TOOLS

Bring your attention to your breath and gently extend your out-breath a few counts longer than your in-breath. Don’t make your in-breath too long, just make sure your out-breath is longer, as if you’re gently blowing something away. The out-breath stimulates the brain’s ‘relaxation response’, so spending a few minutes doing this will calm your brain in a lovely, simple way.

We usually relate to our body as if it’s an object - rather than experiencing it from within. Let’s bring our attention inside these wonderful bodies which do so much for us. Take your attention into the soles of your feet and keep it there for a little while. It’s impossible to be in your head if you’re really down there in your soles!

Whilst keeping your head still, soften your gaze, so that you become aware of what’s at each side of your head. Rest in this ‘altered vision’ state and notice how simple it is to just not think.

Notice what you can see, hear, smell, taste and touch. This is a beautiful world ... and most of us have so very much to be thankful for. We usually relate to our body as if it’s an object - rather than experiencing it from within. Let’s bring our attention within these wonderful bodies which do so very much for us!

We humans seem to live as though there’s us and there’s Nature. But we are PART OF Nature - connected, perhaps most closely, in Silence. Go outside, if you can. Look at the sky through the tops of trees, listen to the birds, feel the grass beneath your feet ... breathe ...

If you can’t go outside, visualise - close your eyes and create beautiful images within. See yourself doing and being all that you want to be and do ... step right into those images and feel them!

This is a form of ‘energy psychology’ which balances our energy by tapping on acupressure points. It is a simple, research-based tool to use when you’re aware of emotional discomfort. Whilst it’s crucial that we’re kinder in the choices we make about the thoughts we entertain, it’s important too that we validate our emotions, regardless of their origin. Uncomfortable emotion is not ‘wrong’ - it’s just ENERGY. We can simply acknowledge it and it will gently pass but it may be that we would like to give it some TLC. EFT is a simple yet profound way of honouring and calming our feelings. Gary Craig, the founder of EFT, who gifted it to the world, has a wonderful website where you can learn how to use this incredible tool - www.emofree.com

There’s a world out here that needs your skills and your courage, your learnings and your love. So, unless there’s a meaningful reason to spend lots of time in your head, come back out here. We need you more than ever before.

Count backwards from 500 in 3s or 7s. This requires concentration in the left hemisphere of your brain so it’s virtually impossible to do this and be emotionally- focused at the same time.

It’s a wonderful thing to meditate for a little while each day. Even simple awareness of breathing, in a quiet space, can be just lovely - bringing your attention back to your breath if it should wander eg onto a thought form. And then when your time for meditation is finished, why not carry that inner Silence with you into your day? It’s always there - it just gets covered up with mind chatter. As you move through your day, when there’s nothing to notice which has to be named or conceptualised ie you are simply BEING - perhaps you might relax into the Silence within and even around you? As you do so, more and more, you may discover in this spacious place - perhaps this is, most deeply, who you really are? As Mooji says - your inner Self doesn’t look like you! Use the tools from time to time in your day, even when you don’t ‘need’ them. Practice withdrawing your attention from your head, play with this new way of being ... liberate yourself!

Studies have shown that gratitude is really good for us. It improves our psychological and physical health, it increases our optimism and patience, it improves our relationships and makes us happier!

You can notice things to be thankful for at any moment you choose - and notice how it softens any tension and brings a sense of lightness.

A gratitude journal is a wonderful way to get in the swing of noticing good things and creating a lovely, positive habit. Just writing down 5-10 things each evening reduces stress and helps us sleep better too. And then, at any time you might feel a bit down, you can read back through it and cheer yourself up. Remember, what you focus on you enlarge!