Empower Newsletter – September 2015

Welcome to the September 2015 edition of the Empower Newsletter and the beginning of Spring.  This month the focus is on being grateful for everything that happens in life.

Did you know?

‘there is a good side to adversity’

Sometimes we forget that without adversity we do not appreciate the opposite!

We appreciate more through adversity than we would if we didn’t know it. In other words if we always had the opposite we wouldn’t know any different!

It’s another great way to be grateful for our lives and what we have experienced. Without the tough times and hardships we wouldn’t be the fantastic people we are today. Adversity shapes and moulds us!

I believe everything in our life happens for a reason, and even more than that, everything happens for GOOD reasons. Sometimes we don’t know what that reason is at the time, and sometimes we will never know! We don’t need to be aware of the reason; it’s about coming out the other side with more personal growth! You see these experiences help to make us stronger and the person we are today!

The example I love to use is about romantic relationships ending! At the time we are devastated, crushed, heartbroken and sometimes lost. It feels like the end of the world, something no amount of time will change. Then time passes, and we find ourselves in another relationship that is even better than the one before! We have become more knowing about what we do want and what we don’t want in a relationship. What has happened previously has helped to mould and shape us into the person we are today. Just think if your previous relationship had not ended, you would not be experiencing the one you are in today! So the good reason that your relationship ended is so you could be in a better one!

Even if you are not aware of the reason for something happening in your life that’s okay, it’s all about having faith that it is happening for good reasons and being grateful for the opportunity of the growth.

It will also help to ‘reframe’ what something means. Reframing means to change the definition we have placed on something. I believe there is always a different positive spin we can put on a situation to make it work to our advantage.

So next time you find yourself in a situation of adversity, it will help you to get through it more peacefully and with more acceptance by having faith that it is all happening for a good reason!

Definition

Adversity

1. Adverse or unfavourable fortune or fate; a condition marked by misfortune, calamity, or distress.

2. An adverse or unfortunate event or circumstance.

Something to Ponder

For most of us, when life throws us an unexpected curveball, we do not anticipate later feeling grateful for the experience.

Yet, surprisingly, this is exactly what the data suggests.

According to Powell and Garlington, (2012), when studying those who have gone through a traumatic experience, a substantial percentage report at least some positive change as a result of their experience.

And the most frequently reported area of change is ‘Gratitude’.

Quotes of the Month

“You normally have to be bashed about a bit by life to see the point of daffodils, sunsets and uneventful nice days.”

~ Alain de Botton ~

Affirmation Corner

‘I clearly see all there is to be grateful for in life. Through gratitude my world expands.’

Empower Newsletter – August 2015

Welcome to the August 2015 edition of the Empower Newsletter and the last month of winter. This month the focus is on creating intentions which will help to establish purpose.

Do you know?

‘your intention before you start’

At yoga this week I was in one of those contorted poses that just don’t seem natural, you know the ones where your body screams to ‘stop’, when our teacher Lissie said those dreaded words again “now get used to it because you will be here for a while,” or even worse, “how does it feel not knowing how long you will be in this pose?”

That’s when it hit me, I was okay! My body wasn’t screaming at me to get out of that particular position or even thinking of a way that I could make it hurt less as it normally does. I had come to terms with feeling uncomfortable.

You see in class one aim is to feel comfortable in a state of discomfort! To relax whilst feeling uncomfortable, to go with the flow really. To do this we are told to ‘state an intention’ to feel okay.

The theory is; the way we handle discomfort in a yoga session flows through to how we handle discomfort in our lives which translates to dealing with and handling uncomfortable situations in our everyday lives with composure and in a relaxed state.

What a great way to respond to any situation!

This lead me to think about how powerful setting an intention is. That is, ‘what’ we want to achieve from doing something without attaching any expectations to it.

It is so easy to fall into the trap of going about our business without giving any thought to what we want to get out of what it is we are doing!

Deepak Chopra believes “intention is the starting point of every dream”. He states that “everything that happens in the universe begins with intention. When I decide to buy a birthday present, wiggle my toes, or call a friend, it all starts with intention.”

So unless you know your intention, how can you cultivate it?

Thoughts create our reality so by creating an intention it will set the course and determine the direction we are headed and ultimately the results we achieve. Without an intention we are blindly accepting and tend to roll aimlessly from one situation we do not want to another.

Intentions also give purpose. A person without intention is a person without a purpose! When we actively create intentions it not only creates energy around it, it also gives us purpose and direction.

Definition

Intention

1. An act or instance of determining mentally upon some action or result.

2. The end or object intended; purpose.

Something to Ponder

An intention is a directed impulse of consciousness that contains the seed form of that which you aim to create. Like real seeds, intentions can’t grow if you hold on to them. Only when you release your intentions into the fertile depths of your consciousness can they grow and flourish.

~ Deepak Chopra ~

Quotes of the Month

“Such a simple concept, yet so true: that which we manifest is before us; we are the creators of our own destiny. Be it through intention or ignorance, our successes and our failures have been brought on by none other than ourselves.”

~ Garth Stein ~

“Intention is one of the most powerful forces there is. What you mean when you do a thing will always determine the outcome. The law creates the world.”

~ Brenna Yovanoff ~

Affirmation Corner

‘I easily set an intention and then let it go at the beginning of everything I do.’