LIVE AND APPRECIATE

Well, here I am on a train leaving Prague, going back to Berlin. It is nice for a change riding a train than travelling by plane. And a weekend away make you forget time and responsibilities for a while, giving you a sense of freedom. But aren’t we always free?

While in Prague I also learnt something about my past before this life. In the American Wild West I was a woman who sold her body but who also risked everything for her one true love, and so did he. It got us both killed – he was shot, and I was hanged because of this love. Somewhere in this world at some other time I was also a queen who had it all – living in a palace bathing in wealth – but still happiness was very far away. This queen was simply very lonely even though there was a king by her side. And today, today I am here. Right here, right now. And the question is what the mission of this one life is. The one goal is happiness.

Can we all be happy? I say yes, we can. As long as we concentrate on our happiness and all the joy it brings, then this is where the road of this life can take us. Happiness. And we have to live and appreciate it.

In life we have certain responsibilities. And most of us have a job, pay the bills, and raise the children. But is that all there is to life? No! One thing we must not forget on this life’s road is ourselves. At the end of the day these are our lives, not the lives of others. And that means while taking care of our responsibilities we also should take time every single day for ourselves to simply enjoy what we are seeing while for instance venturing through nature or the city. We should take time to reflect and breathe and remember our dreams. And besides, our responsibilities should be in tune with our dreams as well. We go to work and cover our responsibilities there, but, on the other hand, it should be a job that we like and enjoy.

Dreams exist so we can make them come true. If you want to be a writer, go and write these books. If you want to be a singer, go and sing your songs. Etc. No dream or profession is less valuable than any other. All that matters is that it contributes to your happiness.

Even if you have your own family and raise your children, you can still always dedicate yourself to your dreams. If that is what you really want then you will find a way. Your kids have been your dream, too, and there they are…

You don’t know what your dreams and wishes are? Well, then it’s about time to find out. During the time take some time away for yourself and listen to that little voice of yours. Day by day the picture will get clearer.

Prioritizing yourself every day also helps you keeping your balance, which will allow you to keep tending to your responsibilities whole-heartedly.

In case you find yourself in moments with nothing to do, cherish these moments as well. Some people get frustrated of such moments believing that having nothing to do decreases their value for this world. But this is not true. Such moments are of the highest value, and we should cherish them. These moments are a gift you give yourself allowing you to listen to your soul. It is always good to turn off that auto-piloting so we can listen to that little voice in our heart, our intuition. Being stuck in auto-piloting mode might blind us and we could easily lose sight of what really matters. Embrace these moments of silence and solitude, which will open the road further to the mountain top of your dream.

Your happiness always should be your No.1 priority instead of trying to please everyone else. Because truth is that you can’t please everyone. But as long as you keep in tune with yourself and your happiness, everything else will be in tune too.

Right now you only have this one life, so live it well and appreciate all the beauty and magic it is filled with.

SLEEP WELL

A good night’s sleep is one of the most precious experiences we can have. Our batteries are recharged, and we refill our tanks with energy. But it is not always easy to simply drown in the feathers of our beds, fall asleep and disappear into the land of dreams, is it? However, there are a few things we can do to drift off into sleep so wonderfully.

First of all, your body does actually tell you when it’s tired. You start yawning etc., so you have to recognize these little signs. They tell you it’s time to go to sleep, so prepare yourself for your trip to dreamland. It should not take you longer than 15 minutes. Why? Because the sleep window opens every 90 minutes. If you don’t jump in before it’s closed it will take another 90 minutes for a new sleep window to open. Missing it will result in tossing and turning in bed without being able to sleep even though you are actually oh so tired.

But there is more to a good night’s sleep than catching the sleep train in time. What also helps is calming yourself and your body down before entering dream territory. About an hour before your night kicks in step back from all kinds of artificial lights. This includes the light in your room, the light streaming from your TV or PC etc. Instead, light some candles. Natural light helps your sleep hormone to put you where you need to be.

Additionally, this calm period before sleep can be used for reflecting on the day passed or listening to your thoughts and realize which wires of your brain they travel. Here you can go and ask yourself “What am I thinking? or “How do I feel?” because it is still your thinking machine that presses the mood buttons as well. Take the time to listen to your subconscious mind. There are so many thoughts being active all the time that we often don’t realize that they are there and make us feel either good or bad. The second mind (as Paulo Coelho called it in one of his books) is always creating.

So find yourself a comfortable spot and relax. Start a meditation session. Concentrate on your breathing trying to empty your mind. So whenever a thought appears don’t try to push it away into the unknown and subconscious. Instead, listen to what is saying, recognize, say thank you for its appearance and then gently let it go. Go back to your breathing. Everything around is quiet and you simply enjoy this present moment.

This time before your sleep can also be used for visualization. Concentrate on what you want for yourself in life and feel it. When I myself started visualizing I was not there the correct way. I was simply watching a movie with my inner eyes. But recently it dawned on me that this was not the right way for me to proceed. Why should I just be observing something? That would result in me simply keeping observing things instead of experiencing them for myself. I realized I really had to be in this visualization – not on a movie screen but inside myself. I realized I had to see things the way I see things when I really look at them and experience them. I mean when you walk down the street, are you able to see the back of your head etc.? No! Exactly. You see what’s before you, the people you look at and so on. So when visualizing this is where I have to put myself as well. When picking up a child I see my hands picking up the child and looking into his eyes instead of seeing someone (me?) picking up a child from a distance.

