Meditation: An Ultra-Simple Tip? November 15, 2007
Posted by selfworks in Meditation and Relaxation, Wellbeing.Tags: breathing, busy, calm, meditation, relaxation, stress, technique, tip
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Do you ever find yourself wanting to meditate (or even just find time to relax) but feeling unable to do so because, “There just isn’t time and I’m too busy”.
If this is the case, you’re not alone. It happens to lots of us, given the speed of the world, and despite being a coach and supposedly knowing better, I have to put my hand up and ‘fess up to having this problem sometimes as well.
But help is at hand
The good news is, there’s an easy, simple and free way to overcome this problem, that I discovered by accident, but have begun to use more and more.
Whenever you next have this problem, just do the following.
1. Sit down.
2. Take a series of regular breaths, preferably where your in-breath, outbreath and pause between each in ans out phase of breath is roughly equal. So for example, you might breath in for a count of a particular number, pause for a count of the same number, breath out for a count of that number, and pause before the next breath for a count of the same number. The trick is also to do this just until you feel relaxed, which should only take three or four cycles of this at most.
(As to how long your count should be, or indeed, whether this exact sequence will be right for you as an individual…I can’t comment, but can only leave you to decide this for yourself.Only choose to do what feels comfortable for you as an individual. Some people will want a count of three or four, I happen to like six, and some people might even want eight. Or to make the count different for different phases of the breath. Or to breathe in a different way that suits their health and ability. Consult someone who knows your medical history, if in doubt).
The point of this phase is simply that you have a means of breathing and concentrating on it that works for you.
3. This third stage of actually meditating, then magically takes care of itself. Having persuaded yourself to sit down and do the breathing, “because after all, it’s only a few breaths and therefore a minute or so”, you’re then suddenly in a state where meditation seems a much more feasible and attractive idea, whether you carry on with breathwork, or any other type of meditation that you care to name.
Do try this, and check out how it goes for you. As a way to get round your conscious and “busy” mind, it may be one of the simplest tricks yet that actually works.
Hope this helps
More soon
Clare
Feeling hassled? Try this April 30, 2007
Posted by selfworks in Uncategorized.Tags: peace, relaxation, stress
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It’s been one of those weks when there’s not a lot of time to do much except react to things coming in. (Most of them good, so we’re not complaining 
But this also means two other things. One, I’ve blogged less. 
Two, it’s given me cause to need a new process, which you may also like to use if you’re feeling stressed.
Very simply (because after all, complexity wouldn’t work in a stressed situation)…
1. Think back to a time when you felt peaceful and unhurried. Let that feeling flow through you.
2. Imagine that the feeling is radiating out of you, like a force-field.
3. Next, imagine that each of the things stressing you, eg. a deadline, has a specific shape and size.
4. Let the shapes come towards you for attention, and bounce off the force-field in your imagination. (That way you’re still paying attention to them, but in a calm way).
5. Repeat as necessary.
This rreally works…Give it a go!
Hope this helps you as it helped me.
More soon
Clare
Are offices working? January 26, 2007
Posted by selfworks in Uncategorized.Tags: creativity, office, productivity, stress
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Here’s thought that will horrify some and cause others to pause and nod. Find out which camp you’re in.
Office partitions, let alone walls, are becoming rarer than a snowflake in June. Received wisdom states that this practice of wall removal is, “a good thing”. It’s supposed to encourage communication, interaction and a whole host of management-speak phrases ending in “tion” as well.
But over the last few months, I’ve lost count of the number of people who’ve said things like:
“I can’t hear myself think in the office”.
“There’s nowhere just to sit quietly and plan things out”.
“I work much better from home, in my own space”.
“It’s hard to be creative when people just come and bug you all the time”.
Add to this the statistic lodged in my brain (from where, I’m not sure, but lodged it most certainly is) that your average CEO spends up to 85% of the time thinking about their business, often alone. Even average CEO’s of course, tend to have their own offices.
Then put into the mix the times when you yourself have had an idea “pop” into your head form nowhwere…and I’m guessing that you probably weren’t in a crowd at the time.
And it’s little wonder that many people in our ofices today feel that they are stressed, “never get anything done” and aren’t being as creative as they could be in their role.
What’s to be done?
What is to be done? Should go back to the days of everyone in their single, tiny, segregated office?
No, because there really are benefits to people being able to mix freely.
You may have a better suggestion than this, but I propose a two-part solution.
1. If at all possible, give people the choice of whether they want an enclosed working space, work from home etc or not. Then different people’s jobs, temperaments and circumstances could all be taken into account.
2. If that utopian ideal is a bridge too far, more workplaces could at least set aside small, “quiet rooms” and trust that the people sitting in them might actually be putting in useful and creative thought therein.
In that way, and for very little money, it’s likely they’d see a bigger increase in employee creativity, productivity and well being than any extra “management” seminar could possibly yield.
More soon
Clare
Christmas is Coming… December 11, 2006
Posted by selfworks in Uncategorized.Tags: Christmas, personal development, stress
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Christmas is coming…
A lame excuse for my lack of blog in the past few days, I know, seeing as it’s approaching at the same speed for everyone, but true nevertheless.
The whirl seems to get more intense each year. Leading, it seems, to ever more people feeling cynical, stressed and far from full of joy.
As one who almost slid into this over-stressed pit, here’s just a quick thought about how to stay out of it easily:
Follow your heart rather than your head in deciding how far toetake everything>
Yes, I know, it’s the old personal development platitude, “follow your heart” again: -) So, what does it actually mean in this context?
In a nutshell, do what you feel you want to do rather than are supposed to do…And if there are factors imposed by someone else’s,” must do’s”, find ways of making the whole thing as close as possible to what you want in your heart.
So for example, only buy presents for the people, as far as possible, to whom you actually want to send them. If “Great-Aunt Betty ” never seems the easiest person to get on with but must come along, who else can you invite too? Let yourself have some of what you’re yearning for too, for without this essential safety-valve lies unwarranted martyrdom.
And if you follow your heart this way, you might be surprised to find extra room in it to see all those stressful or difficult people or situations in a softer or easier light as well.
Hope this helps
More soon.
Clare
