Category: Purpose

3 ways Meditation can help break unproductive patterns and respond to challenges more powerfully

3 ways Meditation can help break unproductive patterns and respond to challenges more powerfully

If you’ve struggled with meditation in the past, or if you’re new to it and you’d like to know more about it, this is for you.

Equally, if you’re looking for a simple, accessible way to boost your resilience, you will want to consider meditation.

I could spend at least three days detailing all the benefits of a regular meditation practice, but today I’d like to highlight 3 aspects that have made a huge difference in my life and my students’.

Before we dive into it, I’ll say this. We live in a world where the majority operate in fight or flight most of the time.

The chaos we see around us is a result of a collective overwhelmed by stress, trauma and an unsustainable pace of life. This means that we have billions of people making decisions every day from a place of fear, scarcity, limitation and insecurity.

Reclaiming our collective and personal power, resilience and balance is imperative, in order to transform the madness into harmony.

Meditation is a powerful tool that can help us achieve this.

Now onto the three benefits I wanted to share with you.

1. Reverse Fight or Flight / Access a calm, expansive state

By releasing stress, fatigue and toxins every day with a regular meditation practice, you’re able to settle into a calmer state of mind and melt away the sources of reactivity (which often show up as negative patterns).

Meditation is a powerful way to release deep-rooted stress, which is made up of unprocessed past experiences, past conditioning and lifestyle-related.

During the process of meditation, the mind-body system gets a signal that it’s safe to relax and turn on our repair and restore response.

You can achieve a very deep level of relaxation, which allows you to go well beyond the superficial level of the mind and start tapping into a different state. Which is more expansive, wiser, creative, resourceful and intelligent.

You can gain access to more of your inner resources and creative potential, which gives you a new level of resilience and capacity to respond to life and fulfil your desires more easily.

The more you practice, the more you start being established in this more productive and healthy state and, naturally, the better you’re able to make decisions that serve you.

2. Access and realise your full potential

Meditation is a journey through different layers of consciousness, until we eventually sink into the field of pure potentiality.

We start at the surface level of mind and body and journey inwards into deeper and deeper states, accessing the silence and stillness that exists within each of us.

In our meditation practice, we make this journey back and forth several times. We expand our awareness a little more each time. And we’re able to experience our true essence and start becoming more established in it.

This allows you to start living life more aligned with who you truly are and find new, creative ways to respond to life. More importantly, you start unlocking your joy, wellbeing and potential.

3. Develop witnessing awareness

A regular Meditation practice helps you develop witnessing awareness. Which is the opportunity to become the observer of your life.

This witnessing awareness allows you to create some distance between your automated ways of thinking and acting, to recognise when you’re not in the present and bring yourself back.

You create some space between what happens in your life and how you act as a result. And, from a balanced state of mind, take action, or postpone taking action where appropriate.

This gives you the opportunity to make decisions and act in ways that are life affirming.

It increases the chances of interrupting self-sabotaging behaviours and acting in ways that support what’s important to you.

Bonus way: a regular meditation practice harmonises the mind, body and spirit

Your true self is naturally healthy, wealthy, abundant, loving, compassionate, connected, creative and powerful.

Stress, past conditioning, limiting beliefs and the life circumstances we create as a result can keep us from experiencing this essence.

A regular meditation practice strips away the ego, the false stories we’ve told ourselves about who we are and who others are that keeps us disconnected and stuck.

We stop identifying with what happened to us and the coping mechanisms and ways of being we’ve adopted in response.

We start experiencing what truly makes us tick, who we are at our core and we start living life from that perspective.

We start doing the things we love, treating ourselves and others with honour, love and respect and we harmonise our lives. Wellbeing flows through every aspect of our mind-body system and we experience a sense of purpose, alignment and meaning.

Perhaps more importantly, you start realising that this essence is in everyone and release ideas of separation and fear of the other, allowing you to experience the world as a safe, friendly and beautiful place.

