February
2008
In this issue...
- How To Be
Abundant And Frugal.
- Inner
and Outer Peace.
By Mike Andrews
- Your exploration this month.
- Quotes of the month
- Want to comment or contribute?
- Teleclasses and personal coaching
News and Events
Wednesday 6th February,
7:30pm: “De-stress
Your Thinking”. Talk to be presented by Sally at
the Mendip Business Women’s Forum. Chapel Studio,
Downhead, Shepton Mallet. BA4 4LQ. £5 non-members,
free to members.
Further
details.
1. How
To Be Abundant And Frugal.
Those who have experienced downshifting
for themselves will tell you that downshifting happens
on many different
levels – physical, psychological, emotional, spiritual.
It can challenge and delight us in so many unexpected
ways.
About 10 years ago, I experienced
a shift in consciousness on my downshifting journey
that I found shocking, but
also liberating in that it freed me up, emotionally,
to continue on the downshifting path and very much
enjoy
how my life was changing. The shift in consciousness
was the realisation that it was perfectly ok to appreciate,
admire, or cherish something, without having to strive
to own it!
Here’s the dilemma – we have been conditioned,
through being accustomed to a materialistic lifestyle,
to believe that we can achieve personal happiness through
acquiring something material, whether that’s a
new car, mobile phone, new job or a new relationship.
According to this materialistic philosophy, all we need
to do to have whatever we want in material terms is to
earn the money to buy it. In those terms, being abundant
or at least having the potential to be abundant means
having more than enough money.
Viewed in these terms, frugality is a frightening prospect,
because it equates with only having enough money for
the bare essentials which means not having enough money
for the material things that we believe will make us
happy, which means unhappiness.
Once we start to consider the
possibility of leading a more sustainable life, we
realise that we need to change
our definition of abundance. For many downshifters, seeing
the flaws in the materialist’s guide to happiness
is the mental shift that happens well in advance of the
decision to engage in the practicalities of living more
sustainably. All of a sudden abundance is no longer all
about money. It becomes a personal definition of what
makes us feel happy, loved and in the flow.
Wellspring of abundance
There’s a saying that goes “Where your attention
goes the energy flows.” If you think about what
makes you happy, you might focus on your family and how
much you appreciate spending time. When you start to
focus on that sense of gratitude, then you will notice
what it is that makes them happy and to want to spend
time with you. You will notice the opportunities for
making this happen. Thus, gratitude is our wellspring
of abundance – it leads to us changing our perspective
on what makes us happy and attracting more of that into
our lives.
Unfortunately, human nature means
that our natural tendency is to focus on the negative
events that have happened
to us. After all, as on the TV news bulletins, it’s
the negative, scandalous titbits that guarantee an attentive
audience. When we feel ourselves being lured into this
type of experience, we can express our gratitude and
appreciation in some way instead and notice how much
more uplifting that it.
Keeping the stream of abundance flowing.
Abundance involves an exchange
or movement of energy, whether that’s exchanging
money for some food, a smile for a hug, or a long walk
in the country for
better health and wellbeing. So, abundance is ever moving.
It flows though our lives like a warm and comforting
stream. If we wait around for others to give to us, or
try to hold onto what we already have, then that flow
of energy starts to stagnate. By being willing to give
first, we keep the energy of abundance flowing. So, giving
is our means to keep abundance flowing.
Frugality and poverty
For those with the intention of
living simply, frugality and poverty are very different
things. You do not have
to be poor to be frugal. Being poor means having less
income than is needed to cover our costs. In contrast,
living frugally is empowering and means being mindful
of how we use money and possessions. Where are we putting
our time and energy? How are we using what we own? Is
this in alignment with our values and our wish to live
more simply? Whenever we buy something, we can ask ourselves: “Is
this taking me closer to, or further away from, my intention
of living more simply?”
If you find yourself in the habit
of saying “I
can’t afford to spend time/money/energy on that,” you
could experiment with substituting: “I choose not
to spend my time/money/energy on that” and see
how that affects your decision making and allows for
greater creativity.
To summarise, in order to live with abundance and frugality,
it helps to cultivate gratitude, generosity, creativity
and authenticity.
2. Inner
and Outer Peace. By Mike Andrews.
