Tag: helen williams

On Time

On Time

helenmindfulme

In preparation for our next Mindful Living workshop on the topic “Our Relationship with Time”, I’ve been fascinated by the replies I’ve received when asking people what the word ‘time’ brings up for them. Here are some of their statements:

  • There’s never enough time 
  • Too much time to think scares me
  • It’s really wrong to be late
  • Killing time is a problem for me
  • Time heals, doesn’t it?
  • Time flies too fast
  • Wasting time is my biggest anxiety
  • Time passes more quickly as I get older

I’m greatly looking forward to our conversations during the workshop and would encourage you to ponder for yourself what your perceptions and beliefs about time are, where in your conditioning they have come from, and how your perception of time impacts your daily life? Come and share in this ‘time’ with us and bring your sentences with you!

Contact us to book your space at this workshop as numbers are limited. info@mindfulme.me or whatsapp on +971 54 466 8400
Sunday 12 November from 7pm – 9pm
Hosted venue in TECOM, Dubai

October Journaling Prompts

Cindy Stocken

Raising Conscious Energy

Raising Conscious Energy

helenmindfulme
by Helen Williams

Our conscious awareness is what we bring to our attitude toward life – our consciousness of the energy flowing within us is not about what we are thinking, but rather about the vibration of our emotional charge.  As we learn to notice the energy that is flowing in, around and through us, we come to see that we can participate in consciously raising our own energy awareness – practicing being present to the moment, noticing when our energy dips, watching the emotional charge our thoughts are creating, attuning ourselves to awareness of how we want to feel.

Another word for mindfulness is conscious awareness – the level of awake awareness you bring to the different facets of daily living.  Did you know that it’s not your thoughts that attract to you what you want, but the level of your energy?  Are you aware that your subconscious mind is about 95% of your energy and that if this energy is low and dense, then that’s your emotional charge?  You do have the ability to make a change with this, however.

It’s easier to think about it this way – what do I want to feel like?  Energised, present, focused, clear, peaceful, joyful, content?  Now there’s a good recipe! So how to do that?

Mindfulness is about noticing what is here right now, allowing the thoughts and feelings to be present without engaging in the stories about them, choosing to focus on the energy that is already here, aligning ourselves with intention toward our highest best.  Remind yourself to attune to the emotional energy state of what you want, not on what you don’t want.  See if you can focus on how you would like to feel, and then notice how you are feeling.  Is there a difference?

Energy is about vibration – that’s about the emotional charge that you bring to your life – cultivating the energy of what you actually want for yourself is like watering the seeds of future growth and possibility.  Allowing what is, accepting this moment and all that it brings and meeting it with clear intention and without judgement or expectation will enable you to raise your conscious energy vibration.  You will know this is happening because you will feel it.  Energised, present, focused and clear.

Come and enjoy our Mindful Living workshops where we discuss many different aspects of mindful awareness and the cultivation of conscious energy.  You’ll be most welcome. Click here to register.

20 Journaling Prompts – September

Cindy Stocken

Anger & Fear

Anger & Fear

helenmindfulme
By Helen Williams

We are often asked to teach workshops on anger management for people who struggle with the explosiveness and impulsivity of their angry reactions to daily events in their lives. For many people, anger is their “go to” emotion, the emotion that arises first, has the loudest voice and is their default reaction, and people are desperate to learn ways to manage, modify, control, change and redirect their rage.  In the heat of the moment, flipping into anger can destroy relationships, jobs, opportunities and even lives as some of you well know.

It may surprise you to know that I have never run an anger management workshop in all the years I’ve been teaching courses, classes and workshops on aspects of Personal and Self Development, Mindfulness and Authentic Living! Interestingly, I’m not going to run one now either because rather than learning to manage anger, the focus of our upcoming Mindful Living Workshop will be on understanding why anger has become our default setting, what lies beneath this noisy emotion, and how fear plays a pivotal role in anger’s explosions.   We’ll also look at how anger can go underground for some people and become a deep ice-cold sense of repressed feelings.

Come along prepared to share some of your anger experiences, hear from others about theirs, and participate together in new and different ways of tackling anger and fear in your daily life.

We look forward to welcoming you to this thought-provoking, stimulating and informative evening which is run as part of our fortnightly series of Mindful Living. Contact us to register and join us!

The Simplicity of Mindfulness Practice

The Simplicity of Mindfulness Practice

helenmindfulme
By Helen Williams

Mindfulness helps us to pay attention to our thoughts, to the impulses that come from them.

In our daily lives we are learning to notice what our thoughts are creating. For example, when we become aware that our work is difficult we can notice our thinking becomes “I’m going to stop now because this is too hard” and if we just observe that thought is becomes, “Oh my thinking is pushing me to stop what I’m doing because it’s hard”.  We don’t have to obey the impulse to stop working. We can simply notice that is what our thinking is doing, take some steady mindful breaths and quietly, with awareness, make a choice about following the impulse, or not.

A few moments of focussed quiet awareness can be all it takes for us to choose to continue to push through, mastering a difficult moment instead of giving in to it.

