What you need is... a little spot to sit.

Here is something you can do to make sure you get enough of an opportunity to trigger the relaxation response, it works every time, all the time. What you need to do is to create a little spot to sit, or in my case, about five little spots to sit.

The best place for this spot is somewhere you find peaceful and beautiful. So not a spot inside surrounded by jobs. My little spots to sit are all in our garden, because this is the most wonderful place in the world for me.

Your little spot to sit needs to be somewhere that you see and walk past on a regular basis. This is so that you see it often and it invites and reminds you to sit down.

Your little spot to sit needs to be comfortable, it needs to be a do nothing spot... so not your meditation spot. This little spot is for you to relax and enjoy doing nothing at all really. You need to be able to sit back with a cuppa tea.

Your little spot needs to be out of the way of the general traffic of other people. I sometimes sneak off to my little spot and at times I am there for up to an hour before I am found out! Sometimes I only get five minutes before our little daughter finds me.

This little spot to sit is where you will rejuvenate, where you will relax, where you can let your guard down, where you can daydream and drift off. You need this time, you need this spot for your mental health. This is YOUR special and sacred spot. Happy daydreaming.

How Can You Tell if a Spiritual Teacher is the Real Deal?

Did you know that a Reading is actually a medicine? For those of you who have had a Reading with me or with someone else, you will know that they work on two levels, one is fast acting and one is slow release. You can think of a Reading as a fast and slow release medicine fertiliser for your soul. They work.

When you have a reading what you hear will confirm things that you already know, this helps your mind to open up to the changes that need to be. You might know these things consciously or subconsciously, either way, receiving confirmation will instigate immediate acknowledgement from you and things will begin to change. Right then and there you will begin to feel better after a Real Reading.

The slow release medicine starts to take effect as soon as you hear your reading, it gets the ball rolling. It is the first domino that will hit the next one and a chain reaction of change will start. You might have a very long line of dominos lined up or maybe just a short line, the length of your domino line will determine how long it will take before you see the full effect of your reading in your life.

I have had readings that have taken years to fully come to fruition. I have totally forgotten about what I have heard in a reading only to remember years later when something happens which reminds me.

That's what readings do, they instigate change. If you have a reading then what you are saying is, I am ready to set a line of dominos off. It's a wonderful thing, very empowering and it's positive action in motion.

Readings ought never be negative, they ought always to bring an energy of love and understanding to the situation. Why is this? Because readings do not come from the person giving the reading they come from a higher source and that higher source is always an energy of love, peace and understanding.

If you ever have a reading or have had a reading that does not leave you feeling uplifted, inspired and full of hope for the next step do not worry because it is the energy of love that guides us and determines our ultimate path so that energy will will out in the end.

Real readings, real teachers will only share love with you and will always hold complete understanding for you. Real readings and teachers will only ever uplift you and this will be an energy of Divinity.

Recognisinig Cycles as Omens

These three beehives in a row have spoken to me this morning. I look at them and I see that a cycle has come to an end. I didn't know that the end of the cycle would look like this, and I could not have possibly seen the steps in between the first beehive coming into my life and these three now all in a row.

That's the thing to remember, life and it's steps roll out in their own time and in a Divine fashion. Rather than trying to end cycles yourself, to complete cycles and to place meeting on things happening as being the end of cycle... let the omen for the end of a cycle appear as it will.

You do not control the cycles in your life, they are following their own pattern. When a cycle ends you will, if you are relaxed, see this ending and you will be able to decipher the omens in this ending.

It has taken roughly seven years for these beehives to find this spot, in a row, as their perfect home. They speak to me of so much; learning, loving, letting go and acquiring new skills. They speak to me of so much more too. I look at them and I can see a long story, it is a part of my story. I can now sit back and enjoy looking at these three sisters in a row, I can enjoy the energy that is present at the end of this cycle. I can give thanks and I can find release.

To decipher the meaning of the omens in the ending of cycles look at the characters, the scene, the time it has taken and look to how you yourself have grown.

What to do with an egg whisk when you are a vegan

Egg whisks are such wonderful tools in the vegan kitchen, and having followed a vegan diet for 26 years I was surprised to find that I didn’t know just how useful, essential actually, they are for the vegan chef. It was my husband who showed me the completely valuable role they perform, hours of time has been saved and a much better result has been achieved in preparing foods now that I know the real reason egg whisks were invented.

On the vegan dinner table it is quite common to find legumes, beans, rice and quinoa and if the pulses are correctly prepared you’ll find they are soft, easily digested and not the catalyst for flatulence that many people assume them to be. There are two procedures you need to undertake in order to get the best out of pulses in the kitchen. The first is that you soak them, all pulses (beans and legumes) need to be soaked and the soaking time differs from one pulse to the next. More on that later. The second being that all pulses, rice and quinoa need to be rinsed and rinsed well. This is where the egg whisk comes into play.

You’ll find it too easy to eat more beans and legumes in your diet because soaked and washing them is very easy and takes very little time. All you need to do is to put the quantity of pulses you wish to cook into a bowl and cover them with about five centimetres of water. When the required soaking time is finished give them a good rinse and they are ready to be cooked. Rinsing pulses, rice and quinoa is essential for them to cook nicely and be easily digested, using an egg whisk in the rinsing/washing procedure will save you water and time.

All lots of water into your bowl of soaked pulses or into the rice you wish to cook and use the whisk to wash them. Agitate the rice or pulses in the water, using the whisk and the water give them a good scrub. Drain and repeat twice more, the rinse water may not run too clear and this is alright.  Now drain and cook them.

