Meditate Awake

DAILY INSIGHT Yesterday, we touched upon the power of tapping the body to help shift your energy and manage stress. Today, let’s talk about self-massage. Lots of us neglect to care for our hands; but aren’t they amazing?! They’re constantly moving, constantly working. And when we’re stressed out, our hands get tense. DAILY ACTION Turn both hands palms facing up. Place the four fingers of the right hand beneath the back of the left hand to support it, with the right thumb on the left palm. Starting in the center, use the right thumb to push out to the edges of the left palm, moving around the palm clockwise. Then take hold of each of the left fingertips in turn, including the thumb, and pull them to stretch the fingers out. Finally, use the thumb and first two fingers of the right hand to massage between the thumb and index finger of the left. And then repeat on the other hand! It’s an easy and nurturing way to release stress at any time.

DAILY INSIGHT Your body, mind, and emotions are all connected. Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) actually uses a method of tapping at the end points of energy channels in the body to support emotional wellbeing. It is known to reduce stress and create a deeper connection between body and mind — and it can even relieve depression and anxiety. DAILY ACTION Bring to mind a problem or situation you’re struggling with, and then create a statement that empowers you to handle that problem. For example, you might say “Even though I am worried about this, I fully accept who I am.” Then, with four fingers of one hand, lightly tap the other hand (on the side of the little finger) 5-7 times. Next, do the same on your eyebrows; the outsides of your eyes; under your eyes; under your nose; and finally, on your chin. As you tap, repeat your statement to yourself. How does it feel?

DAILY INSIGHT Last week, we mentioned the value of becoming more visible in your business. Building on that, we want to ask: how honest are you with your colleagues, clients or employers? A study at the University of Massachusetts found that 60% of people lie at least once within a 10 minute conversation. Dishonesty creates distrust, and triggers a stress response in your body which impairs your ability to make good decisions. DAILY ACTION Start to notice each time you're dishonest in professional settings. Even those small mistruths. It takes time to cultivate a practice of honesty (and most of us will never work out how to be honest 100% of the time), but simply noticing when you don't tell the truth, and thinking about why, is the place to start. You can then ask yourself, "was it necessary for me to be dishonest? What would happen if I just told the truth about that?"

DAILY INSIGHT Momentary connections with other people can improve your day and your long-term wellbeing. Close friendships are important; but that doesn’t mean that fleeting encounters can’t be significant, too. Have you ever met someone, just for a few moments, who brightened your day and stuck in your mind? DAILY ACTION Set the intention today to speak to a stranger. It doesn’t have to be a big conversation; just say hello, and if a positive comment springs to mind, share it. In doing so you will trigger the release of mood boosting hormones in your own body and in theirs, too.

DAILY INSIGHT Renowned author Jeannette Winterson said “Life has never been all or nothing — it’s all and nothing.” We seek to find the meaning of life; to explain everything, and to understand everything. To fill the void we feel when we acknowledge that our time in this life is short. But isn’t Winterson right? Life is All: it is everything we have. And life is also Nothing: we do not have to fill each minute with stress and productivity as a means to make life meaningful. When does your life feel the most meaningful? Not by other people’s standards. Just meaningful to YOU. DAILY ACTION When you encounter a moment of worry, pause to practice gratitude. Say this sentence out loud: “Life is all and nothing; I can exist peacefully in this moment.” And then think of one thing you’re grateful for. Even the tiniest positive things become powerful when you take the time to acknowledge them.

DAILY INSIGHT You can get fit with very short bursts of intensive exercise. Really fit, if you want to — even if you only have 20 minutes a day to dedicate to working out. High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) has been proven to increase the amount of energy your body uses for hours after a short workout. AND the range of movements and muscle strengthening exercises tones and sculpts your body. DAILY ACTION Try a HIIT workout. Go for a 20 minute video (you’ll find loads on YouTube), and if you’re someone who gets bored easily, you can even find a workout that doesn’t repeat the same exercise twice. It’ll boost your body and your mood immediately. The flood of endorphins will make today a good day! Got any efficient and effective workout recommendations? Tell us in the comments!

