I had the strangest dream...........

pixtawan|freedigitalimage.net

A few nights ago I had the strangest dream.  I'm normally a pretty crazy dreamer at the best of times (I couldn't tell you how many times I've been a spy running away from all manner of things) but this particular dream really stuck with me as being both very clear and very unusual.

In this dream my Mum was asking me to write my Dad's eulogy.  The weird thing is that my Dad is not suffering from any terminal illness nor was he in the dream.  I questioned my Mum about this strange request, I couldn't understand why she wanted me to write a eulogy for someone who wasn't dying but she was adamant.   I then spoke to my sister about the request who recommended that I just write it to keep Mum happy.  I responded that writing a eulogy would take like 2 hours and I had other things to do.  It was at this point that I woke up.

Later on that morning when I had had a chance to reflect on the dream it brought up so many things that I needed to think about.  Firstly it brought into sharp focus some of the wisdom I had gleaned from reading Tuesdays with Morrie: An old man, a young man and life's greatest lessons, by Mitch Albom.  Tuesdays with Morrie is a beautiful story about a sociology lecturer who was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease and as a result his body began to slowly shut down.  Morrie was well aware that he was going to die and was determined to share the things that he was learning through the process of dying with the world to make us more aware of the precious gift of life.

I learned so many things from this book and everyone that I have spoken to who has read this book has taken different things from it.  The main thing for me was the understanding and acceptance that yes we are all going to die some day and most of us won't know when and some of us will go quite unexpectedly.  For me there were a couple of key lines that have stuck with me from this book.  The one that really resonated with this dream was when Morrie suggested we all imagine a little bird on our shoulder that asks us each morning "Is today the day?" He recommended using this little visualization to remind us that each and every day could be our last and that it would be wise to live each day fully aware of each moment and making the most of every minute we have. 

We had a friend a couple of years ago and although he wasn't a close friend he was someone we really liked and although I was keen to get to know him better and develop the friendship I didn't want to push it rationalizing that we had years to create that connection.  That friend passed away suddenly not long after and those years I imagined making use of were gone in an instant.  If only we had known of the limited time that we had available to us, we certainly would have done things differently.

This dream drove home to me that not only could any day be my last but it could also be the last of those who are nearest and dearest to me.  It made me think that if someone who means the world to me like my Dad was to pass away tomorrow what would be the thing that I regret.  The answer for me, and I'm sure most people, is that I would most regret never telling my Dad exactly how much he means to me and how much I appreciate all of the hard work and sacrifices that he has made for us over the years.  Wow.  Kind of sounds like the stuff you would say in a eulogy doesn't it?

I could pass this dream off as just another crazy dream or I could see it for what it really was, my mind saying to me "Hang on.  You read that book and yet you still haven't made any changes to your life or the way you relate to people."  Not only did it give me this very clear reminder but also gave me the means to make one change.  Instead of writing a eulogy for my Dad I am going to write him a testimonial and in it I will say all of those beautiful things that people seem to only get the chance to say in a eulogy but I will get to say them to him directly.  I will make sure that he always knows exactly what he means to me and every time I speak to him I will make sure that it is with love as you never do know if the next time could be the last. 

After I have done this for my Dad I will do the same for my Mum, my grandparents, my husband, children, brother, sister and everyone who makes my life special.  That way if my time comes unexpectedly or the time of someone I love, I can take comfort in the thought that I won't be plagued by that one great regret and in the meantime I will have the beautiful experience of appreciating and uplifting the ones I love.

I hope like me that you don't see this as morbid but as an opportunity to really start to live your life the way you would like to every day by seeing life for the precious daily gift that it is.

Have you had a dream that has caused you to make changes in your life?  If so tell me about it.

Day1 - Quit Sugar 8 week program

My little man helping mum peel almonds

As expected today was a good day. 

Motivation - high

Energy Levels - great

Weight 72.4kgs

Gross Detoxy feelings - none

Sugary foods consumed - soy milk in my morning latte

 

Tough spot -  I did have a moment this afternoon at a friend's house when I was offered some bran cake which sounded oh-so-healthy but alas there was sugar in it.  So I waited until I got home and had a latte with A2 milk and one of the zest n' poppy sugar free bikkies that I made yesterday and felt great.  Even while making the kids popcorn I didn't feel the urge to snack away the afternoon as has been my style lately.