Soaking mung beans

A little bit about soaking and rinsing pulses (beans and legumes that is) before you cook them, it’s a very important step in preparing your legumes for healthy eating. Soaking pulses reduces cooking time and renders them more digestible, reducing their causing flatulence. In fact, if you are getting flatulence after eating legumes it is a sign you are not preparing them correctly. Split red lentils, moong dal, urad dal and other broken legumes soak for perhaps half an hour. The only dal you will need to soak longer is chana dal and this is because it is made of broken chickpeas and chickpeas have a long cooking time. Green lentils, puy lentils (French lentils), whole red lentils and mung beans are best soaked for at least an hour or more. Much longer soak times are required for chickpeas, kidney beans and black beans. Being much larger they require more time to soak up water so it makes sense. Putting chickpeas and red kidney beans on to soak before you go to bed and using them the next day is a good idea.

Chickpeas, kidney beans and black beans have a long cooking time, using a pressure cooker will greatly reduce their cooking time and is a truly valuable addition to the kitchen. Soaked, rinsed and home cooked pulses are vastly healthier and environmentally friendly, they are also cheaper than their tinned cousins. Canned foods are not alive and cause a sludge in the system. I avoid them. Red lentils and red kidney beans are high in iron and are good for the blood so be sure to eat them a few times a week.

One of my favourites, chana dal which is tomato based and made with chickpeas

Theresa Daley is a Mindfulness Mentor and Spiritual Counsellor 

Book your private appointment with her here

An important key in defining a positive you

Being a more positive person, presenting a more positive outlook, thinking positive thoughts and being a positive influence on others is something, I think, everyone wants to be more of, have more of. The other day I remembered something I heard someone say in an interview on the radio. I’m not sure who it was, it was so long ago but it really stuck with me. It was this… rather than define yourself by what you don’t like, believe… define yourself in the positive light of what you do like, believe. Svadhyaya (self-study) is integral part of following a yogic life and defining yourself by what you do believe and like is a great exercise in self-study.

When I focussed upon how I defined what I believed and thought I found that very often I did not do so in a positive light. I began to watch what I shared on social media, how I reacted to what I heard on the radio and what I said to others in conversation. There was no mistaking the fact that quite often I was not defining myself positively by what I did believe in and was in fact defining myself by what I didn’t like or what was wrong rather than right.

I’m not suggesting that we ought to turn a blind eye to suffering in the world, I’m saying that it is far better to define who we are, what we believe in a positive light. Here is a simple example and it has to do with my choosing to be vegan. I could say ‘I’m vegan because I don’t like the way animals suffer’ or I could say, ‘I’m vegan because I feel healthier and I believe in compassion for all beings’. Can you feel that the later has a nice ring to it, it may even inspire the listener to think about being vegan themselves?

To but it simply, negativity is a turn off and it causes others to shut down. Why? Because it harks back to us all wanting more positivity in our lives, not more negativity. When we define ourselves in a positive light, choosing to identify with what we do believe in rather than what we don’t it actually lifts our frequency/energy because it is positive self-talk.

I’m finding it is a fun game, to watch myself and catch myself defining myself by the negative rather than the positive. It is surprising how often I do it too! I’m also noticing that I feel a more buoyant energy around me and life feels lighter and happier as I catch myself and change to a positive definition to replace the negative.

It’s easy to do. Choose to define yourself and how you see the world in a positive light with positive words, positive self-talk.

Theresa Daley is a Mindfulness Mentor and Spiritual Counsellor 

Book your private appointment with her here

Grace, is the essential ingredient for the Divine life you want to live

I can remember, a few months ago feeling very, very frustrated… I wanted certain situations to be different to what they were. I was frustrated with (what I perceived) as life’s slow march of progress towards how I thought things ought to be. I don’t think my feelings were unfounded. Not at all. Nevertheless they were causing me to feel greatly frustrated. The frustration was eating me up, it was all consuming and I was not a peaceful person. It took a few days for the ‘cure’ to surface in me, that cure was Grace. Grace was the healing balm to be applied to the nasty bite of frustration.

Please don’t confuse Grace with Gratitude, this is the mistake I made.  I was being told by someone, ‘the problem is you are not being grateful for what you have’, this made me even more cranky and frustrated as I knew I WAS grateful and I am always so. What I was not being was Graceful, full of Grace. When I got hold of this idea and the energy of Grace, it flowed to and through me, my frustration eased bit by bit.  It is difficult to be Graceful, full of Grace. There is no instant grace switch, though we can lure it so that it builds up and becomes all encompassing. Where there is grace, frustration cannot exist.

These are three yoga asana I perform on a very regular basis that help me to allow the energy of Grace to flow through me freely. Sometimes, I do these asana several times a day… even if I am in a cue at the post office! You will need to do these asana regularly for the energy of grace to flow because these asana will relax you mind and body. Start with daily. It doesn’t need to take you more than a few minutes. They are very effective at triggering the relaxation response (that alleviates the stress response) and in turn, grace in being.

Pranamasana (Prayer Pose)

This pose is the most wonderful pose for inviting Grace into your mind-body. Close your eyes and hold your palms together in prayer position at the heart. Relax, and feel love. Do this pose as often as you can and keep feeling love as you do so.

Hasta Utthanasana (Raised Arms Pose)

I love this pose and do it as part of my Surya Namaskar (salute to the sun series) each day. You don’t need to do this pose as part of Salute to the Sun, you can do it as a stand-alone pose. Science now shows that to look up, to reach up, to lean back like this actually reduces feelings of being overwhelmed. This pose opens your heart and brings a sense of deep relaxation and release to your mind-body system.

Padahastana (hand to foot pose) 

This pose is a counter pose to the raised arms pose above, do one after the other as a flowing movement. Take your time. The raised arm pose brings the energy in and the hand to foot pose releases it. This action reduces stress in the mind – body system and as a result paves the way for Grace to flow. Do not be confused with being ungrateful with being ungraceful!