This last sentence will be the subject of a separate blog post, as this is not how we collectively see the world. We get fed plenty of evidence of the contrary, but is it ultimately true? I’ll write to you about this soon.

For now, I’d love to know… What’s been your experience with meditation? Out of these benefits, which one speaks to you the most?

Let me know in the comments below! 🧘🏻‍♀️😀

I’d also love to invite you to give meditation a try (or a second chance). Try these free meditations and share with me what opened up as a result.

To your wellbeing.

With love,

Goddesses in the world - Celebrating the Goddess within

Chopra Meditation Instructor™
Theta Healing Practitioner®
& Author of the children’s book “The Magic of Who You Are”

The way of least action: 4 ways to flow with life instead of reacting to it

The way of least action: 4 ways to flow with life instead of reacting to it

For most of my life, I believed that truly being and living well was a combination of fait, good/bad genes, determination, a lot of hard work, a level of sacrifice and perseverance.

The world around me seemed to affirm this – everyone seemed to be on the same pursuit, chasing something while trying to maintain some sort of sanity along the way.

Struggle was expected and something to be overcome. Stress, disconnection and suffering were simply par for the course.

And it always seemed like a choice between success (especially financial) OR health, joy and wellbeing. One came at the expense of the other.

This view is at the root of a collapsing society and we‘re starting to realise that there needs to be a better way, where the majority choose a more rewarding way to live.

Modern day life is rife with addictions of all kinds, poor mental health and levels of depression are at an all-time high.

But it doesn‘t have to be this way.

More and more people are waking up to the reality that being well and creating a beautiful life is how things were meant to be all along.

And that all success and abundance we could ever wish for come from living a balanced life and favouring flow over stress.

My take is that, if you‘re here reading this, you‘re either ready to embrace ease and grace in your life, or you‘re well on your way to doing so.

I want to share with you this powerful quote by Deepak Chopra, so we can reflect on it together.

“In physics, the law of least action holds that nature favours the shortest path to achieve a result. A tennis ball falls to earth in a simple curve, not a curlicue. An arrow flies straight to the target. Water boils at 212 degrees F. If nature is always this efficient, using the least effort and energy as possible, why do we complicate our lives? The combination of stress, struggle, and needless suffering is the result of a mindset that sees no other way to live.
But there has always been another way, as pointed out by the world’s wisdom traditions. Look into them, and you will find some astonishing propositions, including the following: Life was never meant to be a struggle. When you encounter the silent depth of your mind, some problems dissolve automatically while others present new solutions. Your higher self is real and wants only the best for you. A life aligned with the laws of nature is not only easier; it brings love, creativity, and bliss as our birthright.“ – Deepak Chopra

When we live life at the surface level of the mind, always reacting to what happens in our lives throughout the day and what‘s going on around us, it feels chaotic and stressful.

It feels like life is happening to us, and we‘re at the effect of external pressures, day in, day out.

We flood our mind-body system with the chemistry of survival (think adrenaline, cortisol) on a daily basis which contributes to a frazzled state.

This way of living starts planting the seeds of disease and undermines our capacity to access our potential and feel vibrant.

Reacting vs Responding to Life

When we‘re in a calm, relaxed and expansive state, we have the capacity to respond to life in a more powerful way.

When we‘re frazzled, stressed out and burn out, it limits the quality of our thinking which has negative consequences for our overall wellbeing.

So it‘s crucial that you have daily practices in place to access and create a state of flow and serenity that nourishes body and soul.

Obviously, being a Chopra Meditation™ Instructor, I‘m going to unapologetically endorse a daily meditation practice once again – seriously, it brings some serious magic into your life.

But there are 4 tools I‘d like to share with you, to take you away from reactivity and into your power.

Each of these tools is designed for you to access a deeper state of mind, which allows you to think with clarity and access qualities such as love, compassion and creativity.