 

I weighed in this morning as well just to keep an eye on what's happening weight wise.  While weight loss isn't my ultimate goal I am really curious to see what happens on the scales and as long as I can keep my exercise levels up I should be losing fat instead of muscle.

 

The chia pudding that I mentioned I had made for this morning's breakfast I thought was really tasty and filling and my husband thought is wasn't too bad but the kids weren't loving it so I am going to have a play with it to see if I can make it more palateable for the kids.  I'll let you know how I go. 

 

The chickpea bombs again were enjoyed by my husband but not so much by my 6 year old but I had a proud mum moment when she explained that although she didn't love them she still ate them because she had swimming at school today and she needed the energy.  That's my clever girl!!

 

The little man and I peeled our almonds this morning and have had them in the oven ever since.  Can't wait to try these tomorrow when they are properly dried out.

 

Here's how we did it

 

Activated Almonds

 1 cup almonds

enough water to cover almonds and an extra 1" at the top

1tbs Apple Cider Vinegar

Salt to taste (we used Himalayan Rock Salt but it's up to you)

 

Cover almonds with water and leave to soak overnight

In the morning peel off the skins, so that you have blanched almonds

Place almonds in a bowl and mix through vinegar and salt.

Place in the oven on he lowest setting you have and cook for 12-24hrs or whenever they feel crunchy.

 

(adapted from the I Quit Sugar e-cookbook)

 

 

I'm sweet enough thanks

I am officially on the bandwagon.  The no sugar bandwagon that is.  I have done lots of thinking and lots of reading about this humble sweetener over the last 6 months or so and I have finally come to the point where I have read enough to convince me that sugar may in fact be the root of all evil. 

 

A large call you say.  Sure it's a big call but if what I'm reading is accurate, and the science is convincing, then we really do have something to worry about.  Those who have something to say on the subject and most notably I have been reading Australian author David Gillespie who wrote Sweet Poison and Big Fat Lies and Dr. Robert Lustig author of Fat Chance.

 

Both authors have done a phenomenal amount of research into obesity and metabolic syndrome and what may be behind the massive increase in our waistlines and the massive spike in diseases related to metabolic syndrome such as Type 2 Diabetes, Dyslipidemia, Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver, Heart Disease and Hypertension amongst a host of others.  Both authors are happy to present the science and take along the journeys that they both took to come to the conclusion that sugar or more accurately fructose is by far the most likely cause of all of these diseases and more.

 

I won't go through the science with you as you can read the books yourself and if you're a bit of nutrition buff like me they are well worth the read.  The basic premise is that fructose which is one half of table sugar and the sugar that gives fruit it's sweetness manages to go undetected in our bodies energy balancing system and so our body continues to look for food to make up for the calories that it can't see.  It also impairs the bodies ability to recognize leptin which is the hormone that tells the brain that you have eaten enough.  Pair this with the fact that it is linked to the pleasure centers of your brain which reward you with a hit of dopamine every time you eat it and there-in lies the crux of the problem.  No wonder we struggle to give up the white stuff!!

 

Unfortunately the only real solution to stopping the cycle of eat more sugar, want more sugar is to go off it completely.  This is where I began to struggle.  Yes I can see what they're saying about sugar being so bad for us but it tastes so good and has been one of my main sources of energy while pregnant and coping with a new born and it's my friend and I love it and I don't really want to give it up but give it up I must.  I have however managed to recruit some help to get me across the line.

 

I found a great resource in the form of Australian writer and personality Sarah Wilson.  I used to love reading Sarah's articles in the Herald Sun about getting back to basics and simplifying life and so when I found that Sarah had quit sugar and published the e-books I Quit Sugar and I Quit Sugar 8 week plan I knew I had found the help I needed.  I purchased her 8 week plan and I Quit Sugar e-cookbook and am excitedly preparing for week 1 tomorrow. 

 

The program takes you on an 8 week journey that is designed to allow you to release your need for sugar and focus your eating habits on foods that will truly uplift you body but it begins gently to ease you into the scary world of no sugar.  This first week is simply about cutting back on those added sugars in your diet and taking stock of where the sugar in your diet is coming from.  It's about preparing for the weeks ahead by finding alternative foods and strategies for coping when the craving hits.

 

The e-cookbook is stunning and as it is my first experience of an e-cookbook I have had so much fun clicking on the links for more information and recipes.  The 108 recipes in the book are also amazing and I have already made the Chia seed pudding, the zest n' poppy cookies (which my little man loved), some chickpea bombs and have got some almonds soaking tonight in preparation for activating them tomorrow.

