Hi EveryOne, 

Embracing Change

Wow August, where has the time gone?… Time certainly reminds us to embrace change!…

Speaking of change – first some news. It’s time to let go of my practice in Burrum Heads. From start of September I will be working from home which will enable me to cut back on my work load. I will be stepping back from the physical aspect (body work) of my business, so I can focus more on my own health and wellness 🙂 I will of course continue to offer meditation programs, retreats, workshops, classes and individual health and wellbeing sessions. And though we will need to be very economical with our resources (something we are used to, since we spent 6 years on the road) Col and I believe it’s an important step towards a peaceful, more powerful story that we are both worthy of living 🙂 🙂 … Other news – meditation classes are going strong and will continue on as usual. Also – we are in our 4th week of ‘Hoop-dance for Seniors’ (8 week beginners course) – wow it’s been so much fun – and the courage and determination has been awesome…  Enjoy the article below 🙂

Embracing Change …

Since we are already in August, it’s a good time to remind ourselves of the importance of embracing change. Since change is the only constant in life, best we accept and get comfortable with change rather than fight it…  We see change all around us. Just the seasons alone, remind us that life is in a constant flux – morning to night, winter to spring – leaves falling, leaves growing – constant.

Life’s journey has many twists and turns, ins and outs, ups and downs – it can bring adventure or trepidation. These twists in the road can take us where we have never been before – both exciting and scary – but these ‘interruptions in life’ can be rather interesting and even enjoyable – if we allow ourselves to experience it and flow with it. However, when it comes to change (especially inner change) most people struggle with it – preferring to bury their heads – only looking up when they’re slapped by adversity. Many try to control it or resist it but control and resistance are futile. Like it or not, change happens, so we better get used to it and start changing ourselves first! Because when we resist or wait for the ‘right time’ to change, adversity has a way of forcing our hand. And though it can be a wonderful catalyst, it can abruptly catapult us out of whatever comfort zone we have carefully crafted for ourselves. Seeing change as a positive rather than a negative event stops that jarring feeling of ‘sudden’ change because change isn’t sudden, it happens all the time – in us and around us – day in and day out. It’s nothing new.

Sure, change can bring uncertainty – and uncertainty can bring anxiety and anguish, even hopelessness and despair – making us easy prey to our own doubts and insecurities. Understanding and accepting that the only constant in life is change, enables us to embrace it. Because change will keep knocking until we open the door – willing or unwilling!.. Time = Change! Both are inevitable! The pain we feel in life is due to our own resistance to change. Resisting the constantly powerful flow of life, means to invite complications. If we don’t choose to embrace change, we default to suffering through change (the catapult effect) a by-product of not accepting responsibility for our own choices and decision-making… So check in with yourself now and ask yourself – do I practice applying my inner power daily so that I am ready to face (and even embrace) change at any time? Or do I bury my head in the sand hoping time will make it go away? Change doesn’t have to be difficult or chaotic, we just need to shift our perspective a little (I love what change brings). A negative view will certainly see change as a terrible thing but a positive view will see change as newness and wonder.

Becoming aware and using the incredible power of my own mind, I can start by changing the way I think about any given situation. This way I can accept and flow with circumstances rather than do nothing and get sucked into it’s powerful rip! To struggle means to get dragged out to sea – a scary place to be without a life jacket. Living a Gypsy lifestyle for 6 years prior to settling in Fraser Coast, we faced many changes – being self employed and being on the road can pose many challenges – and though our physical landscape changed constantly, we needed to practice letting go in the mind.  On one hand we needed to plan our steps and be very organised (since we were running many spiritual talks and programs from town to town) and on the other hand we needed to be 100% flexible so we could face and flow with anything life put in our path. One thing I learnt for sure, wherever we are – we can’t hide from change, we can’t outrun it and we certainly can’t buy our way out of it. Self Respect is the only ‘life jacket’ we need – it’s a form of self-care. If you take your life jacket off because ‘it’s too hard’ – remember, not only could you ‘drown’ but it’s a choice you made that could be costly (physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually).

So how do we flow with change and not remain like a stagnant pond or get dragged out to sea?…  1. Focus on and strengthen our inner power – every single day – starting with the way we think.   2. Practice gratitude and acceptance of life and all it brings.   3. Breathe and let go!… So do yourself a favour. Look up, often. Just look up and look around for a bit. In fact – do it right now. Just breathe – watch, listen, observe, appreciate… Give thanks – then… Let go! Nothing is holding you back any longer except your own self imposed limitations.

Question: Do you embrace or resist change?…

Consideration: What is it about change that you find so difficult?…

Action: At the start of each week, choose one inner quality (virtue) to focus on for that week. Look for opportunities to put it into practice (behave from a platform of that quality when meeting any challenging situation or person). For example – if I choose  to practice ‘enthusiasm’ then no matter how much others try to weigh me down, it’s up to me to remain enthusiastic. Exercising my own quality of enthusiasm strengthens and nurtures my inner sanctum so I don’t waste time focusing on the behaviour of others.  Truly accepting others for who they are means to free myself from the bondage of their negative behaviour (not to be mistaken for condoning someone else’s bad behaviour or becoming the same as them) 🙂

Happy practicing everyone, love Annemarie x