DAILY INSIGHT One of the most common reasons for the breakdown of intimate relationships is a loss of connection. One or both partners feels a sense of disconnect; a lack of the closeness that they once felt so strongly. Over time this disconnect can turn into resentment or distrust. But it doesn’t have to. DAILY ACTION If you are in a romantic relationship, focus on connection today. Rather than big gestures, connection can be cultivated deeply in the seemingly insignificant moments. Look them in the eye and ask how they’re doing; and then listen to their response. Touch or kiss them without intending to initiate sex. Tell them that you see them, appreciate them, and want to be close to them. Care for your connection, and allow it to grow again.

DAILY INSIGHT Patch Adams famously said, "At the age of 18, I made up my mind to never have another bad day in my life. I dove into an endless sea of gratitude from which I've never emerged.” Can that be true?! We think so. Because although life will always throw curveballs at you, it is possible to choose gratitude and find the food in each day. DAILY ACTION Try a gratitude jar. This is a great thing to do on your own, and even better to do together with your whole household. Each day, write down one thing you’re grateful for on a piece of paper, and put that paper in the jar. At the end of the week, the month, or just on a day when you’re in need of a pick-me-up, tip out the jar and read your notes. Small acts of gratitude help to build a mind that is wired for having better days.

DAILY INSIGHT Your body deserves your care. Loving your body and nourishing it is not inherently vain; it is an act of self care. This body has been with you since the day you were born, and will be with you until the day you die. You don’t need to workout for hours every day; you don’t need to want to look a certain way. But your body does deserve nourishment, movement, and respect. You deserve to use your body is ways that make YOU feel good. DAILY ACTION Allow yourself to spend a little time thinking about the judgements you have surrounding bodies, exercise and nutrition. Do you feel that those who don’t care for themselves are unworthy? Do you feel that those who DO focus on their health are projecting vanity? Acknowledge your judgements. And then remind yourself that looking after this body is good for you. Do one thing to care for your body today.

DAILY INSIGHT Eckhart Tolle wrote that “stress is caused by being ‘here’ but wanting to be ‘there’.” A mentality that tells you the grass is always greener will stop you from feeling contentment. And that’s where the power of mindfulness comes in: mindfulness practice trains the mind to arrive in the present moment. To notice what is. And to experience this moment in all its beauty, pain, or normality. DAILY ACTION Imagine that your life as you know it was over; suddenly, you were moved from this place to somewhere completely new, leaving everything you know behind. What would you miss? The big, dramatic stuff? Or the everyday moments that often pass you by? Mindfulness allows you to appreciate the normal, yet incredibly special parts of each day. Be here.

DAILY INSIGHT Buddha is thought to have said “you only lose what you cling to.” In a number of different meditation traditions, non-attachment or non-possessiveness is a central intention. Attachment and grasping creates suffering; because the tighter we hold onto something, the more afraid we are of losing it. Have you ever stopped yourself from enjoying a happy moment because you were worried that it would be over soon? Do you try to figure out how to make good things last longer — instead of just embracing them? DAILY ACTION Meditate on non-attachment. Sit quietly for a few moments and bring to mind something in your life that you don’t want to lose. It can be really hard to actively acknowledge this fear; so do it gently. Allow this attachment to come into the mind and sit there. Don’t judge it. Accept it. And then take a deep breath in. As you exhale, say “I embrace you without holding tight. I release you.”

Have you heard of The Work? It’s a method for self-inquiry developed by author and speaker Byron Katie. She experienced a cascade of huge life challenges which led her to a kind of epiphany — and then she created a new way to identify the thoughts that are causing suffering. Katie says she discovered that “when I believed my thoughts, I suffered…but when I didn’t believe them, I didn’t suffer.” That is true freedom: the freedom from believing that everything you think is real. With that deep understanding of the unreliability and conditioning of your own thought patterns you can come to embrace true joy. Comment below and tell us one thought you have that you hope isn’t true. You might find that when you write it down it loses its power.

DAILY INSIGHT: Honesty and trust are two vital ingredients for human connection and close relationships. This is true of relationships with romantic partners, parents, siblings, children, friends, colleagues…and everyone else. If you are not honest with others they cannot feel truly connected with you. And if you know that you’re not being genuine with them, you won’t be able to feel a deep connection either. Being honest builds trust from both sides; they trust you and you trust yourself. And when you are honest with another person and they accept you for who you are, you can also trust that their care for you is real — because they don’t just like you because of a false image of yourself that you’ve given them. They like the real you. They care about the real you. The relationship is authentic — and an authentic relationship is a powerful experience. DAILY ACTION: Tag someone who you know is always honest with you. They’ll appreciate the recognition and your connection can grow even deeper.