 

With Sarah's help I truly believe that I can kick the sugar habit and supercharge my energy levels and my health and hopefully lose some baby weight along the way.  Wish me luck over the next 8 weeks and I promise to keep you up to date with how I'm going and I'll pop in any recipes I feel have been helpful for anyone who wants to join me.  Is anyone else in the process of kicking the sugar habit or has already done so successfully or not so successfully?  I'd love to hear about your experiences.

 

Your balance buddy

XX

The (Over)thinker

Looks like I'm not the only one!!

So I admit it I'm guilty.  Guilty of being one of those people who manages to procrastinate indefinitely by overthinking, overanalyzing and over-complicating.  It's not that I don't want to complete the task, on the contrary, jobs I don't like I usually push through and get them out of the way so that they don't hang around like a monkey on my back.  No the things I put off and off and off are nearly always things that I am excited and passionate about.  Take this blog for example.

 

I love thinking and I love writing.  So writing about what I was thinking about was something that got my heart pumping.  I had plans, big plans.  I was going to write amazing, article like posts that would have the reader thinking and making positive changes to their own lives.  I wanted to offer up something that was well thought through and well researched. 

 

I have a list a mile long of the things I want to write about but the second I start following my mind down  a path I would undoubtedly find more things I should consider putting in my post, more paths to follow and I would need to research them of course to ensure that I was always very factual.  I would tie my own brain up in knots over one simple little blog post.  Guess what happened.  I stopped writing anything because it all got far too hard and I didn't have the time to go and fact check everything little thing I thought about.

 

I know I do this in other parts of my life as well.  The unfinished novel (I had plans to make it a series, big plans), up-cycling old clothing, replanting the garden, personal training, cleaning up our streets, helping out friends.  You name it, I've over-thought it into extinction.

 

Not that I'm suggesting that thinking is a bad thing.  In fact I would say that planning is one of my strong points (I have even worked as a planner.)  I'm great at organizing holidays, planning out a busy week, undertaking projects for various committees, organizing the kids.  When I get the balance right, I am a work of organized art.  The trick as always is getting the balance right.

 

So what to do?  I'm planning on tapping into that wonderful tool we have called gut instinct and trusting that I can do things without over-doing them.  I'm going to learn to seize the moment and just do it, whatever it is and in the process learn to let go of the outcome as the journey is far more important than the destination anyway.  When am I going to start?  I just did.

 

Your balance buddy X

 

Are you an over-thinker?

The Wisdom of Selma

One of my favourite things to do with my kids is to take them to the local library for story time every week.  It's educational, fun, social and like few things these days free.  We made a conscious decision two or so years ago to start stepping away from consumerism and so taking our kids to something like this rather than a play centre, McDonalds or buying them something suits us perfectly.

While at story time last week my little man chose his book to borrow.  I didn't pay much attention to what he picked up until we sat down together later that day to read it.  I was so touched by the simple message of this story that I wanted to share it with you all.  The story is Selma by Jutta Bauer, Gecko Press 1997.  If you are interested in purchasing this book for home you can find it here.  I know I will be getting a copy as the message is one I believe is so important for our children and the illustrations are just beautiful.

Selma

Jutta Bauer

When I just couldn't take it anymore I went to a wise ram....

What is happiness?

Happiness?

Let me tell you the story of Selma....

Once there was a sheep named Selma.

Every morning at sunrise, 

Selma would eat a little grass....

...She would play with her children until lunchtime...

....exercise in the afternoon...

....eat some more grass....

....have a little chat with Mrs. Miller in the evening...

....and finally, fall fast asleep.

Asked what she would do if she had more time, Selma replied...

Well I would eat a little grass at sunrise....

...play with my children until lunchtime...

....exercise in the afternoon...

....eat some more grass....

....have a little chat with Mrs. Miller in the evening...

....and finally, fall fast asleep.

"And if you won a million dollars?" she was asked.

Well I would love to eat a little grass in the morning....

...play with my children...

....exercise in the afternoon...

....eat some more grass....

....have a little chat with Mrs. Miller in the evening...

....and finally, fall fast asleep.

Please I urge you again that if you love this book go and buy it.

