The Practical Soul

Fresh perspective

I was blogging on the other day about how do you remember your soul in times when everything's going horribly wrong, (see 17th September post Take a Minute).

I wondered, when things are going wrong and you're tense and it's easiest just to allow yourself to react, and much, much harder to take a minute or even a second's pause to bring in the wiser perspective of your soul, what do you do? 

Would it help to have a sort of emergency soul cupboard, with things that you could go to at the drop of a hat, that would divert you for that crucial minute before you react.

Gaze at the sky, or a picture of the sky was my thing and later  Rosamonde offered her picture of a tree... most gorgeous.

Now Carla has offered her perspective for occasions when there's the chance to put a bit more time between now and a decision.  You can hear more from Carla at her blog .  She says

"I like to drive home on a different road and take in a new sight.  Taking a moment to see my way home from a different angle.  The same thing applies to sitting at a different spot at the dinner table, sleeping in your extra bedroom one night, letting someone else drive your car or spontaneously inviting someone you barely know over for supper.  Anything that brings a fresh perspective."

It begs the question for me of how often do I try to see things from other perspectives before deciding about them. I'm mulling on that one now.

The picture is of The Eiffel Tower.  Just not from the usual perspective.   

Brick wall stuck or ebb and flow

Is this a brick wall I see before me?

Does this 'nothing coming' mean I'm brick wall stuck? Am I in fear or just ripening nicely and in need of acceptance.

Acceptance that energy, ideas, progress, will ebb and flow.

We don't give the moon a hard time for waxing and waning, in fact many are transfixed by it's rhythm. I think it's absolutely beautiful. 

So there will be days when we're building up to something but it's not time yet.  It's not yet full, ripe, ready for picking.

Yet knowing this I can still forget, lose my sense of rhythm and give myself a hard time.  Come on, get on with it!  Produce something!

So much stress to be had by impatience with that natural process.  So much paralysis brought on by the worrying about it.

The thing to discern then.....when to push through because it's fear standing in the way of progress and when to allow the time for ripening.  How to put your soul in charge, trusting it knows the difference.

I sometimes only know which it was, after I'm unstuck and can see in retrospect what was in the way. Taking a minute to consider it afterwards, (rather than just breathing a sigh of relief and getting on with it) really helps me see patterns and rhythms and needs.  A much clearer picture of what's likely to stop me in my tracks like a brick wall, and so better equip me to notice while I'm in the middle of it next time.

Mind Body and Soul Fair

Roll up, roll up.  Don't miss the chance to bliss out on a whole arena full of mind body and spirit wonders.  Including myself!

The Mind Body & Soul Fair , is on Saturday 7th & Sun 8th October.

I have a stand there on both days so we can meet really, rather than virtually, have a chat and talk about all your practical soul questions.

I'll have special fair offers and the chance for trial mini coaching sessions.

I also plan to bring the soulometer out in public with me for the first time and so you can be one of the first to play with it.

Talks too.  I'll open with the first talk of the day on Saturday at 11.30am titled

"What are we here for?"

Blissing out starts at 10am - 5pm on Sat and 11am - 4.30pm on Sunday.

Alban Arena, Civic Centre St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL1 3LD.  Entry costs just £3.

Book tickets at the Alban Arena Box Office on 01727 844488

It'll be great to see you there!

Not just swimming

This is not just swimming.  This is Practical Soul swimming!  Here's how it goes.

I'm thinking to myself ....oh busy busy, shall I swim or meditate...swim or meditate?  Swim - 50 lengths. (But I really want to meditate as well?).

As I got going, I realised I could make the swimming meditative.  I started to breath out with every forward stroke (doing sidestroke).

At the same time as breathing out, I said to myself the number of the lap that I was swimming, from one up to 50.

  Oh nice.  Got into a lovely flowing rhythm, managed to gently bring myself back to the rhythm and my breath whenever I realised thoughts had come into focus and on the whole remained in a wonderful, protected, peaceful, rhythmic place for 45 minutes while my body exercised.  I felt truly and fully restored to peace.

That on it's own would have been wonderful, meditation and exercise combined, real Practical Soul stuff.

But that wasn't all.  Another unexpected and extremely welcome bonus, was that all the issues of the day that had been swarming in wanting attention, which I'd noticed but then let go during the swim, had prioritised themselves and were waiting for me in the shower.  So as I was finished in restore and refresh mode and was ready for thinking and action mode, there they were, ready for me to pick up and attend to but with all the piffly non issues gone, ...just the important ones for today, nice and clear.

I'll often postpone time for myself or exercise or meditation till I've done the thinking and sorted things out.  I like this way much better.  It's like having an assistant sit at the side of the pool skimming off all your thoughts, concerns, issues to address and taking them off, sorting out what's important for you and will therefore get your time and attention.  Excellent assistant the soul.  Just needs some peace to work in.

Take your soul to swim, get out of its way and bingo...we have ease of living!

Exercise, restoring of peace AND priorities for the day sorted, all with ease....now that cannot be called just swimming.  That's Practical Soul swimming!

What do you do?

Here's Rosamonde's 'full tree'.