I created this checklist to explain each one in detail, but here‘s a brief overview:

  • Cultivate expanded awareness – Practices such as meditation and yoga help you achieve this. The checklist explains how to do it on a moment-by-moment basis.
  • Pause – Introducing a pause when we notice something counter-productive is about to happen is very powerful.
  • Breathe – We can use the breath to signal to the body that it‘s ok to relax.
  • Ask silent questions – this is one of my favourite tools and when you practice using them often, they will become embedded in your mind, which helps you troubleshoot situations on the go.

>>DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE REACTIVITY TO POWER CHECKLIST<<

I imagine a world where the majority of people live by the proposition that we have full power over our wellbeing.

That, at any moment of any given day, we can choose love over fear and possibility over suffering.

Where people get to know the truth of who they are and access the full power of their mind on a daily basis.

This is not to say that life won‘t present its challenges. We‘re not using these tools to bypass or burry our heads in the sand.

This is a matter of transcendence.

When we‘re firmly planted in this perspective, we can go out into the world and interact with each other from a place of wholeness.

Where our suffering is held by our wisdom, found in silence and stillness.

And ease and grace permeate every aspect of our lives.

Gorgeous one, you are powerful beyond measure.

May these tools be useful in getting you closer to the beauty that lives within you.

Love,

Goddesses in the world - Celebrating the Goddess within

P.S. If you enjoyed this post, I’d love to invite you to sign up to my mailing list here. Every week I share loving insights & tips on how to reignite your inner spark and I’d love you to join our community!

Bringing you home to your spark and balance: 6 benefits of daily meditation

Bringing you home to your spark and balance: 6 benefits of daily meditation

Every day I talk to people in my community and I notice how many of us are struggling with overwhelm and burn out.

As a society, we bought into the idea that the natural progress of adult life is a slow decline in joy levels, peppered with struggle and loss of vitality.

We make things more palatable with all sorts of stimulation, distractions and quick fixes. 

The best we can expect is to do well inside the limitations, responsibilities and burdens that adulthood has on the menu.

Have you noticed how many people around us have subscribed to that idea and live exactly like that?

With little room for joy, wild dreams, excitement and fun…

The world is organised around the energy of survival. And it’s easy to get sucked in.

But you and I (and every person on earth) are meant for radiance, love and beauty.  We’re powerful creators, so full of potential, capable of so much.

We’re meant to be in love with life and radiate out our beautiful gifts, quirks and unique expression of our true essence. 

Deep inside we all know this, that’s why the world around us feels SO OFF!

But the radiance we try to get from external sources lives right inside of us. And it can be so easily accessed. 

This seems so counter-intuitive because our model for collective mental health convinced us that it’s hard to feel well on a daily basis. The western way of life is also constantly steering us in the opposite direction.

Day in and day out we activate the chemistry of survival (think cortisol, adrenaline, elevated heart rate), but this can be reversed through a simple daily practice.

The (not so) secret to experiencing bliss and turning on your radiance is a harmonised mind-body system. Daily meditation is a powerful way to achieve this.

By activating the right chemistry and priming your state of mind for expansion and creativity, life will feel like it’s meant to; a gift that keeps getting better and better.

One of the most powerful things you can do for yourself today is start a daily meditation practice.

The benefits are simply astounding and they explain why I became a certified meditation instructor.

6 [science-backed] benefits of meditation

1. It’s a powerful antidote to stress

One of the many benefits of meditation is its stress-fighting superpowers.
Our body responds to stress with fight or flight response. The fight or flight response pulls us into a state of constricted awareness—it limits our capacity for thinking creatively, for broadening our perspective, or accessing our purpose.