It’s like learning to disobey ourselves!! It’s such a simple act of clarity, insight and freedom! Have you ever stopped to see it like that? You are not your thoughts.  You don’t have to obey the voice of self-sabotage, of taking the easy way out.  Instead, harness the power of inner awareness and disobey your thoughts!

Wonderful outcomes can occur from the simplicity of this insight.

Self-Reflection

Self-Reflection

helenmindfulme
by Helen Williams

Who do you see when you look in the mirror?

Who are you looking at?

Who is looking back at you?

Who are you looking for?

On some level or another, all of us are seeking ourselves whether we know it or not.

We all have beliefs, ideas, thoughts and attitudes which govern our thinking, our knowing and our living. Changing our thinking, our long held beliefs can dramatically change our daily lives.

Try looking at it this way…..

“We live in a house of mirrors, and think we are looking out the windows”

Fritz Perls

Take a moment to think about what this sentence on self-reflection means for you.

It is talking about how we perceive ourselves and our surroundings – how we fail to see that life reflects us back to ourselves. Because we keep on looking out the windows, many of us take forever to realize that we are looking at ourselves mirrored back to us by others and by the events of our life.

If we see that our negative feelings towards others are reflecting back to ourselves our own sense of negativity then we can do something to help ourselves forward. By continuously looking out the window and putting the ‘blame’ on others we fail to utilize all the power in the moment.

Changing our perception of the problem by seeing the reality as it is reflected by us and to us, brings empowerment, change, discovery and consciousness.

As we learn to look for that reflection in the mirror rather than to project our senses outwards we gain a sense of responsibility for our own lives. Our authentic self begins to shine through.

This journey towards authenticity is not for the faint hearted! There are monsters hiding around every corner and they are mostly the monsters of our own making – our egoic self and all its responses to our lived experiences. A sense of authenticity is one of our deepest psychological needs, and people are hungrier for it than ever. Even so, being true to oneself is not for the faint of heart. Join us in courageously connecting with our authentic selves in our Authentic Living course on Thursday mornings.

 

“Who we are looking for is who is looking”

Francis of Assisi

Marathons, Mindfulness and Love

Marathons, Mindfulness and Love

helenmindfulme
by Helen Williams

Recently I spent several days exploring the absolute beauty of the city of Prague, walking the old streets, attending recitals and concerts in the stunning beauty of historic churches and cathedrals, and enjoying excellent and abundant food!  However, what actually moved me to tears and encourages me now to write was the lived experience of ‘stumbling’ by accident upon thousands of runners participating in the Prague Marathon.

I stopped to watch and simply couldn’t tear myself away.  Found myself moved to tears and wondered why?  I don’t run!!  Not even to the nearest lamp post!  And yet here I was completely absorbed by the energy of it all, watching these runners labouring hard, intent on their next step, aware of their bodies, the noticeable pain on some faces, their heaving chests and sweating bodies, all present in the moment.

I wandered on and found myself at the 32 km mark, hordes of people cheering, yelling, clapping and encouraging the runners – multitudes of languages spoken, but all in the language of enthusiasm, support, caring and encouragement.

And then it struck me!  I am feeling so deeply touched by all the caring that surrounds me on all sides.  People sending loving, considered encouragement to each other, all at one with the purpose in front of them – to run their best for themselves and for their teams.

Such a spirit of unity and connectedness is deeply moving to be a part of.  I stood there for nearly 2 hours and enjoyed every moment of it.

This is Mindful awareness at its best.

Mindfulness is Heartfulness

Mindfulness is Heartfulness

helenmindfulme

by Helen Williams

I love this drawing! I love how it shows the brain leaping into the arms of the waiting heart. I love how it shows the heart, anchored to the trapeze bar with arms outstretched, welcoming the thinking mind. In my experience this is what the essence of Mindfulness Practice brings us.

People often speak of not having the courage to trust themselves, of a deep fear and distrust towards their own selves. Yet on the deepest level of our being, we are driven by a yearning to be known. To be able to leap into the warm, welcoming open arms of a waiting heart and to feel safe, wanted, to know that we belong, we matter, that we can be held.

Mindfulness Practice, through the use of attention to our breath and the present moment, allows us to begin this slow, gentle, persistent journey into our own waiting heart. As we learn over time to open into ourselves, to experience our inner knowing, and to accept ourselves as we are, we realize we are not our thoughts. We are wholehearted, open, wise, knowing awareness, centred within our heart. With Mindfulness, we begin this journey of self trust, of coming home to the heart of ourselves.

It takes practice, patience, determination and community, to help us connect to ourselves and to each other fearlessly, but many wonderful people have told me over the years that practicing mindfulness has completely changed their lives and the image above explains how perfectly. The understanding that I am not my thoughts has helped them to leap into a new experience of the heart of themselves, bringing a calmer perspective to their daily lives. In the beginning, it can feel every bit as risky as swinging off a trapeze, yet learning to accept ourselves as we are, answers our deepest longing to be known. At Mindful ME we don’t offer lessons in trapeze artistry!! We do, however, offer a sincere, openhearted community and a very warm welcome to come exploring Mindfulness with us.

Expore Mindfulness Practice with Helen on Monday nights from 7pm – 9pm. Contact us to register or for more information.