Many people come to meditation looking
to find inner peace.
We live in a world where the media constantly reminds
us of areas of
conflict in the world and this can lead to us fearing
for the future of both
ourselves and humanity as a whole.
Fear, anxiety and worry mar many
people's everyday life and hold them back from experiencing
inner peace.
Is there a relationship between these two states?
Does the outer reflect the inner?
Is the outer a product of the 'collective unconscious'?
If this is so, it becomes even more important for us
to individually find
inner peace, so that that might be reflected in the outer
world.
Ideas that came up at a recent
meditation group whilst reflecting on
what peace meant were:
- The absence of war
- Calmness, stillness,receptivity.
- A calm sea or lake
- Stilling the choppy seas of
mind and emotion
- Working together, co-operation,
compassion for others, understanding their situation,
forgiveness
- Coming to peace with your past, being in the present.
To start to develop this state
of inner peace for yourself you might be do a relaxation
exercise where you focus on breathing in peace
and breathing out any tension to each part of your body
in turn.
It is also important in finding inner peace to step
beyond the mental
chatter and sometimes turbulent emotions to find the
stillness within
yourself. Developing this inner stillness is one of the
benefits of
meditation and allows you to access higher aspects of
yourself.
It also of course important too
that you find ways of managing emotional and other
problems, whether it be through friendship or therapy.
A helpful affirmation to work
with might be 'I am peace, you are peace, we are peace'
holding a focus of peace for the planet expressing
the link
between inner and outer peace.
If you would like to find out
more about starting to meditate, I have a
FREE
Learning to Meditate eCourse and
a
FREE special report " Meditation,
Why Bother?"
© Mike Andrews 2008
3. Your
exploration this month.
Pick a time of day when you are usually together with
your friends or family e.g. a meal time, or during a
shared journey, and decide to tell each other what you
have felt grateful for over the previous 24 hours.
What do you learn about yourself and others close to
you?
How does being with them in this way affect your energy
levels?
4. Quotes
of the month.
“Happiness
cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed.
Happiness is the experience
of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.”
Denis Waitley
“ We can respond creatively to what we experience
as life-depriving and become richer in spirit for having
met the challenge.”
Tad Crawford
“
Managing your money does not depend upon becoming wealthy
or declaring vows of poverty. Rather, it is about creating
stability and sufficiency – a balanced flow
of monetary energy through your life.”
Dan Millman
5. Want
to comment or contribute?
If you would like to comment on any aspect of this newsletter
or submit an article for inclusion in it, please contact
me by email.
6. Teleclasses
and personal coaching.
"6 Steps to a Sustainable
Small Business"
A series of
6 teleclasses, each 45 minutes long, exploring the three
main elements of the
Triple Bottom Line of Sustainable Business Practices, People,
Planet, Profit and how to incorporate them into your business.
More details.
"How to Step off the Treadmill"
A series of six teleclasses, each
45 minutes long, exploring the elements of downshifting,
the reality of living a
sustainable lifestyle in a consumer driven society
and how to motivate ourselves to make the switch.
More details.
What is a Teleclass?
A teleclass is a straightforward,
low cost and sustainable way of taking part in a group
learning session. It's
like a conference telephone call.Each participant is
supplied with a phone number to call at the appointed
time. When you call, you will be welcomed to a virtual
classroom where you can listen to the class leader present
the teleclass material and you can participate by asking
or answering questions if you wish. So it's just like
being in a real classroom or workshop setting except
that you can take part in the comfort of your own home
without having to travel anywhere!
More details
Personal Coaching
One-to-one coaching can help you:
- let go of your old,stressful
way of life, find a new path of vitality and an improved
way of living.
- deal with fears surrounding
financial responsibilities, your relationships with
others and other consequences of making a major life
change.
- improve your health, wellbeing
and spiritual life.
- further your personal growth.
- achieve balance, clarity and
peace.
You can view further details on personal coaching here.
7. Privacy
policy
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Have a fruitful
month!
Sally
Sally Lever
Sustainable Living Coach
+44 (0)1749 674842
sally@sallylever.co.uk
http://www.sallylever.co.uk/
7 Welsford Avenue, Wells, Somerset.
BA5 2HX. UK. |