Theresa Daley is a Mindfulness Mentor and Spiritual Counsellor 

Book your private appointment with her here

How to Meditate on Your Kitchen Bench

When we think of meditation an image comes to mind, similar perhaps to the one above. It is of someone meditating in ideal circumstances. They are probably very attractive by mainstream standards, they are certainly in a peaceful environment and we then think that we too, can’t meditate until we become the very image that we have conjured in our mind. The thing is, this is not (usually) how life is… it doesn’t look like this. I’ve followed the yogic life for many, many years now and regular meditation is perhaps the backbone of my sadhana (practise) and becoming a mother, running an off grid permaculture property and cooking all food from scratch as well as guiding others to live by the inner light was not going to stop my practise. Sometimes we need to harness our shakti (power) to stay on track! Here’s how I use the kitchen bench to continue on with my meditation practise in my hands on life on the land, life of motherhood... life.

The kitchen bench has recently become my place of meditation. I built a tipi by hand and it took me almost two years. I have spent hours in there in meditation and practising agnihotra, practising yoga asana and pranayama too. I can’t meditate there much at the moment because too many karma yoga duties draw me away. I live in pristine bush in Southern Tasmania. It is so quiet, it is so beautiful and there are numerous spots under trees that are perfect places for meditation. I can’t meditate there much at the moment because my duties draw me away. In short, I can’t meditate in several places that are perfectly suited to meditation… but that’s alright because I have found I can meditate on the kitchen bench.

From experience I have learned that the kitchen bench is as good a place for meditation as my tipi, as the bush, as a lake or an ashram. It is a central location in our little home, from my spot up on high I can supervise the baby and I can have the space I need to tune into my inner self, that ever peaceful expansive bliss that is found in meditation. To sit on the kitchen bench and mediate is to sit on the highest of mountains. My kitchen is the Himalayas and my kitchen bench is the highest mountain top ashram.

The kitchen bench, as mundane a spot as it is has been transformed by my perception of it. Because I have be shown how to see it as a harbour for my practise of meditation my heart has opened it as a space for the expanding energy of love and peace. That is all it takes, that is all it took, for my heart to open up this little spot for my higher good and peace and love. We can look here there and everywhere, we can go to the top of mountain tops and we can lock ourselves away from the world but what we really need to do is to open our hearts to allowing a space for our highest good to materialise… in the life we live, in the life we have, in the moments we have NOW.

Theresa Daley is a Mindfulness Mentor and Spiritual Counsellor 
Book your private appointment with her here

How to grow good pumpkins

This year I have grown the best pumpkins. They are big, they are healthy and there is an abundance of them. This is an improvement on any other year for pumpkin produce because this year I actually applied some skills and methods that I’ve not applied before. We have a supply of pumpkins for the winter (tick) and I have grown too, along with these gorgeous pumpkins (tick). Welcome a new master, the teacher, Pumpkin!

Previously I have applied a rather hit and miss approach to pumpkin growing, fuelled I think by a comment my father once made about how when he was growing up they ‘grew like mad, practically weeds’. He grew up in a much warmer climate on a dairy farm where they no doubt were regularly soaked in both cow manure and water whilst growing in red volcanic soil. These growing conditions did not come to mind for me, instead, I considered that pumpkins must be the hardiest plant on the planet to grow and as such could pretty much fend for themselves. I have been wrong.

Last year I decided that I was going to grow an abundance of good pumpkins and I was going to apply myself to the task. No more hit and miss for me.

The first thing I needed to do was to prepare the soil, here at Nala Pakana this actually means make the soil. Pumpkins need heaps of room and so we dug out a large circular shaped area in the spot my landscaping friend had designated for such a purpose in a plan she drew for us a few years back.

We then collected up some wood (of which we have mountains of) and set it alight. It was a huge fire and when it was burning well, lots of coals, we put it out. Then we covered it in quite a bit of freshly collected seaweed, several inches thick. We combined the coals (well and truly out for about a week) with the seaweed. In short we had made our own slow release bio-char.  Onto this we emptied well-rotted humanure soil from our clivus multrum composting toilet. We also added lots of good soil and mixed everything up. Then, a very thick layer of garden mulch hay was added. Nothing to do now other than keep it watered and that is what I did.

I cared for that pumpkin soil religiously, ensuring it was well watered. When the soil looked as if it had broken down and now that autumn was upon us I sowed seeds for a green manure crop of barrel medic, broad beans, sub clover, white clover and red clover. The rains began and the seeds grew and the space filled with green. When the green manures started to flower I went out and dug them all in, well, until everything was well combined… green manure, soil and hay. I waited until the perfect time of November and planted into our pumpkin patch a selection seedlings I had grown from seed myself in our little cold frame made from old windows placed quite near to the front door for easy care of seedlings.

I watched those seedlings like a hawk and spoke with them every day. I told them they were strong and beautiful and would grow into wonderfully big plants producing enough pumpkins to see us through the winter time. I thanked the Devas for their help and asked them to protect and nurture these seedlings. I watered them, I fed them foliar feeds, some homemade and some bought at the hardware. They grew and grew those plants and then I used the sprinkler to keep them watered.

Does this seem like too much work for winter time meals? Does this seem like too much work to break the habit of the hit and miss gardening approach? Does this seem like too much work to build a strong and more personal relationship with the Devas? Does this seem like too much work to be able to watch little seeds turn into big plants and green an area so that you can see that green from meters upon meters away?

Yes, we now have enough delicious organic and grown with love pumpkins for the winter time but that is not the best of what we have gained. I have learned to make my own bio-char and I have further developed the ever useful skill of patience along with the also ever useful tool of diligence. I am at the moment working on a garden area for the Devas because my hand in hand relationship of gardening with their faery energy has grown stronger.  Our little daughter will love this spot and at it we will converse with the elementals and offer them gifts. I have also applied myself to making the best sourdough bread and a brilliant compost that is ready to use in just a couple of weeks, both of which would not work with a hit and miss approach.