Your balance buddy

Renae X

Tap, tap, tap it away

I must admit.  When my sister introduced me to the idea of tapping a little while back I was sceptical.  Very, very sceptical.  The idea that simply tapping on specific areas of your body could magically make your problems disappear to me sounded absolutely ridiculous.  Imagine my surprise then when I found myself signing up for the 2013 Tapping World Summit!! I'm still not sure why I did it but I'm so glad I did.

The ideas behind tapping were originally developed by a psychologist Dr. Roger Callahan to help with some of his clients who were struggling to move through some emotional issues.  He called the process the Callahan technique Thought Field Therapy (TFT.)  He found that a client who had spent a long time with him trying to work through an anxiety issue found themselves much less anxious after only 1 session of TFT.  

The process was then adopted by many more practitioners including Nick Ortner and Jack Canfield and the name was changed to Emotional Freedom Technique or more simply just tapping.  The idea of tapping is that   by tapping specific areas of the body which are based on Traditional Chinese Medicine acupressure or meridian points while talking about the specific issue that is bothering you you are able to reprogram the brain to be less affected by the specific issue.  Proponents of tapping have stated that there is now research that shows that tapping actually affects the brain's amygdala response.  

The amaygdala is the part of the brain that stimulates the fight or flight reaction in response to stressful stimuli.  Normally if there is something in your life that is causing you some grief, thinking about it will light up the amygdala region of the brain putting the body into fight or flight mode.  Apparently researchers found that the process of tapping actually disengages the amygdala while thinking about the stressful stimuli meaning that you are able to effectively reprogram your brain to be less stressed out by the normally stressful situation. To see how tapping is done please watch the below video.

Speakers at the 2013 Tapping World Summit have claimed to have used tapping with clients to help to heal a huge variety of concerns both mental and physical such as guilt, phobias, addictions, fears, physical pain, illness and weight loss.  They believe that all problems have an emotional base and by working through and tapping away that emotion the situation can be improved. 

I have listened to speakers over the last few days talk about using tapping for weight loss, body image issues, self love and ending self sabotaging behaviors and have had my eyes opened to the emotions that hide behind a lot of our issues.  I have tapped away with the speakers and have found that over the last couple of days I have felt calmer and much more centered as I have started to deal with some of the emotions that I had been hiding deep down.

The Tapping World Summit is on until the 13th of March and is free to register.  If you're interested in finding out more about this technique and the different ways that it can be used in your life then join up  here and listen to each day's downloads at a time that suits you.  Just ensure that you watch the introductory video first otherwise you will find yourself a bit lost.  I highly recommend having a look at this after all you have nothing to lose and heaps to gain.  I still have no idea what made me sign up for this summit but I can see tapping having a big impact on my life.

You balance buddy

Renae X

Hung up on housework?

Now where's that kit kat?

So here I am at home exhausted but happy after spending a few days cleaning my home with the energy that has returned with the second trimester of my pregnancy.  Happy I said, more like completely chuffed with myself.  The floors were done, the kitchen fully cleaned out and organised, the furniture was polished, the kid's rooms were spotless and the bathrooms were sparkling.  The house looked amazing for the first time in a long while and I was loving it.

Now let's rewind back and have a look at the last few months when I was completely zonked with early pregnancy and the constant nausea taking it's toll on me.  The house was never a bomb site but it was also never amazing and I felt this everyday as disappointment in myself for not being able to stay as on top of things as I would have liked.  

I found myself often in tears and yelling at my darling boy as he had yet again decided to change our carpet from white to psychadelic with whatever tools he had at hand (wax crayon, fruit juice, playdough, whatever he could get his hands on really.)  I took every attempt from my children to mess with the tidiness of my house as a personal insult and when they really trashed it I felt hopeless defeat for a while.

Seriously who buys white carpet?

Now as I stood there feeling chuffed about my amazingly clean looking abode it occurred to me that I had invested a lot of myself and my self esteem in my ability to keep a tidy home.  It might seem like something reasonably harmless and that heaps of people do but when you stop to think about it it's completely crazy.  I was investing my sense of wellbeing and happiness in something that not only has no affect whatsoever on the fate of mankind (my ruling stick for the import of anything,) but was also totally at the mercy of two children, my energy levels and my schedule.  In hindsight really not that clever.

Buddha amongst his many teachings brought us the idea that human suffering was caused by either attachment or aversion.  Attachment to things that we have or desire and aversion to those things we don't want.  Buddha taught his disciples that to achieve true happiness we need to rid ourselves of our attachments and aversions.  He wasn't suggesting that we never want for anything ever again but that we didn't attach ourselves or our current or future happiness to that desire.

