Move forward with optimism by learning how to clarify your intentions

Welcome to 2016!!!

May this be the best year for you yet!

We have had some really beautiful and amazing coaches join our team which we are very excited about! With an array of skills and abilities, we know we can find the perfect coach to help you fulfil your life’s dreams and goals!

We really want to help you ensure your life turns out exactly the way you always wanted it to, (and secretly always thought is would) :)

So, we decided to share some very powerful words with you by a truly amazing and inspiring soul! Matthew joins us as a guest at Alive And Happy!

Matthew Sockolov is a facilitator of meditation groups in Los Angeles. His passion for meditation was sparked as a child, learning mindfulness meditation from his parents. Along with his fiancee, Elizabeth, Matthew owns and operates One Mind Dharma, an online resource for meditation, mindfulness, compassion, and more - www.OneMindDharma.com

CLARIFYING INTENTIONS

Every time January rolls around, people all over make resolutions, set goals, and vow to change something for the better. The practice of setting goals and intentions can be incredibly useful to us, but we often allow our intentions to fall to the wayside. Our intentions and goals are constantly changing as well. Bringing awareness to our intentions can help us develop some clarity around what they are, and how we can take action toward growing.

Seeing our Intentions Clearly
In order to truly develop a wholesome relationship with our intentions, we first must be clear about what they are. A “meditation” practice can be of great use in clarifying our goals. We don’t need to sit in a formal meditation to do so. Perhaps your form of meditation is writing or taking a quiet walk. Find some time to be silent, and bring some awareness to what it is you would like for yourself. A bunch of goals may pop up on the surface. Connect with something within yourself that is deeper than just wanting to lose weight, wanting to make more money, or wanting to meditate every day. What is the intention below these things? Do you want to lose weight because you care about yourself and the body? Do you want to make more money because you wish to support a family or loved ones? Do you want to meditate every day because you would like to cultivate more compassion and wisdom? When we dedicate some time to looking at our intentions in silence, we can begin to get in touch with who we are on a deeper level. As a goal comes to mind, notice how it makes you feel. As we continue to deliberately investigate our goals, we are training the mind to see our deeper intentions more clearly.

Sometimes, we completely lose sight of our deeper intentions. One of my deepest intentions is to love and care for other beings. This is especially true for my fiancee. When we disagree, my intention in that moment is to be right. However, if I tune in a little bit more deeply, I recognize and remember that my deeper intention is to love this person in front of me. This happens to us in many ways throughout our days, not just in relation to other people. We intend to cultivate health for ourselves, but find ourselves consuming unhealthy food. We intend to be more disciplined, but find ourselves putting things off. We all let go of our intentions in certain moments in order to fulfill some craving or desire. It happens to the best of us! When this happens, it doesn’t mean you need to beat yourself up or give up. Rather, look at what is happening. What happened that you lost sight of the deeper intention? What was your intention in the moment? Just by watching what happened and looking at it without judgement, we can learn a lot about our tendencies and habits. Through doing this repeatedly, we can also train the mind to stay in touch with our goals.

Acting with Purpose
Having a goal and bringing awareness to it is a great step, but we really must act in line with the goal if we are to grow. One of my continual intentions is to speak with more wisdom and kindness. I can think about it all the time, but I really must actually practice wise speech. Thinking about speaking with kindness then saying something hurtful every day does not actually help me in any way. There are a few things I have found to be helpful in developing intentional action. We may try simply slowing down. We are talking, acting, and thinking all day. Most of us are on autopilot for most of this time. We go from one thing to the next, focusing on what needs to be done next. If we slow down, we allow ourselves the opportunity to see what we are actually doing. Before you speak, check in with your goals. Before you act, eat, or make a decision, try tuning into those intentions you set. Why are you doing what you are doing? Is it helpful or harmful (to yourself and others)? We don’t have to live a perfectly pure life without making any mistakes, but we can bring our full awareness to experience.

Something else you may try is putting your intention into writing and placing it somewhere you will see it. I leave the Buddha’s words on loving-kindness on my computer at work, so that I may read the words every day. The reminder to be “able and upright, straightforward and gentle in speech, humble and not conceited, contented and easily satisfied” serves me very well. I look at it every day, remembering my intentions to cultivate a heart of kindness and ease. You may put your intention at work, on the mirror in the bathroom, in the kitchen, in your car, or wherever you see fit. Sometimes a simple sticky note is more than enough to remind us what our intention is. The mind gets cluttered throughout our days. I find that seeing some inspiration helps the mind find some ease and reconnect with what is important.