Theresa Daley is a Mindfulness Mentorand Spiritual Counsellor  Book your private appointment withher here

I look at our pumpkins and I am filled not only with a sense of happiness, but also a sense of achievement because I get to eat pumpkins, I met my goal of growing plenty for this winter and I know I apply the hit and miss approach far less in all areas of my life.

It took planning to grow these wonderful pumpkins and it took dedication and both were worth it. Do not apply a hit and miss approach to anything in your life if you want good results. Be it meditation, changing your diet, growing pumpkins… apply a hit and hit the target approach!

Harvest your pumpkins when the stalks begin to look like this, when the leaves die back, when you tap on them and the seed cavity is formed and the tap gives off a hollow sound. 

Harvest your pumpkins when your pumpkin patch begins to look like this, straggly and old. Leave a good amount of pumpkin vine attached and do not use the vine or stalk as a handle. Carry your pumpkin and vine by the pumpkin. Do not break off the vine or stalk or your pumpkins will not store well.

The One Big Reason You Feel Overburdened

This morning I feel, really, really happy. I feel in balance, I feel at ease (soldier), I feel a great expanse of space in my mind, in my heart, in my body and in the space around me. I know why I feel like this, I also know why I don’t feel like this all the time. There are many little reasons (tired or such) for the days that I don’t feel like this and there is one big reason. I also know I am not alone in this, I’d bet that your one big reason is the same as my own. I’m writing this down, I’m sharing it with you because I want to remind not just me, I want to remind you also. I want to give you permission to get over this one big reason. I think we all need all the help we can get with this one.

It’s about being overburdened, it’s all about taking on too much, and it’s all about trying to get ahead. Yes, it’s all about trying to get ahead or is that… a head? At almost 42 years of age I know my motivators for overburdening myself because I know myself pretty well. I can, at times, take on too much because I have a good and generous heart and I want to help people, animals, the planet, even Angels. In fact, I’ll help just about anything and anyone. I will stop what I am doing to save a bee or a worm on the road. I can, at times, take on too much because I feel I need to, should do, have to because I am almost constantly looking to be productive/useful. I love the way I am, I love that I love to help and I love that I love being productive, that’s me! However, even these gorgeous qualities leave a nasty taste in my mouth when to them is added being focussed on the result because this is what causes the overburdened business.

Here’s how I have (am) fixing it so that I have far, far more days feeling as I do today. Because as they say ‘what do you expect, the world to change for your peace of mind? Change yourself.’

Being totally honest with myself (and with you now), totally honest, I realised that the reason I wanted to help someone/something, the reason I wanted to be productive was because I was focussed on the result. I would (and sometimes still do) add and add to my list of things to do and to be if I thought it was going to get me closer to my expected result. In your head, picture a small woman that is now bent over with the weight of the load she is carrying. She can hardly see the road that lays in front of her because she is carrying such a weight she can only manage to put one foot in front of the other and she can see only the road at her feet… not the sky, anymore. Poor thing.

The most powerful action I took to help me shake off my burdens was to stop being focussed on my expected result, and I instead enjoyed what I was doing just for the sake of it.

When the need to achieve a certain result is taken away you have all the time in the world, when you feel you have all the time in the world the burden is lifted. Suddenly there is no finish line you need to rush to. There is no push, the rush is gone.  First a feeling of deep relief rushes in and is followed by the feeling of relaxation.

“Rather than focussing on the finish line, my expected result, I am free to do the best I can. I am free to enjoy what I am doing, I am free to be present.”

When I realised this, truly realised this, a weight heavier than Mt Everest was lifted off my shoulders. The thought ‘I don’t need to worry about the result, all I need to do is my best (and enjoy) THIS moment, THIS action’ is perhaps one of the most powerful thoughts I have. I don’t need to do my best to get a certain result, I don’t need to do my best to impress someone else, I don’t need to do my best for any other reason other than to enjoy the doing, the action. That IS ALL,I realised, I need to do. I just need to do my best at enjoying myself as I live this moment focussed in the action of this moment alone.

This isn’t selfish, nor is it foolhardy, it’s honest and it’s real and it gives me/you energy rather than zapping it away from us. This way of thinking spells an end to the career of the dis-eased juggler of life! This way of thinking will have me/you doing a far, far better job of things I can assure you.  Rather than overburden yourself, rather than take on too much, rather than trying to get ahead try surrendering to the moment instead. Give enjoying the moment and what you are doing (regardless of what that is) a go. Trust in the moment, trust that even if you do let go a bit things will work out. Cease with the thought that you are the doer, that you are responsible for everything and all results. Hand that all over to God/Divine Mother/Life. 

When you let life flow through you by not overburdening yourself with the stress of results you will find life will flow through you freely. I’m sorry I can’t do this for you, I really am. You need to do this for yourself. You need to trust for yourself and you need to trust that your action in each moment when done with in an energy of surrender and for enjoyment will result in you feeling happy, open and free. What are you waiting for? Are you ready to let go of this one big reason for feeling overburdened?

Theresa Daley is a Mindfulness Mentor and Spiritual Counsellor 

A Snapshot of My Life, and how to be reminded of the good

Here is a photo I took this morning of my garden, I took it whilst watering it, well a small part of it. Today I am having a rare experience, I’m here at home, alone. No husband, no baby. Such space both physically and mentally has allowed me to have a more significant than usual experience of deep thoughts gently rising to the surface in my mind. The thought, or rather, string of thoughts that went to form an idea that paints an extremely cathartic tableau. Let me explain what they were and I ask that you too take a snapshot of your life and do the same. It will help you to connect with your personal strength and spiritual nature.