Buddha also taught us about impermanence.  The fact that nothing in this universe including ourselves is here forever and that even the giant mountain of today will be a slightly different mountain tomorrow as it is affected by it's environment so that one day it may be worn away to nothing.  

Understanding the implications of impermanence helps us to let go of our attachments and aversions as we understand that those things that we feel we can't be happy without won't last nor will the happiness that comes with attaining them.  Also those things that we waste energy on hating, wishing away or avoiding will also not last and we can accept that with  time the cause of our aversion or our aversion itself will simply cease to be.

What does this have to do with my housework scenario? Everything.  I had attached myself and my happiness to having to have a clean home.  When my home was clean, I was content with this aspect of myself and would allow myself happiness until as is inevitable this condition for happiness goes away and I am back to denying myself happiness until the condition is restored.

So what to do?  While I don't endorse never cleaning your house again as keeping a clean home helps to ensure a safe and healthy environment for us and our families, I am suggesting that my sense of wellbeing is to no longer be impacted by the condition of having a clean home or not.  Now that I have awareness of my actions I can understand that while my home may not be as clean as I would like, this condition will not last and so I needn't waste my energy and happiness on wishing it to be different.

Gimme, gimme, gimme

I've talked about having a clean home but there are many different ways we display attachments and aversions that will be manifesting themselves in my life and yours.  Do you feel ashamed of yourself when unable to stick to your chosen eating plan and totally pumped when you get it right?  Do you think of yourself as a queen or king when you have achieved that longed for figure/muscle tone and a dog when your body looks different to this ideal?  Is your sense of self love affected by the behavior of your children, state of your bank balance, prestige of your occupation, make of your car?  The list goes on.

My challenge for myself over the next week and I hope you'll join me is to look at those things we have attached our sense of wellbeing to, list them down and then get real with ourselves about the impermanence of these things and the craziness of attaching our happiness to them.  I reiterate again that I am not asking you to stop working on a healthier you or stop working but to understand that these things are not you and you are not them.

Good luck and if you like what you read don't forget to follow my blog by subscribing at the top of this page.

Your balance buddy

Renae X

P.S Is there anything you can think of straight away that you have unknowingly attached yourself to?

Empowering Women with Louise L Hay

Empowering Women

Louise L. Hay

1997, Hodder

Louise L. Hay is a metaphysical lecturer and teacher and the bestselling author of so many amazing books.  She has founded Hay House publishing which publishes masses of personal development and spiritual books and Hay House radio which is an internet based radio show that features radio programs with her most popular authors.  Any one who has decided to start reading about personal growth would have come across Louise at some point.

Louise is infamous for her use of mirror work and affirmations to help people to change their subconscious thoughts and to re-write the negative self talk that we so often have running through our minds.  

Louise describes Empowering women as a book to help women reach their full potential.  She has used all of her tried and true basic methods and added many new ideas to help her on this mission.

Louise starts by taking us through the programming that women have been subjected to in the past and which still haunts us to this day.  By highlighting some of these old beliefs Louise really throws the light on them and enables the reader to understand some of the beliefs that may be holding women back.  Louise also takes some time going through the messages that advertising is sending to modern day women and again throws light on some of these potentially stifling beliefs.

From here we move into the crux of the book which is basically a step by step guide to changing your beliefs and turning your self talk into positive self talk.  As Louise says 

".....my belief is that the thoughts we think, the words we speak, and the beliefs we hold are very powerful.  They shape our experiences and our lives.  It is almost as if every time we think a thought or speak a word, the Universe is listening and responding to us.  So if there is something in our life that we do not, then we have the power to make changes."

Louise doesn't just talk the talk either, every tool that she uses and every thing she teaches us comes from the intense struggle that she has faced from a difficult childhood which included incest and the subsequent course of her life that has taken her from being a "bitter, fearful, poor, negative woman."  To being the positive powerhouse that she is today.

The book talks about parenting to ensure we do not repeat the same conditioning of the past, Creating Your Own Good Health (a specialty subject of Louise's for more info see You Can Heal Your Life), Exploring Sexuality, Sexual Harassment  Getting Older and finishes the book off with book with amazing Australian based resources for women and a recommendation of more books to read on the subject.