The one who you got to know close up, in yesterday's post.

Seeing it from a distance this way, and then by contrast the close up, had me thinking about how generous trees (and lots of other flora) are with just how up close and personal they let us get without any objections.

We can stand here at a distance and stare unashamedly at them for as long as we like without embarrassing them (as far as I'm aware).

And we can get right up close and stare again, right in at the detail of their bark, their twists and turns, again no problem for the tree.

And if all this minute observation wasn't enough sometimes we'll touch and stroke them, even hug them. Or sit down beside them and bore the pants off them with our woes.

Generous soul's, trees.   

What do you do?

Yesterday I was waxing lyrical, kind of.  Completely absorbing activities was the subject, I'd just discovered watercolours for tired people and was wondering what you do that you find completely absorbing, that takes you away from your ego and delivers you to your soul....ahhh......

Well....get a look at this tree!  I can see the soul from here. Rosamonde Quincey sent it through.  Her absorbing activity, picking up a long lost hobby, photography and trees. (E-mail me at paulineesson@thepracticalsoul.com  if you'd like and I'll pass on any messages to Rosamonde). 

I'll be adding it to my emergency soul file along with stone and skies.  This is the close up version, there's a full version which I'll post later. 

Does it do it for you? 

Butterflies

Don't sing don't dance what do you do? (it was Adam Ant).

What's your completely absorbing activity that takes you away from your ego, and delivers you to your soul?  I don't sing, DO dance AND paint. I love to paint.  Watercolours.  Mmmmm.

  Sometimes though, if I'm really tired, I want someone else to do the thinking and the drawing, leaving me to just fill in between the lines and here's the perfect thing.  My local art supplies shop had these.  It's all drawn for you to just colour in. And when I saw there was a butterflies version it was straight in my bag and coming home with me! 

What do you do?

Turner Sky

In the midst of ALL the things I was making my way through this weekend I was fortunate enough to be stopped in my tracks and pushed backwards into a seat to bask for a moment in this most water soft beautiful, glowing sky.

One for the emergency soul file. 

Take a minute

I was gazing at the sky for a minute or two yesterday, (this is real live Hertfordshire sky you're looking at here). There's a shoulders down moment if you need one. 

And it occurred to me that it might be nice to gather together things you can purposefully do in those moments when you've lost the plot, are about to make a decision or do something you might later regret and would very much like to regain connection to your soul, the wise part of you that takes decisions you can live happily with for a very long time.

This is different from the general list of soul food that you can just dip into at random to keep the connection active and your levels nicely topped up.  This is more like Emergency Soul.  How do I remember my soul when things are going wrong and I'm most likely to act in haste and in anger?

By Taking a minute...that's what and dipping into your favourite 'take a minute' file.  If you have a special thing that you have ready that works for you when you take that minute, things that half your tension, lower your shoulders, ease your brow and alter your decisions then marvelous! 

Why not start your Emergency Soul file?  Have my 'Gazing at the sky' if you like it.  I particularly like it as a whole screen for days when the real sky isn't doing what you like or you're office has no windows (eugh).

There's a website I've visited where taking a minute is all sorted out for you www.just-a-minute.org and I've been asked to do some practical soul style ones too...It's on my list.

Let me know what's in your 'Take a minute' files

Time Off

Wanting to bloom again, I've been attempting to give myself some time off, a bit of a daytime retreat.  To properly unwind, doodle a bit, paint a bit, journal a bit, read a bit,  play around with digital cameras (and decide if I want one so I can post my very own rather than stock images on the occasions when that might suit better).  All sounds great.  And I was looking forward to it.  School has started again so I can be more sure of getting the time uninterrupted.

But my mind would not be still, thoughts and things to be done were swarming me.  My normal coping strategy for overwhelm, of writing 'it' down with a time when 'it' would be done and then getting back to relaxing, wasn't working either.

Something different was being called for. I've been all action and little planning lately and had no idea whether all the things I want to do, consistent writing, regular meditation and exercise (and swarms and swarms more) were going to fit in and I was getting quite anxious about it.

So, on Wednesday, I did two things which have succesfully stilled my mind and calmed me greatly.

First I re-organised.

I got really clear about my choices and priorities and what that meant practically in order to give a rich, full quality of attention to the things I choose to do rather than squeeze them in and give them scant, rushed, barely there attention.  Oh now...that is MUCH better. 

Second I went to the first evening (of six) of a course I'm doing with a very gifted teacher.

(Trisha Cripps, or her new nickname, Sister Bliss, coined on the night by Dawn because of the most blissful state we achieved, more about Trisha at  www.lightlinks.co.uk ).

The evening gave me

some time carved out to be still

a highly supportive group

and some fresh ways of looking at things

all of which combined to restore my calm. Bliss indeed!

It comes down to being sure I'm not letting myself fritter away time but giving it to what I'm here for, my purpose and reason for being. Quite a fundamental thing to want to be sure of.  I've checked now, I'm on track, all is well with how I'm intending to spend my time.

After that, everything was just easy.  Today I've been happily relaxing.  Digital camera playing (first blurred sunflower attempts proudly on display).

Blooming again!