Meditation on Intentions
Below is a guided meditation on tuning into intentions. The meditation is about 15 minutes long, and may help you to clarify what your intentions are. I offer this as just another tool for you to use, so if it doesn’t resonate with you, that’s perfectly okay. I find that this practice is a wonderful way to investigate goals and look at the ways in which we lose sight of them.

MEDITATION LINK: www.OneMindDharma.com/Intentions

A moment in time...Lida van den Berg

Getting to know our wellness facilitators!

A moment in time series featuring Lida van den Berg

Lida is an amazing healer and I have been fortunate enough to participate in many of her classes and meditation groups.  It was an absolute delight in getting to know Lida just a little bit more with these questions...

• What is the one thing you do everyday to keep your life on track?

The state of gratitude helps me to stay grounded and also reminds me that everything happens for a reason even if the situation is a difficult one. I am also reminded that successes are not necessarily better than perceived failures.

• How often do you meditate and how long is each meditation?

I meditate daily. Anything from 5 minutes to 45 minutes. At times the meditation is formal where I sit in a quiet room with or without music and follow my breath. At other times I gaze into nature and allow the sounds and colours to guide the meditation.

• When your life does not go according to plan, how do you get back on track?

Through the practice of gratitude and meditation I am reminded that everything is happening for a reason. I am a natural planner but have learned over the years to be more allowing as events unfold. In this way I find that as I move toward my vision the universal energy meets me.

• What made you want to be a coach?

I use to react to the term coach as it has never occurred to me to be one. Helping people to move from a state of hopelessness to a state of possibilities inspires. Every person has the right to identify and experience their own potential. When people ask me to assist them, I become curious about what makes their heart sing, what inspires them and what they would like to be different.

• What is the best aspect of your work?

I am constantly shown how resilient the human is and what can be overcome and feel privileged at being part of a person's journey when they choose to step toward "what makes their heart sing". 

• Who has been your biggest inspiration to date and why?

I have had many amazing teachers but two in particular stand out. I have incorporated their teachings in my work. When people comment on how good my work is I tend to reply "I know" because I know that the methods I have embraced work.

• What is the best advice you can give to people wanting to grow themselves?

Trust the inner voice. Seek and embrace that which grabs your attention. Commit to your intention. Honour your own innate strengths. Daily express gratitude.

A BIG thank you to Lida for sharing her thoughts so freely.

I know I certainly got a lot out of it!

xx

S

Lida's profile can be viewed at www.aliveandhappy.com.au

Uplifting the Spirits!

Everyone has those moments when we feel slightly overwhelmed by everything going on around us.  Perhaps work is stupidly busy, or your family and friend’s expectations on you (and your time) is just feeling a bit much right now.  Maybe people are expecting things of you, but you feel very disconnected from it all?

Well, in the words of Emma Jane “Don’t feel stupid if you don’t like what everyone else pretends to love” 

Here are 3 simple steps you can embrace to help you rejuvenate your spirit:

1- Be true to who you are - know that you have your own unique voice to add and share with the world, so if you come from a place of love and compassion, you  are never wrong.  Say yes when needed, say no when needed, rest when needed, but always - Be true to you!

2- Head down, shoulders slumped - you are sure to feel as low as you look, so turn your head up to the sky, square back your shoulders, and you will immediately begin to feel lighter and better.

3 - Sing - according to legend, the world was created through the voicing of a sound.  Through the voicing of a sound, our energetic centres came into being which allowed our human physical body to exist.  When you are feeling down, sing a song of joy.  Connect with the heartbeat of the earth through the beating of drums, connect with the etheric pulse of the heavens with melodies sung by angels, and you too will feel peace descend into your soul and through your being.

Simple steps taken daily will help you to feel alive and happy!

xx

S

Alive and Happy

5 Tips to help Balance your Day

Rejuvenate your mind - 5 tips to help Balance Your Day

Anger is an emotion that causes a chemical reaction in the body and dissipates pretty much as quickly as it was formed, and yet if you feel angry for longer than about 30 seconds, it is generally because you have made the choice to hang onto that anger.  

Here are some simple tips to creating a more balanced and happy outlook in your life.

• Smile - even if you don’t feel like it, fake it.  Smiling will not only strengthen and tone facial muscles, but it helps shift your mood to a positive vibration.

• Breathe - especially when combined with Stress Away Roll On Essential Oil.  Breathing will help relax those muscles you didn’t even realise you were holding in.

• Meditate  - allow your mind to relax and stretch itself within the silence.  Let go of burdens and thoughts that are weighing you down and just exist.