You’re going to have to keep looking at the picture above for this, I’m going to walk you around.

Starting at the front of the picture, look at what is growing. Beans and nasturtiums intertwined, radish and self-seeded nettle. Overlooking this healthy scene are two metal magpies, purchased last weekend from a trip to see open gardens in Richmond. Separating the garden from the house area is a wire fence, on the other side of that you notice the front wall of the house is blue and against that blue wall is a bbq. Righto that is enough for now. Let me explain how each one of these features shows me just who I am now and how much I have changed in a very positive way.

The garden, I love gardening and it is in my Irish blood and it was in my nana’s too and I have gardened in some way or other my whole life. Over all these years I have acquired many skills and finally I think I am getting there with the relatively recent goal (perhaps 5-7 years old) of mine to grow as much food of my own as possible. I did think it was about being self-reliant and I did think it was about ensuring I had a ready supply of nutrient dense food and I did think it was about some sort of personal biosecurity and it is, but I realise now it is about so much more.

Having a garden that self-seeds, is nutrient dense, supplies a yield and follows permaculture principles does not happen overnight, it takes years to learn how and it takes countless hours to create. Looking at the garden and how healthy and happy the plants are I see reflected in that my ability to be resilient and to push on, to try and try again.

Those recently purchased magpies (aren’t they lovely!) are in our garden because my husband Nick bought them. We went, as a family, on an open gardens day last weekend and he saw that many people had them in their gardens. He saw the little shop where they were sold, made my a local chap. So now we have two of them and four faery wrens. My husband is my second husband and there is no way my first husband would have said ‘hey, tomorrow, let’s go as a family to see the open gardens in Richmond. The money goes to epilepsy Tasmania and I’ll do everything. You just relax and come along. It will be romantic.’ My husband is the most unselfish, loving, giving, patient, thoughtful, hardworking, kind and wise man I know. I, am married to him and we are best friends. When I look at those magpies I see reflected in them my ability to choose a relationship that is truly loving and respectful.  It took years!

The wire fence was built by my husband, yes, the man mentioned above. It is strong and it is well built, it is also ascetically pleasing and it also keeps the cats in the yard. He didn’t just build it, he consulted with me. What do I want and why? Do you want to be able to see through it? How big will the garden bed behind it be? When I look at that fence I see reflected in it my ability to collaborate with someone else and I see that I know what I need to do and what I need to do.

The blue house wall, not just any wall but the front of the house. It is blue! It has a shattered mirror art installation on it, it has cobwebs on it, the sky is often the same colour. When I was a child I was not allowed to alter my environment and certainly, certainly not go around painting the front of the house bright blue. This restriction on self-expression was more than vigilantly imposed. Often it is not easy to externally express one’s inner nature. When everybody else has white walls or brown ones and you were brought up in an environment that is less than liberal your hand can remain stayed on the paintbrush over the bucket of bright blue paint. When I look at that blue wall I am reminded that I am a creative, an artist and that I find deep joy in colour and life and that I am now strong enough to simply be me, regardless of the so called social and family conditioning rules state.

Ah, the bbq, this is a nice one. The bbq was given to us a few weeks ago by a friend who was moving. It is her 40^th this year and she did not want to celebrate. She is the most kind and generous person on the planet, really she is. So, I said to her, if we are to take the bbq you are to have a vegan bbq birthday party at our place with your friends. I’m so looking forward to her and her partner and some of their friends coming to our little home tomorrow to celebrate her 40^th birthday. When I look at that bbq I am reminded that I have some very, very good friends in my life that mirror my own generosity and loyalty of spirit. I am a deeply generous person and I am loving and my friends are this too. I have the most wonderful friends!

In this picture there are so many more reminders of how good my life is and what it took for me to get there. Though as I said at the start, I’ll finish with the bbq. Never doubt that you are not moving forward. Look at a snap shot of your life and be reminded of what your life is and where you are going to bring yourself inspiration!

Theresa Daley is a Mindfulness Mentor and Spiritual Counsellor 

Is Spiritual Development Running you Ragged?

I don’t know about you but there have been, are times, when it seems that all my spiritual practises are actually causing me more stress rather than less. Given that the idea of spiritual practice is to develop inner peace and clarity of connection in mind-body-spirit and to Divine Mother it’s not a good thing or a step in the right direction to be run ragged in such a way. Why does it happen and what can we do to put a stop to it, to get our ‘life’ (time) back?

Just this morning I opened my eyes after morning agnihotra and meditation and was giving this very subject some thought. I thought about all that I do to foster health throughout my mind-body-spirit being. I thought about all that I have done in the past, all the practises I have given my time and effort to over many years and as I sat there feeling so calm and relaxed I thought about karma yoga and of what great benefit it is, how ridiculously productive it is to remember and practise karma yoga as part of one’s sadhana (spiritual) practise.

Karma yoga is the yoga of action. That is what karma means, action. So karma yoga is the yoga of your actions. It is doing the dishes, going to work, sweeping the floor, making the bed, watering the garden, feeding the family, wrapping a gift, making a card for someone, writing a letter… all of your actions can be yogic actions, all of your actions can be transformed into your sadhana (spiritual) practice by performing them as karma yoga.

You won’t be run ragged by karma yoga because it involves doing what you’d normally do though with a different focus/intention. You don’t need to set aside an hour day for karma yoga, you don’t need to go to a class. You just need to live your life with the attitude of service and awareness.