Research from psychology, sociology and anthropology across decades shows that your body influences how you see the world. Psychological research shows that your body directly affects how you interpret and experience the environment around you. You body shape, proportion, posture and movement can all affect your perception. The interesting thing about this on a personal level is that changing the way you use and move your body can also change the way you see the world — and yourself. Trying new forms of exercise or working on your posture won’t just make you physically healthier. It can also make you more open to receiving different kinds of external sensory information; and that can make you feel happier and more confident. Moving your body differently can make the world appear a friendlier, more inspiring or less intimidating.

Elbert Hubbard was a writer, publisher, philosopher and an artist. He believed that we could all live more fulfilling lives if we “work to become, not to acquire.” What does your job or career help you become? What do you want to become? Whether or not you feel as though you’re on the right path right now, this is sound advice. Acquiring wealth or possessions as a result of your work is all good — but the chances are that it’s not the money or the things that you really crave. Instead, perhaps you want to become secure. To become respected. To become free. To become calm. Focus on those things. So we ask again: what do you want to become? Tell us in the comments; we’d love to know.

DAILY INSIGHT Who do you take criticism from? How do you choose which external doubts about yourself or your work to listen to? Brené Brown powerfully tells us that we should not absorb the doubts and criticisms of people who are not living their own lives with courage. If they’re not being brave, then they bring their own fear to the table. If they are not making themselves vulnerable and showing up as themselves, their opinions are not worth your time. DAILY ACTION Decide not to take criticism to heart unless it is given by someone you truly respect. Someone you respect for their own openness, vulnerability, and willingness to fail. It’s hard not to be affected by judgements — but you don’t have to be. Remember that most judgements are rooted in the insecurities of the person who is judging.

Babies are often rocked to sleep in the arms of an adult; it’s said that the movement replicates the movement they recently experienced in the womb. But research published this year in the journal Current Biology suggests that slow, repetitive movement improves sleep quality for adults, too. According to the two studies included in the review, this movement modulates brain activity so that people fall asleep faster, and enter a deeper and less disturbed sleep. Study participants who had been rocked to sleep also performed better in a memory recall test the next morning than participants who had not fallen asleep with gentle movement. So repetitive motion also improves the memory consolidation that takes place during sleep. What helps you sleep well?

DAILY INSIGHT The philosopher (and Roman emperor) Marcus Aurelius famously said, “You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” It’s a simple truth that we cannot control what happens around us, and unexpected events will always occur. But we can train our minds to respond with consciousness awareness. DAILY ACTION Choose your reaction to something today. When something happens that you’d normally react to without pause — maybe you get cut up by another driver on the road; you drop something and it smashes; or someone says something that triggers an emotional response — DO pause. Take a breath and decide how you want to respond to the situation. Is the way you want to respond different from the way you usually respond?

DAILY INSIGHT Massage is more than just a feel-good treat. Various forms of massage therapy have been proven to ease digestive disorders, reduce inflammation and pain, soothe headaches, help injuries heal faster, and calm anxiety. DAILY ACTION You guessed it; book a massage. You could opt for a deep tissue or Thai Yoga massage for a body and mind boosting treatment. Allow yourself to forget your to-do list and become immersed in the moment, so that it can become a meditative experience. An additional benefit? It’s a simple way to prioritize YOU when life feels like it’s running out of control.

DAILY INSIGHT When it comes to work, days off are just as important as days on. Numerous studies have shown that switching off from your job (and really switching off; no checking emails or ‘just replying to this one thing’ allowed) increases productivity and creativity on your working days, and makes you happier and healthier overall. This goes for entrepreneurs and freelance professionals as well as those in regular employment. What would your ideal day off look like right now? DAILY ACTION: With that ideal day off in mind, fix it in your diary. OK, so if your ideal is a day on the beach in Bali it might not be possible right away; but you can create a similar experience of total relaxation closer to home. Write the date in ink, and stick to it. You are worthy of time for YOU.