• Get a life coach - sometimes we don’t even realise we are in a rut.  Engaging a professional life coach can help re-energise and rejuvenate your life.  Bring back passion, goals, commitment and motivation and feel alive again!

• Think “thank you” - by focusing on what you are grateful for can help focus the mind on things that make you happy.  Instead of venting on a situation, find the good in it, even if you don’t feel grateful immediately, at least acknowledge the good of it.  

Turing your life from crazy, hectic business is not always easy, but keep strong, keep repeating the above steps and watch the change unfold in your life!

xx

S

www.aliveandhappy.com.au

i am joyful

3 steps to creating a positive day

Good morning to you!

3 steps to creating a positive day

When you wake up in the morning, you should be feeling energised, refreshed and ready to start your day.  If not, we have some simple tips to help you get the “zing” back into your morning.

Tip one:  Get a good night’s rest!

Everything on earth is governed by cycles - the seasons, the tides, the shift from morning to night - humans are no different.  We have natural cycles and if you learn how to live consciously

with your own body cycles you will find life flows much easier.  Go to sleep around 10-11pm, no later.  This will help you to wake up early in the day and start your day right.

Tip two:  Be mindful of what you eat at night, and when.  

Night time is when your body heals and repairs itself, it’s focus should not be on digestion.  Eat small portions, eat light foods (salads, soups etc) and eat early, and save your super strength Ningxia Red shot for the morning :)

Tip three:  Exercise is so important, but so is choosing the type of exercise and your timing.  

Gentle relaxing yoga may be perfect at night time to help you unwind and relax, but pumping it out on the zumba dance floor or hitting the treadmills in the gym is going to stimulate your body.  Bye-bye a good night’s sleep.  Save your intensive workouts for the morning when you want to activate your body and the gentle stretching for night-time.

Need a little help and motivation to get your routine right.  One of our coaches at www.aliveandhappy.com.au would love to help you.

xx

S

Purse must-have essentials this summer

Spring races, Christmas and then New Year’s - oh my what a busy season!

If you are after a healthy glow for all the festivities that are headed our way, make sure you start preparing now. There is only so much make up you can wear to cover up late nights and  catch-up food binges.

Here are some essentials to carry around with you to help you cope:

• Thieves waterless hand wash - using Aloe Vera to keep hands nice and hydrated and essential oils to clean and purify hands when you just can’t get to a washroom.

• Stress away roll-on - unique blend of vanilla, lime, copaiba essential oils to help relieve daily stress, encourage relaxation and help reduce nervous tension.

• Bottle of water - drinking water keeps your emotions in balance, not to mention all the health benefits of staying hydrated.

• L’briante lip gloss - these unique lip gloss / essential oil duos are perfect to freshen your look when you’re out and about!  Apply a light layer of lip gloss- then swipe the essential oil scent on your wrist or neck.  Mix an match L’Briante’s three luminous colours and three uplifting scents for a signature combo that all you!

• Ningxia red individual sachet - make the most of each moment.  Get your daily nutrient infusion for health and wellness support.

It's important to have fun, enjoy your life, but remember to stay healthy too!

xx

S  :)
www.aliveandhappy.com.au

I am peace

Living in the now

Living a human life, it is often easy to become attached to fears.  The fear of something going wrong, the fear of failure.  We dream up the worst case scenario and picture in minute details all the things that can go wrong.  And through this process, we stop ourselves from doing something that could ultimately be the best action we could ever take!

When you choose to live your life in the NOW moment, you give up focussing on those limiting fears, and instead begin to live for this moment only.

Steps for living in the now:
1- Every time you catch your attention drifting away from the NOW, gently bring it back by focusing on your surroundings.  Pay attention to your shoes, the way they look, the way they feel in terms of texture when you touch them with your hand, feel how they fit your foot, how comfortable they are.  Do you see how when you are paying attention to your shoes you are only thinking of your shoes, not the 10 things you have to get done by tomorrow?

2- At the end of every day, make a list of all that you are grateful for - this focuses your attention on the good things in your life, and sets you up to attract more good things into your life. But, it also helps keep your mind on the now.  If you feel grateful for something, it is an emotion that you are feeling right now!

3 - Set your intention at the start of the day to live consciously in the current moment.  This will enable you to create many conscious actions throughout the day which focuses on being present in all that you do.  A bit like setting the navigator to get you somewhere new.  And just like when a navigator looses its reception and needs to reset, if you loose your concentration and find your mind drifting all over the place, reset it by going back to step 1!

Practising these steps daily will help you to develop a life of living consciously in the now!

For help with living your dream life, contact www.aliveandhappy.com.au and get a FREE life coaching session with one of our qualified, experienced coaches!