Karma yoga was not a form of yoga that I ever really gravitated towards, to be honest. However, as things often turn out… it is the yoga practise that is more dominant in my yogic life. Having spent so many years ‘working on myself’ has given me a perfect background of skills to employ in the art and act of karma yoga. I can apply almost all ‘healing myself’ skills I have learnt in life in karma yoga. The wonderful thing is, I don’t need to do most of those activities or have them as a focus in my life, I can just apply what I have personally gained from them in my daily karma yoga practise.

I have found the perfect balance and recipe (for me) is karma yoga + meditation + diet/lifestyle + agnihotra. Karma yoga needs to be balanced with meditation practise. Anything at all needs also to be balanced with meditation practise. What karma yoga does is give you the opportunity for you turn your everyday life into an opportunity for your spiritual development and overall wellbeing for your highest good. This is the beauty of karma yoga. It does not run you ragged, it is not asking you to perform more actions it is asking you to work at being more present in action. Actually you will find that in order to have more success with your karma yoga practise you need to do less action.

Less action because this means you can move, think and breathe more slowly rather than when you are in a rush. The slower you go, the better the chance you will have of being aware, mindful, and present.

So this is how you can avoid your quest for spiritual development, God realisation and personal development running you ragged in modern life, karma yoga.  It doesn’t ask more of you, it does not deem you as less or wanting, it only asks that you be present in your actions and hone that skill with the intention of opening your heart to Divine Mother and love.

Theresa Daley is a Mindfulness Mentor and Spiritual Counsellor 

Life is a Construction Site

This morning I was watering the garden. I do this almost every morning and it is one of my favourite jobs. It’s a peaceful, gentle job. I talk to the frogs and the plants and when I want to really find some inspiration I lay down on my belly and look into the secret shaded world of pumpkins in their patch. They are looking so big and happy! Today however, this usually peaceful job was marred by a touch of anxiety and it was generated by yes, you guessed it, my mind. I saw all these things that were ‘messy’, so many little things that need to be finished off and quite a few very big things that need to be started. Quite suddenly I quite lost my sense of peace.

Thank goodness I am enough in my right mind to realise that it was my mind that was at fault here… not the still unbuilt glasshouse. Quick I thought, what can I do? Thinking, thinking at a fast pace I realised! Chant mantra and get cracking with it. Get your mind away from these thoughts Theresa.  I began to chant a lovely Hari Krishna mantra, on repeat. It doesn’t take long for a mantra to take effect and I began to feel peaceful again. Something was left though, it was a thought and it has stayed with me all day. I know this thought and I am so glad I had this experience this morning so that it has been at the forefront of mind today.

This thought puts things into perspective and the thought is this… life is a construction site. At all times, life is a construction site. Of course I can see endless jobs around me and when I think about my own being I see there are many things I can do for my inner wellbeing too. Pens out, blue ink… life is a construction site and there is nothing wrong with that.

You are living in the middle of a construction site. It will get dusty. It will have materials laying around in it, waiting to be used. It will at times be noisy. All work will at times come to a grinding halt thanks to the weather. That’s what happens on a construction site.

We can get very confused and rather than seeing life as a construction site we think it is a polished Rogers and Hammerstein musical. Not the rehearsals, the end product where everyone has paid for a ticket because they know the show will be pretty much perfect.

This is what makes life hard. Thinking it is a polished Rogers and Hammerstein musical when in fact, it is a construction site. Nobody has a Rogers and Hammerstein polished musical situation around them other than God Realised Yogis/Masters. From an individual’s perspective it seems that everyone else has a polished Rogers and Hammerstein life and that their life is the only one that is a construction site.

If you ask the most beautiful, the wealthiest, the most intelligent (etc) person if they feel their life is utterly polished they will answer no. The fault in our thinking is that ‘peace’ is just over there, ‘time’ is just over there, ‘happiness’ is just over there… this is a battle and it cannot be won. It only and always leads in disillusion. So, what can we do?

Realise that life is a construction site that you are working on. There is no deadline on this work site. Enjoy the jobs you are doing, take your time, do your best rather than the most you can do. Above all else, keep in touch, keep the connection with peace in your heart. Do not worry about the construction around you, keep a connection with the peace in your heart instead.

Theresa Daley is a Mindfulness Mentor and Spiritual Counsellor 

He who burns his bottom must first himself sit on it.

I think we are all quite guilty of suffering some consequences that could have been avoided if only we had been mindful enough to have seen them coming. If we can pause, or tune in or in some way be aware of what the consequences of our actions will be before they are upon us certainly life is easier, healthier and more harmonious. So why oh why don’t we? Because we have not trained ourselves to be ready to pause, to tune in.

Abhyasa is practise, to repeat and repeat and repeat again. It is practise that is aligned with a spiritual goal and the benefit of abhyasa is that it prepares us. I still sometimes wonder at the way in which a stressful situation washes over me. My feeling/experience is definitely more that of a spectator rather than a participant. It washes past me and it is rarely that I feel its wake. This is because of abhyasa.  

When we wait until there is a disturbance in life and then attempt to use the breath to calm ourselves down it does not work unless we have trained our mind, our breath, ourself to deal with stress, or change or dis-ease first. We need to be prepared. In the same way that we avert any bad experience, or lessen the impact of bad experience… such as a picnic by remembering insect repellent, or a hat when going to beach, or a water bottle when going for a bush walk or a warm coat for a winter’s walk. We need to be prepared to avoid or lessen the effects of unpleasant consequences, we need to prepare ourselves to be peaceful.

This is the way to be able to avoid suffering unpleasant consequences, as much as possible. The more we embody calmness, peace, light, understanding and joy we will be carried through our environment and interactions with the world and others around us by their energy. We can’t call upon these beautiful energies and expect for them to come running if we are not first very, very good friends with them. The better we are acquainted with these beautiful energies the faster they can come to our aid. A good friend will come to your aid, to your side, far more quickly than a stranger.