Hey, but don’t get hung about it if visualization is not working straight away. As with everything it takes a little practice. And besides, it is not only seeing it that makes it good but also feeling it and hearing it. If you see an ocean hear that waves and smell the breeze, and simply feel the gratitude for this beautiful moment.

I usually finish my visualization session with a little bit more of meditation again, and then I am ready for bed simply feeling good… I jump on the train of sleep when the window is open, and when the new day has come I can go about it with recharged batteries and in a good mood. Another perfect day lies ahead, and it is up to me and all of us to embrace it.

Well, I am off now getting ready for another trip to the subconscious. Good night!

INDEPENDENTLY HAPPY

love never grows old

love has its own mysterious side to it all

so the magic evolves

love is neither big nor small

but it is the song that moves me

on this life’s road

love’s revealed

through your heart’s bravery

love survives

through abandoning slavery

and my happiness doesn’t depend

on anyone else

it only depends on me

my happiness doesn’t depend

on anyone

it only depends on me

I’m independently happy

love enters life

just like light enters a house

and the ocean takes a chance

love makes this planet turn

and it holds the stars at the sky

it makes the moon slow-dance

love’s revealed…

and my happiness doesn’t depend…

love’s not a possession

love is a treasure

because if you try possessing it

you can only watch it fade away

like a flower fades away

in possession it just fades away

the way a flower does

just let it live and grow

out in the fields

‘cos it needs to be free

love needs to feel free

[Want to read more?; Feel free to buy the book "LOVE | LIEBE"; available here: http://www.epubli.de/shop/buch/LOVE--Liebe-Stefanie-Strecker-9783844226317/16802]

DON'T LET NEGATIVITY RULE YOU

 source:
https://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/lessonslearnedinlife

IS WAITING IN LINE A CURSE OR A BLESSING?

Today we live life on the fast lane. So when we get stuck in a little traffic jam it irritates us. But wouldn’t it be good to stop and breathe?

With this speed of life we might not even remember what it feels like to stand still and breathe deeply, and listen to the little sounds. With life on this fast lane, can we actually truly enjoy it?

We could, but we don’t. There is a deadline here, another appointment there, and no time for it all. But are you doing this for yourself or to please everybody else?  We are so much hung up on pleasing everybody else - be it the boss or a friend - that we simply do not concentrate on ourselves anymore. So when we are forced to wait in line (e.g. in the supermarket) it aggravates us causing frustration. Suddenly we are there left with ourselves, but we do not really recall what it feels like to simply be with ourselves for a short moment and just – for a change – concentrate on us and pleasing ourselves. We always put everything and everyone else first. With the arisen frustration negative energy appears, grows and attracts more. Waiting in line feels like a curse. But stop right now!

Turn it into a blessing, and embrace this opportunity. It is only a short moment, but give it a positive kick. The world won’t stop turning if you stop rushing through everything. Au contraire. If you stand still for that moment, which the universe has given you as gift, you are given the chance to shortly refill your tank of positivity.

Also, on a note of honesty, we people constantly tend to put pressure on ourselves just adding more and more stress. With a rising stress level the tasks you do feel more difficult. That is when people start complaining. You become a magnet for negative energy. If you however apply a much more relaxed attitude to everything, things will flow much easier. Work will be more enjoyable, and you even get more done in the same frame of time. The work responsibility taken on flows faster without any stress, and before you know it, you can actually finish your working day on time. All of a sudden you are free again to enjoy your life and play with all the positive energy.

So, next time you are waiting in any line take it as a blessing. Here is a chance to free your mind and listen to your thoughts. You have the opportunity to consciously find out what mind is occupied with and move this thought machine towards a positive destination. You are reminded that there is a you, and that you deserves your attention. Think of things you like doing. Or think about your next step to reach that one goal. And be grateful that the universe gave you this wonderful gift.

Because truth also is that if we don’t concentrate on what is going on inside of us we get lost. Even on weekends with time away from work we tend to fall into this trap of stress even though there actually isn’t anything to be stressed about. So there you are standing and waiting in line. Take a deep breath and take it easy. Because, let’s face it, just because you stress about and have that attitude of impatience, the line will not feel faster. Instead you just add to it taking even longer because what we think about we attract into life since energy flows where attention goes. So stop worrying about that line and time. Time is just an illusion anyway. The value of what you have created for your life will not decrease because you are waiting in line.

The value might actually rise if you take this opportunity to add some sweetness. It is all up to you. Look around you and check for all the little details. It is the little things we tend to oversee when we fill ourselves with stress and negativity. But it is the little things adding all the spice to your life. Waiting in line you might see a little kid smiling at you or someone else smiling at you. And when receiving a stranger’s smile it automatically reminds us of feeling good because there are plenty of things to smile about.

Even when walking down a street or waiting at the traffic light for the green, look around you and observe. See the people passing, and I actually mean “see” instead of quickly glancing. Or there could be a dancing butterfly revealing all its beautiful colours. For a moment soak up the daylight. Consciously breathe in and out and hear and feel the drumming beat of your heart. It feels good, doesn’t it?

As with everything in life you are always presented with a choice. Always opt for the one attracting more positive energy. Everything else simply should be shrugged off. Life is what you make it. So define with beautiful thoughts. You are the creator of your universe!