This state is useful to react to actual threats, but when it becomes chronic, it causes physiological changes:

  • heart rate increases
  • blood pressure goes up
  • stress hormones increase
  • we breathe faster and heavier; anti-aging hormone production goes down
  • the clotting of blood platelets increases
  • our immune system weakens.
  • undermines the areas of the brain that feel gratitude, compassion, and connection.
  • suppresses the flow of energy and information through our mind-body system. The more stress we accumulate over time, the more constricted and less efficient the system becomes.

Releasing this stress is something very important we should all consider and meditation is a great tool for doing this.

Meditation induces a state of deep rest and in this state the body heals itself by eliminating stress, fatigue, and toxins in an easy, effortless and natural way.

As we meditate, our heart rate decreases, breathing slows down, immune function improves, anti-aging hormones increase, inflammation reduces; blood pressure normalises. All the other factors that were leading to ill health start to be reversed.

Also, our prefrontal cortex—the more evolved part of the brain—becomes more active, awakening a sense of gratitude, compassion, and connection.

The deep rest gained through meditation releases us from our constricted state into a state of expanded awareness. Where we can experience more creativity, equanimity, vitality, joy, and purpose. And this opens the doorway to a healthier, happier life.

2. Feel more bliss

Deep states of rest prompt the brain to release dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphins. These neurotransmitters are linked to different aspects of happiness, and meditation choreographs their simultaneous release. Meditation has also been linked to significant decreases in rumination, a cognitive process which plays a role in depression and other mood disorders.

Studies have linked mindfulness training to greater neural activity in areas of the brain associated with self-awareness and emotional regulation.

3. Meditation and mindful awareness heal the body

What happens in the mind affects the body (for better or worse). 

Chronic stress can cause disease, deteriorate mental health and accelerate ageing. Meditation helps your body release stress, reverse fight-or-flight damage and improve healing processes.

Research suggests that meditation can increase parasympathetic nervous system activity and decrease stress-induced inflammation levels. Studies have even shown that mindfulness training can change the brain and immune system in a way that may strengthen resistance to disease. 

4. Awaken your creativity

 Meditation is a powerful practice for going beyond conditioned thought patterns into a state of expanded awareness. We connect to the field of infinite possibilities and open to new insights, intuition, and ideas.

Meditation helps you achieve a flow state: you do less and accomplish more. You aren’t burdened by the past or worried about the future—you’re flowing with the present moment.

5. Rewire your brain

Meditation is a powerful tool for creating new neural connections in the brain. By meditating, you can tap into your brain’s deepest potential to focus, learn and adapt. 

Researchers have documented meditation-induced changes in the brain’s gray matter, noting marked alterations to brain regions associated with memory, sense of self, empathy and stress. Mindfulness training is also linked to gray matter concentration changes in brain regions related to learning, emotional regulation, self-referential processing, and perspective taking.

6. Enjoy healthier relationships

A regular meditation practice helps you develop witnessing awareness. It gives you the ability to calmly observe yourself in a situation and creating the space to respond, instead of react.

It also helps you let go of counterproductive beliefs and past experiences that might be getting in the way of enjoying love and connection with others.

It also dissolves a sense of separation from others and awakens a sense of love and compassion.

There are so many other amazing benefits of having a daily meditation practice, but these alone show how much of our wellbeing and quality of life is in our hands.

So today, I challenge you to meditate (even if for just a few minutes) and notice how you feel. Do this for the next few days and notice what shows up.

Your radiance awaits you. And it’s so needed in the world right now.

With love,

Goddesses in the world - Celebrating the Goddess within

P.S. If meditation feels challenging to you, I created this guided meditation to make it easy for you. After you try it, let me know how it felt 💛

Maria Vlachou: Goddess of Accessible Culture

Maria Vlachou: Goddess of Accessible Culture

Maria Vlachou is an amazing, passionate woman with whom I’ve had the privilege of working and sharing a friendship for a decade and a half.

She was one of my first mentors when I lived in Portugal and she made a profound impact in my life, both professionally and personally, as an example of the mark a fully-expressed woman can make in the world.

Keep reading, Goddess>>