Who are your good friends, who do you spend most of your time with? Is it love, peace and calmness or is it rushing, anger and stress? Whomever you are most acquainted with will come to your aid/side and each create their own consequences. If you are good friends with peace than the consequences of your actions will be peaceful. If you are good friends with stress, than the consequences of your actions will be stressful.

Theresa Daley is a Mindfulness Mentor and Spiritual Counsellor 

Getting back to breathe

I rarely, rarely feel unwell. The past few weeks though, I have felt unwell. I couldn't work out what was causing the nausea and feeling of exhaustion. Nothing in my life has changed, that is, my diet is as always good, my friendships are good, my marriage is good, my baby is good, I am good. Milly the dog can be a bit of a handful though, however, this was not due to Milly. I tried everything.

I went to bed earlier, I ate less, I walked more, I pondered and pondered and I could not find a reason for this ongoing nausea and feeling of exhaustion. Then it hit me. My breath. 

Each day I meditate and each day I perform Agnihotra . I perform Omkara repeated many times, but what I needed was to pay special attention to my breath. It was time to focus on pranayama with strong attention. I began to mean business where pranayama is concerned.

I streamlined some of my sadhana practises so I had some extra time and energy to focus on pranayama. There is so much we can include in our sadhana (meditation, asana, diet, ethics, thoughts, pranayama to name just a few) and it is easy to 'get stuck' in performing the same components of a sadhana when really we may need to modify or adjust it according to what is going on right now in our whole being experience. So, I needed to bring into focus my breath because this was going to help me understand and overcome my unusual feeling of nausea and exhaustion. I began right away, this is what I did and this is why and here are the results.

During morning meditation I began by simply focussing on my natural breath. Allowing my breathing to be natural and uncontrolled. Allowing my breathing to be and to observe that breath. I actually noticed that both my inhalation and exhalation were short and that my exhalation was limited more so than my inhalation. Next I noticed the rhythm of both my inhalation and exhalation was out of time, it was 'jumpy' rather than smooth. Why would this be and what did this tell me about what was going on?

The flow of my breath combined with the feeling of nausea and exhaustion were signals of stress. Stress? But I'm not stressed. That's what I thought. I meditated on it a bit longer as I went about my day(s) and I kept getting the same answer... stress. After accepting this as possible I had a think about what could be causing this stress. Here is where the need for pranayama really came into play.

I was not breathing properly, fully and in a relaxed way. I was not relaxing enough, I was not experiencing the relaxation response enough.  I had underestimated the energy and attention supervising a one year old and caring for a garden and living off grid (etc) actually took. I knew I needed to take a step back. I knew I needed to calm down. I knew I needed to breath.

So I did.

I began with Nadi Shodhana (alternate nostril breathing) as this is the most effective way to calm and balance all three doshas of the body, it is a highly effective way to reduce stress and anxiety throughout the whole mind/body system. After just a couple of sessions which I simply slipped into my daily morning sadhana practise, I felt much, much better.

It's been about a week and so much has changed. The feelings nausea and exhaustion have finally passed and I have calmed down, relaxed deeply enough for the real reason for my stress to emerge.

Today I sat outside whilst the baby slept and I wrote it out. I uncovered some wonderful answers and I have created an autosuggestion inspired by them.

There was a hurdle there I needed to jump. There was a door there I needed to go through and it began with the feelings of being unwell and it ended with the compiling and (now) implementing of a new autosuggestion. What carried me through? What was the working factor that helped me to calmly and peacefully move through this? Connecting consciously to my breath, putting a focus on pranayama in my sadhana each day.

I can roll back my focus on the breath now because that focus has done it's job. I can meditate a little longer or sing or spend a little more time with my asana. 

Come back to your breath when you need to. Don't forget you have this amazing, amazing tool that is free and there for you. Remember your breath.

Theresa Daley is a Mindfulness Mentor and Spiritual Counsellor 

Shifting energy with a moment of mindfulness

What it takes to shift energy is a moment of mindfulness. A moment where we can choose to break a momentum, to instigate change, to hop onto a different more and more constructive vibe. This moment of mindfulness is the window of great opportunity we need to make a change. This moment is at a peak and in it things feel intense. When we grasp this moment and infuse it with mindfulness (our presence of mind) we shift things, we shift how we feel about a circumstance or situation. This is how it works, let's begin with an anecdotal story from yesterday.

I was hanging out the washing, the view here is expansive and it's all really quite beautiful. Nonetheless I didn't feel 'right', I felt something needed to change, that I needed to do something, but what? I was entering into a moment of mindfulness that would shift energy. I knew this because I have done it again, and again and again. I've had heaps of practise!

I was feeling annoyed, frustrated and needed to get moving in some direction. I was feeling discontent. I think feeling discontent is perhaps the worst thing I can ever feel because it sours everything. I quickly scanned through some scenarios in my mind... ought I go out? Get off the property for a bit? Ought I do some other type of jobs? Ought I eat something? Before I take any action I always do the most sensible thing first, I ask Divine Mother for advice. To cut a long story short the guidance was to do Yajna, Tryambakam Mantra to be precise. The great healer, the great shifter of energy.

So I scooped up the baby and down we went to perform the fire for over half an hour, it worked wonders.

That was a very important moment of mindfulness in shifting my energy. You don't need to perform Yajna (though it is a wonderful practice!), you need to be able to recognise when a moment of mindfulness can shift you out of the space you are in.

When you are feeling overwhelmed, stressed, upset, frustrated, annoyed etc nip it in the bud! Apply a moment of mindfulness. Stop! Just stop and do something else. Not something that will escalate your feelings, such as pushing yourself harder when you are stressed but something that feels the  opposite to what you were doing. Because that is what is usually called for. If you are being very Rajasic (active) be a little Tamasic (inert, still).

