Cre8ive » Cre8tive Body Mind Spirit Emotions

Nurture Yourself

Deborah Redfern — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:01:48 +0000

How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. ~ Annie Dillard.

How do you spend your days? Do you take time to nurture yourself – to replenish your inner source of creativity, inspiration, peace, joy – or to just rest and ‘be’? Or do you rush from morning to night, trying to get everything done on your list?

Often we put our inner needs last and then wonder why our reserves are low, or why life seems to be passing by. To listen to the messages from your soul, it is important to take time for your inner needs – ideally on a daily basis. Why not make it a daily practice to take some time to nurture yourself? What you do is not as important as the fact that you are taking time out for yourself, whether it is ten minutes, an hour or a day.

What qualifies as self nurturing? Words such as these can be used to describe self-nurturing activities: fun, exciting, creative, peaceful, fulfilling, serene, relaxing, uplifting or inspiring.

Is there anything you need to do to ensure that you get the time to nurture yourself? Reassess your priorities? Adjust your schedule? Delegate responsibilities? Say no to activities that do not support you? Whatever you need to do, remember that taking time to nurture yourself supports your health on all levels and it is the biggest gift you can give yourself.

And yes, there will be days where you absolutely cannot fit time in to do your favourite self-nurturing activity. On those days, simply use your imagination. Studies have shown that physiologically, the brain cannot tell the difference between actually doing an activity and imagining that you are doing it. So when time is at an absolute premium, spend a few moments imagining your favourite replenishing activity. It has actual physical benefits. Then plan on resuming your nurturing practice as soon as you are able to. Remember…with these breaks you are investing in yourself!

Measuring Up

Deborah Redfern — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 21:34:41 +0000

It is normal and natural to compare ourselves to others. But it is wise to be discerning about the source of your comparisons. Are they models or actors? If so, how much of what you see is real?

Take a look behind the scenes at an award winning documentary made by Dove made called evolution. ? It won 2 Cannes Advertising Awards for its powerful portrayal of unrealistic views of beauty in the media.

Click on this link Evolution to see the “Dove” move.

What is beauty? What is your idea of true/real beauty?

I had a friend, a guy, who used to say, everyone is good looking. I must say as a young woman in my twenties I was not prepared for this point of view and I found it almost shocking, but at the same time profound. It stuck with me over the years and I read that message again, a few days ago in Wayne Dyer’s book “Inspiration:”

…we aren’t beautiful or attractive because of how we stack up against a runway model–we’re beautiful because we came from beauty, so we must be the same as what we came from. All labels such as unattractive, ugly, homely, and unbecoming (as well as pretty, attractive, handsome, and beautiful) are judments designed to compare one person to another using artifical standards set up by ego-dominated people and organizations.

Living in-Spirit means that we see our body with all of its unique characteristics and feel thankful for the perfect temple that’s temporarily housing our true “primary existence.”

Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, Inspiration, Your Ultimate Calling

Manifesting

Deborah Redfern — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 06:37:19 +0000

Did you watch the movie, or read the book, The Secret? Have you applied the [tag]law of attraction[/tag] to your life? Have you used feng shui to help you with [tag]manifesting[/tag] what you desire? How did it work out? What were your experiences?

What I have found in my life and in observing my students and clients, is that the law of attraction is not as straight forward as it seems because people (me included) don’t always know what they want, especially deep inside at the soul level. How can the law of attraction possibly work if we aren’t clear about what we want to manifest?

Not only do we need to know what we truly want, but this clarity must exist on all levels of our psyche. If there is some place where it doesn’t ring true — a place inside yourself that does not feel deserving — it won’t happen: This is where your ability to manifest gets stuck.

We all have these inner ‘birth control’ devices. They are the layers of our history that tell us we are not deserving, are unworthy or lacking in some way. But all it is, is programming. It is how you have become conditioned to think about yourself throughout your life. It isn’t real, but on the other hand this programming has a powerful ability to shape your self beliefs and what you can manifest.

I believe the first step in manifesting is to reset your programming by realising the layers of programming are not who you are: Who you are is infinite, magnificent and Divine! The next step is finding a way that works for you to remove layers — the birth control device — to get in [tag]alignment[/tag] and find your inspiration.

Honouring What Is So

Deborah Redfern — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 08:54:04 +0000

This morning I sat down to write and no topics came to me. Unusual, because I rarely have to search: there are so many wonderful topics to explore. But on this particular morning – ‘nothing’ is there. No topics appeal to me; no [tag]inspiration[/tag] is there. I tried looking through some books to see if I could be inspired but that proved more of an irritation than inspiration. Confused and annoyed I cannot control this, I decided that Instead of trying to force it to be, and becoming impatient and judgmental with myself, I can let it be.

And with that decision to let it be, the words “honour what is so” came into my head. The truth is I am deeply engrossed in reading a novel — a thick, juicy historical novel about past life regression. I don’t often get so caught up in novels, but over the past few days I’ve read late into the night. I am a little tired and not totally myself. A part of me is caught up in the book I am reading and I am ungrounded. This is ‘what is so’ with me this morning.

This is the richness of life. We do get caught up in things that take us away from our center. And it is okay because these are the things that teach us more about ourselves. For instance, I didn’t fully appreciate until this morning how much writing is my measure of how grounded and in the moment I am. And in recognizing this, I can feel myself become more grounded and I know what I need to return to myself.

Whatever is happening in your life that might be a worry, a disappointment or a fear – instead of fighting it, just let it be. When we value some of life’s experiences over others, we end up losing energy. Honour what is so with you and see how that changes your perspective.

What Makes Your Heart Sing?

Deborah Redfern — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 08:35:11 +0000

What in your life brings out your best self? What causes you feel [tag]inspiration[/tag], do your best, be noble and gracious and live in [tag]alignment/[tag] with your deepest beliefs? How do you feel when you are in your ’best self’ mode?

For me it is a sense of deep inner peace and simple pleasures. It can be very powerful to make a list of what makes your heart sing.

Here is my list of what inspires me to be my best self.

1. Spending time with people who inspire me
2. Reading my favourite authors
3. Being in a beautiful place in nature
4. Singing, especially with a choir
5. Listening to music I love
6. My house (when it is tidy and clean)
7. Gardening, tending to plants
8. Cooking (when I am not in a rush)
9. Playing with my pets
10. Watching babies and young children
11. Walking on the beach
12. Watching the sunset
13. Spotting whales in the ocean
14. A picnic shared with loved ones

I encourage you to write your own list and post it in a place where you can see it frequently and do the things on your list as often as possible. We can get so busy in our lives that we actually forget to do what really brings us joy and lifts us up, but making time to do them will help you be your [tag]higher self[/tag].