driven goals lead to behaviour and performance which are true expressions of who we are.

Summary
I highly recommend this book if you want a toolbox that helps you improve your life. Learn from the past and more about yourself, all in order to make the next year your best year yet.

Read more:
Best Year Yet, FREE Online Workshop
Your Best Year Yet! – the introduction
Best Year Yet – website
Know Yourself Change Yourself, a great book about beliefs and values.

This was originally posted at Forty Plus Two, another blog of mine.

I walk my talk

December 15, 2008 /

Coaching often is about goals and making dreams come through. I got my coach training in the fall of 2007. During 2008 I have shared my time between Logica and my own coaching business. My heart is in coaching, I have found my passion, yet I stayed at Logica.

When Logica in December decided to downsize a window of opportunity opened for me. I got an offer to leave on short notice, we signed the deal today. This means I leave Logica at the end of December and from 2009 it is my coaching business that gets my undivided attention.

This will be an interesting ride, I intend to make 2009 my best year yet, wish me luck.

This was originally posted at Forty Plus Two, another blog of mine.

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2024

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