Now I know what you're probably thinking.  This book is for man haters or for women who are clearly down trodden by the men in their life and living the old stereo types.  Both simply aren't true.  Louise says quite clearly that lifting up women is not about bringing down men as we have both played a part in getting us to this current situation.  It is also most definitely an eye opening read for all women as some of this conditioning is so ingrained that I think most of us have no idea it's even there.  

This book will make big changes for any woman who is looking to increasing her own self esteem and self belief and is willing to take responsibility for their life where it is right now and go through the tough process of rebuilding their own self talk.  The work is confronting and difficult but if you stick through it you should find that you are rewarded with a life you can be proud of. I'll leave you with the book's last statement to help you decide if it's something you're willing to work for.

"Inside of you is a smart, powerful, dynamic, capable, self-confident, alive, alert, fabulous woman.  Let her come out and play.  The world is waiting for you."

So what do I want?

I have so many ideas on what I want to start working on, what I want to share with you, challenges I want to take it that it can seem a little overwhelming to work out where to start.  I am a believer in the law of attraction which has been in discussion since the beginning of last century and that was made famous in Rhonda Byrne's movie and subsequent book The Secret and so to me it made sense to start with working out exactly what it is that I do want.  Then have a look at what is in my life that is in my life that is not helping to get to where I want to go

There are many ways that you can go about sorting through what it is that you want.  You can write lists, writing specific goals for each item, you can talk about it with a friend or you can work with images.  Working with images is definitely my preferred option as the Law of Attraction states simply that "like attracts like" and so by focusing on positive things you receive positive things and likewise for the negative.  Having visual images of those things that you do want in your life readily visible to you each and every day means that you will be focusing on those positive images continually which will help to bring these things closer to you.

Even if you don't believe in the law of attraction to me it still makes sense to have these visual images close to hand as the more you think about something the more you start to notice things that are linked to it everywhere you go.  Take buying a car for example, once you have started the thought process of buying a new car, you will start to notice more new car advertisements and pay ore attention to what the people around you are driving.  

Another example you could use if you still don't buy into this is to think of the colour yellow.  Now that you're thinking about it you're seeing yellow everywhere.  I bet two seconds ago you would have said that there wasn't much yellow around and now you can't stop finding it.  This I believe is what is at work when I create my vision boards.

A vision board really is nothing more than a collection of images of those things that you want to bring into your life.  Vision boards can take the form of a physical board like my own which is pictured above or you could do an electronic slideshow and have it as your screen saver.  Whatever way you tackle it the important thing is to make sure that it's in a position that means that you will see it as often as possible.

I myself have already successfully used a vision board to manifest the things that I desired into my life.  Things that I wouldn't have even considered possible but which started to manifest almost as soon as I had finished the board.  Through this vision board I was able to get a new home in the countryside, leave my job and study to become a personal trainer, then work as a trainer, start growing my own vegetables and most excitingly of all we were able to take a trip to France and Italy.  I wish I still had a picture of this board as it was powerful stuff!

So what's on my vision board this time around?  Studying yoga teaching, buddhism and ayurveda, a trip to India and a spa, health, laughter, plenty of meditation, healthy food and exercise, healing for both myself and to be able to heal others and to become a writer.  I have no doubt that these things are already on their way to me now.  We will talk more about taking those things out of our lives that don't support these desires in the coming weeks.

So tell me.  Are you keen to try a vision board?  If not what's holding you back?  Don't forget to follow the blog and keep up with what's happening.  You can now like the blog on facebook as well.

Your balance buddy

Renae X

P.S if you still need some convincing in regards to the effectiveness of vision boards why don't you do a search and have a look at the massive amounts of testimonials that come up.

Looking for a bit of weekend reading?

If you're looking for something to read this weekend check out my review on the book My Spiritual Autobiography by the Dalai Lama.

My Spiritual Autobiography

His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Collected by Sofia Stril-Rever

Translated by Charlotte Mandel

Rider, 2011

ISBN 978-1-84604-242-3

Rather than being a blow by blow account of the Dalai Lama's birth to current day My Spirital Autobiography is made up of the various stories, speeches and interviews that the Dalai Lama has given over the years beautifully collated by Sofia-Stril Rever who also adds her own commentary when it is necessary for a clearer understanding.