When you are just beginning to feel the onset of upset and frustration (manifest in anyway), stop and catch your breath and ask yourself... what do I need to do now? Do I need to sit and breathe, do I need to go for a walk, shall I write a letter, begin to cook a meal, what? Then do it. Apply a moment of mindfulness to shift your energy.

This works on any level, physical, mental and emotional. If you are feeling physical pain, mental stress of upset emotionally... stop and change tack. You can go back to whatever it is that needs doing once you are feeling happy again.

Don't simply press on, this is not being mindful of your well being. Shift your energy with a moment of mindfulness.

Theresa Daley is a Mindfulness Mentor and Spiritual Counsellor 

Remembering Inner Sunshine

For the first time in I don't know how long I have a cold. Thanks to baby group I think. Anyway... I sat down to write and I thought quite the poignant topic is remembering inner sunshine cold or no cold. In fact, I think two of the best things about having this cold are #1 I have read so much of my book and #2 I have stayed connected to my inner sunshine.

When we are unwell, or have more quiet time on our hands or are waiting patiently for something it is a wonderful opportunity to remember our inner sunshine.

Our inner sunshine lives within us, it lives, actually, in our hearts. You can feel it there. When you feel happy or excited you can feel it flutter, or it's warmth. When we are feeling unwell, or stressed or lost or any number of things we can be forgiven for thinking that it has gone out, our inner sunshine. Though it has not, it is still there. It never, ever goes out as long as we are alive.

We can be distracted by physical aches or pains or the pains of others. We can be distracted by the woes of the world, we can be distracted by our jobs list or negative thinking... but it is still there and all we need to do is to tap into it. How do we do that?

There are a few ways, what I do is simply feel it. I can feel it glowing in the centre of my chest and tap into that and feel it. If you are a meditator (in some way) you will also find this easy to do. If you are not, you will need to close your eyes and place your hands on the centre of your chest. Feel the warmth in your hands and then feel deeper. It may take a few times for you to feel your inner sunshine, though you will. Maybe you see it?

Our inner sunshine is powerful stuff! This power is not to be underestimated. Tapping into your inner sunshine is tapping into your eternal smile, your heart, your love. Doing so is deeply healing, cathartic and will lift your spirits no end.

Theresa Daley is a Mindfulness Mentor and Spiritual Counsellor 

Be Kind to Yourself, You Are in Transition

 

When something inspirational comes to bring out a change in my way of being I often jump in boots and all, though actually incorporating that change into my real life takes more effort. I have found that by reminding myself that I am in transition and to be kind to myself because of this has very much helped me to be able to integrate change into my life and way being with Grace.

It is not the change or what that change brings into being in my life that causes me dis-tress, but rather it is how I deal with it. Explained in a nutshell... when I accept I will ride the wave of change with Grace, when I fight against it I will experience distress. These sentiments are based on experience and I have noticed again, and again that the situation is always the same.

I (like everyone else) have been through so many changes in my life, the latest big one has been to become a mother. Though whether it is mothering, or farming or writing or healing or a different diet the situation is the same, if I mindfully step from where I am to the next step (notice I did say the last step, I have found out that my legs are not that long) with the mantra "be kind to yourself you are in transition" playing in my thoughts then the step is the perfect size and accepting the change is easy, it flows it is graceful. As a result I do not tire myself, I am happy and all is in balance. 

Change IS about transition. I think many of us think of change materialising a bit like the end result of a magic trick, shazam! 

Change is about transition. It is about going from one thing to the next, from one phase to the next, it and this happens in increments in steps. Look at your life, look around you. Look at all the 'good' and all the 'bad' and now look to see what happened before, and before that and before that. It can all be traced back, so far back. 

We have a baby body, it becomes the body of a toddler and on it goes until old age. This is life and when we can remind ourselves to "be kind to yourself you are in transition" what we are doing is going with the energy of change and this is graceful and peaceful.

Regardless of what is happening in your life right now, you are in transition. You may be aware of this or you may not be, this doesn't change the fact that you are in transition. Every cell in your being is in a state of change, transition. You/I can help that transition to be pleasant by being kind, understanding and compassionate towards ourselves because we are in transition. 

Theresa Daley is a Mindfulness Mentor and Spiritual Counsellor 

Joy comes before love

We are encouraged to be more loving, and to be so will help us to feel happy in/with life. 'Be grateful, be loving, be thankful, be kind this is the way to happiness', but is it? In a chicken and egg scenario, joy actually comes before love.

Unrequited love is a great example of this, we love something or someone and yet if it/they do not love us back. We continue on with our admiration and efforts and whilst the feeling of love may still be there we lose energy, interest and finally effort... next comes a broken heart. For such short periods of time we may have felt happy during the interlude and this feeling of happiness can end up becoming feelings of sadness expressed in many ways; depression, stress, anxiety, worry, anger, tiredness to name a few.

What would happen if rather than seeking love we sought joy? This is something I have been working on, seeking joy directly whilst also becoming aware of causes distress (the opposite) of joy in my life and within myself.

I have found that when I seek to experience joy, I experience happiness and a love for life. Joy is such a light feeling and it lifts you up. When I am filled with joy I want to be generous and kind and understanding and this is loving. So by seeking joy, my heart fills with love.

A joyful love is light and all that it touches is uplifted, including our thoughts and actions. Love however, is not necessarily light and it sometimes fosters light heartedness but not all the time. Joy always fosters light heartedness and light heartedness always brings forth a loving feeling towards life.

We can feel love and yet still feel stress or anxiety or tiredness or stress... but when we feel joy we cannot feel anything but happiness.

Seek joy directly in your life and feelings of love and happiness will follow.

Theresa Daley is a Mindfulness Mentor and Spiritual Counsellor