It breaks the Dalai Lama's life into three sections As a Human Being, As a Buddhist Monk and As the Dalai Lama.  Not only does this logically work in terms of timing i.e. as a human being was the Dalai Lama's time before becoming the Dalai Lama, as a Buddhist Monk being about the Dalai Lama's training as a Buddhist monk and as the Dalai Lama when at the age of 16 the leadership was placed in his hands.  It also presents the Dalai Lama in the very order that he considers himself, a human being first and foremost, then a simple Buddhist monk and lastly as the Dalai Lama.

The Dalai Lama has lived the most fascinating life from his boyhood in rural Tibet, to being discovered to be the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, to his training in Lhasa and then the Chinese occupation and his subsequent fleeing to India where he became the leader of the Tibetans in exile.  After this the book delves into the Tibetans struggle to regain independence, to maintain their national and religious identity and to protect the precious ecology of "The roof of the world." 

The Dalai Lama's representation of the struggle of the Tibetans still in Tibet, the genocide that has occurred and the flagrant flouting of basic human rights that has been committed by the Chinese Communist party is extraordinary and eye opening.

In particular I found to be most compelling his description of the fateful day of March 10, 1959 when thousands of Tibetans spontaneously gathered to form a wall with their bodies around the Dalai Lama's summer residence as the Chinese Army aimed their cannons toward him.  The Dalai Lama made his escape disguised as a soldier in the hope that he could divert a tragedy.  The crowd did not disperse however in the days that followed and on March 17 the Chinese Army attacked and men, women and children all offered their life for their Dalai Lama.  Around ten thousand Tibetans were killed that day.

You cannot help through reading this book to feel compassion for the plight of Tibet and in-credulousness at how the world has allowed this to occur and continue.  You also cannot do anything be be amazed at the compassion that the Dalai Lama holds for the Chinese nation and his patience in trying to bring about a resolution to the solution (he has been plugging away at this for 62 years.) 

His lessons throughout the pages on compassion, humanity, inter-dependence and non-violence are thought-provoking and in some cases life-changing.  This book is informative, interesting and most of all is likely to touch a part of your soul.  I could not recommend this book more highly to anyone who is interested in the Dalai Lama, Tibet, Buddhism and personal development.

I leave you with a poem written by Tenzin Tsendu a poet and freedom fighter on the plight of those Tibetans still fleeing Tibet today.

Slowing threading our way by night and hiding by day, 

In twenty days we reached the snow-covered mountains.
The border was still many days away by foot.
The rocky ground scraped our bodies, bent from effort and pain.
Over our heads a bomber passed
My children shout in terror
And huddled against my chest.
I was so exhausted I felt as if I had no limbs,
But my mind was watchful....
We had to press ahead or we would die on the spot.
One daughter here, one son there,
A baby on my back,
We reached the snowfields.
We climbed up the sides of the monster-like mountains
Whose snowy banks often cover the bodies of travelers who ventured here.
In the midst of these snow-white fields of death,
A pile of frozen corpses
Awoke our wavering courage.
Drops of blood were scattered on the snow.
Soldiers must have crossed their path,In our own country they had fallen into the hands of the Red Dragon.
We pray to the wish-fulfilling Jewel,
Hope in our hearts, prayer on our lips,
We have almost nothing left to eat
And only the ice to quench our thirst,
We climb together, night after night.
But one night, my daughter complained her foot was burning.
She fell and stood up on her frozen leg.
Her skin was tattered and gashed with deep, bleeding cuts,
She curled up, shivering with pain.
The next day both her legs were lost.
Assailed by death on every side,
I was a powerless mother;
"Amala, save my brothers,
I'm going to rest a little."
Until I no longer heard her moans in the distance,
I looked behind me, through my tears and the torture of this pain.
My legs carried me but y mind remained with her.
For a long time afterwards, in exile, I continue to see her
Waving her frozen hands at me.
The oldest of my children, but barely a teenager,
Leaving our country was an ordeal.
Every night I light a butter lamp for her,
And her brothers join me in prayer.

My life out of Balance

On the surface I guess you could say that I'm someone who already has a pretty balanced life.  Like most people I'm good at hiding the ugly truth from the general public so as to present a picture of a happy, healthy and on top of everything person.  I am coming to learn that not only does this do me a disservice as it robs me of the opportunity to live truthfully fully accepting where I am in life right now but it also stops me from asking for help sometimes when it's desperately needed.  

This also does others a disservice as they do not get the opportunity to get to know the real me and they are also robbed of the opportunity to offer me help as people like to have the opportunity to help others where possible.  I know this is the truth for me and I'm sure it is also for many others.  It gives us a lasting sense of inner happiness when we can help ease the suffering of others.  Why let pride get in the way of giving someone that opportunity?

So the ugly truth is that although I seem to lack for nothing, in reality my life is full of some gaping holes.  I lack energy, I lack passion, I lack respect for my true self, I lack time to be present with my children, I lack respect for my own limitations, I lack the ability to ask for help, I lack the ability to maintain a way of eating that fully supports my body, I lack the will to exercise some days even though I love it, somedays I even lack the ability to be happy.  This is not how I want to live my life.

Now before you think OMG here we go this blog is going to be one gigantic whinge fest.  I also have many, many, many wonderful things in my life that I am truly grateful for every day and can always access this gratitude.  I also understand that I really lack for nothing as I already have inside me the ability to have all of these things. 

The purpose of this blog is to track my journey as I tap into my inner abilities to create what I desire in my life and to lose those things that do not serve me.  I hope that in discovering this I can help some of you to do the same for yourselves.  At the very least there will be some kick ass recipes, some interesting challenges and natural living advice that I'm sure everyone can take something from.

So get on board by subscribing on your top right and together lets start accessing our full potential and living our best lives, not our perfect lives but our best lives.

Today's question for you:

What are those things that you feel is missing from your life that you want to uncover?

Your balance buddy

Renae X 

Why balance?

So here I am yet another pilgrim in the search of finding balance in their life.  Why is it that we are perpetually  fascinated with this elusive creature we call balance?

Have you ever felt frustrated that you were working your butt off but getting little joy out of life?  Have you ever felt that once you finish all of your work and commitments that there is just no time left for anything else?  How about doing plenty of reading and thinking about changing your life but never any action?  

All of these statements and so many more that you are probably imagining right now indicate that your life lacks balance and none of the above situations brings about any happiness lasting or otherwise. Hence the age old quest for balance.  

Our bodies are the perfect example of our need for balance and your body is on it's own quest for homeostasis.  On the matter of homeostatis our goods friends at Wikipedia have the following to say:

Human homeostasis is derived from the Greek, homeo or "same", and stasis or "stable" and means remaining stable or remaining the same.^[1]

The human body manages a multitude of highly complex interactions to maintain balance or return systems to functioning within a normal range.....This process is essential to the survival of the person and to our species........An inability to maintain homeostasis may lead to death or a disease, a condition known as homeostatic imbalance.

Our bodies require so many different factors to be in balance to maintain good health such as temperature, blood composition, pressure, volume and sleep and our bodies are constantly in the process of trying to maintain this balance.

As the Law of Correspondence one of 12 universal laws from the book The Light Shall Set You Free (1998) Drs. Milanovich and McCune demonstrates that your inner self reflects your outer world.  So if your inner world is out of balance i.e. lots of negative emotions, too many unhealthy foods, too much on time not enough down time, this will be reflected in your outer world i.e. sickness, disease,unhappiness, loneliness and fatigue.

Age old though it may be (think back to Buddha and his swinging between prince and pauper before finally settling on something in between), I believe our current lifestyle has started to swing so far out of balance that it is both the cause of so much wide spread disease and has sparked this wide spread obsession with balance.

Today's lifestyle tells us that we should have more, be more successful, give more to our children, be more to our children, look after our partner's needs, look after our own needs, be slim, be healthy, be sexy, be always available, exercise more, sleep more, stress less, eat naturally, eat low fat, eat more protein, eat locally, be sustainable add to this the need to balance all of this with our bank balances and it is no wonder we are so confused and unbalanced.  There's just too darn much to think about.

This is why I have decided to devote myself and this blog to finding tools,ideas and methods that will bring our lives into sharper balance and I am more than happy to be the guinea pig for all of you out there in readersville although you are all most welcome to join me if you wish.

My promise to you is that I will endeavor to be as non-judgmental, non-prescriptive and non-getting-up-on-my-high-horse (what that's a word isn't it?) because let's face it, there's nothing worse than somebody else telling you how you should live your own life.

I hope you make the decision to join me in this quest by subscribing to my blog, offering suggestions, giving plenty of feedback and most importantly of all sharing your journey with us.

Today's question for you all is "Where do you think your life is the most out of balance?"  I'll tell you about mine in the next post.

Your balance buddy

Renae X