It's a simple statement.

"think what you think"

But it really captures the key to moving forward on your journey of self discovery and awareness. When we are conscious of what is actually going on in the thing that controls are every waking minute - our mind - we begin to be - a little more still. A little more centred. A little more content. A little happier :-)

The thoughts we think are everything. They are the ever-playing story or 'movie' that is played continually inside our heads. And we don't grab the remote control often enough to turn the volume down - or better still - to change the channel or turn them off altogether.

You know the feeling when the adverts come on in-between a program you are watching on TV. They are loud, intrusive, persuasive and most of the time it's easier to sit there and just watch them - than to turn them off. Often because we are scared we don't want to miss the beginning of the next installment of the episode we are watching.

And then it's 3 hours later, and you are sitting on the couch. Empty. You get up and go to bed.

I now know there's more than just watching the TV episodes of our minds. There's a stillness and contentment that comes with first being aware the thoughts we think.

For example:
If you find yourself getting 'embroiled' in a drama episode in your mind - about how you're going to be late for work because the old lady in the car in front of you is going so slow. STOP. Be aware of the thought. And then ....

Let it go.

You've just removed a negative filter that would collect other negative thoughts and experiences.

Let me now tell you about a negative filter that I had, that caught and attracted all sorts of negative stuff !!

About a week ago, my day started with the bank telling me they werent going to give me the money from a sale of a house I owned..... Just because. NO...they said. Sorry!!! You can't have the money. We're keeping it as security....

Holy F**K I thought. This is the end of the world. What am I going to do? What about all things I have to pay. All the plans I had for the money. GONE.

I jumped in my car, and started driving - only to be stopped by the police for not wearing my seat-belt!!! $150 later - I arrived back home.

My mind was spinning. What about this. Panic, Fear, Self Pity..... you get the drill!

Time to pick up the boys from school.

Load the little-ones into their car seats. Slam the front door. Oh shit... locked the car keys in the house.

Little ones start to cry, and scream.

Gotta rush around to the back of the house to let myself in to get the keys. Why is this all happening to me....????

Running down the stairs.....

Trip....

Over on my ankle.

Searing pain. SCREEEEEAAAAAMMMM.

Almost passed out.

Now what? Kids still screaming.

I ended up just having to surrender to the fact that I couldn't move. I remember at that point thinking - this is crazy. And then laughing out loud.

The drama in my head - had just become an episode of reality in my life. Ending up with me at the hospital and on crutches for a couple of days.

I need to take the crutches back to the hospital - but every time I see them they remind me to ....

Think What I think -

....and make sure it's not negative or drama filled or something I am just watching because it's playing inside my head.

I'll leave that with you for now.
Any negative thoughts - and remember TWUT!!! It'll make you stop and even laugh.

Enjoy the present that comes with turning off the TV in your head - or at least being pretty picky about what you chose to watch.

With Love

Happiness is not getting what you want.
It's wanting what you get.

I was forwarded one of those often irritating emails today by a friend - with a PowerPoint presentation attached called - HappinessJourney. Anyway I had a look and it was pretty cool. Here's an excerpt :-)

We convince ourselves that life will be better once we are married, have a baby, then another.
Then we get frustrated because our children are not old enough, and that all will be well when they are older.

Then we are frustrated because they reach adolescence and we must deal with them. Surely we'll be happier when they grow out of the teen years
We tell ourselves our life will be better when our spouse gets his/her act together, when we have a nicer car, when we can take a vacation, when we finally retire.

The truth is that there is no better time to be happy than right now.

If not, then when?

Your life will always be full of challenges. It is better to admit as much and to decide to be happy in spite of it all.

For the longest time, it seemed that life was about to start. Real life.

But there was always some obstacle along the way, an ordeal to get through, some work to be finished, some time to be given, a bill to be paid. Then life would start.

I finally came to understand that those obstacles were life.

That point of view helped me see that there isn't any road to happiness.
Happiness IS the road.
So, enjoy every moment.

Stop waiting for school to end, for a return to school, to lose ten pounds, to gain ten pounds, for work to begin, to get married, for Friday evening, for Sunday morning, waiting for a new car, for your mortgage to be paid off, for spring, for summer, for fall, for winter, for the first or the fifteenth of the month, for your song to be played on the radio, to die, to be reborn%u2026 before deciding to be happy.

Happiness is a voyage, not a destination.

There is no better time to be happy than%u2026 NOW!
Live and enjoy the moment.

-Author unknown

Another simple truth. Often we hang onto what we have so hard, and then spend a lot of time trying to 'get' even more stuff to hang on to - and call our own. In an effort to feel better, more secure and happier.

I had a little bit of an epiphany the other day, and realised that if I changed my focus from looking at what I could get to what I could give - it makes life feel a lot more relaxed.

I immediately put the idea into practice, and 'gifted' my time and energy that I had spent on helping set-up a new business with a friend of mine, and relinquished the Joint venture approach we were originally pursuing. The result was pretty cool....

In my friend's words.....

"ever since you gifted your time, etc and i gifted you an ebike i've had and given so many gifts!!!! e.g this morning the camp ground just said, no charge for last night, have a great day.... later on I gifted some free stuff to a customer.... the phone rings a minute later with my masterton friends saying they've shouted me to a presentation by an inspiration speaker (as detailed earlier)..... and so on and so on.

yeah.... what can I give, instead of what can I get from this situation... a much nicer way to live "

Another simple thing that we often don't do enough.

GIVE THANKS & BE GRATEFUL

Often when life seems to be 'hard' or not going so well - you can totally change the way you feel about it - by simply - Giving Thanks - for what you already have.

Before you go to bed at night - sit and write down all the things you that you have been grateful for during the day.

Mine last night were:

- An absolutely beautiful day with sunshine, birds, cool breeze....
- Being able to wake up by myself - without being awoken by one or ALL of my three sons :-)
- Our 'Crazy Full Moon Dinner' that we have - you guessed it - every full moon! We start with dessert and end with the main, wear crazy hats, and there are no rules. The boys just love it!
- Speaking to my sister on the phone. It was good to speak to her.
- Planting out a whole lot of veggies in the vegetable patch , and seeing all the ones that have already been planted flourishing.

Often I just give thanks for having a home to live in, a family to be with, food .... simple things that we often all take for granted.

It's amazingly simple.

Just - Say thanks.

Give it a try. When you are aware of your thoughts heading 'south' in a negative direction.

STOP

And smile.
Better still smile at someone else.

Why is it that babies are so beautiful and people so enraptured with them? Because they smile a lot (and cry too!!)

More importantly they show their emotions honestly. They smile - and its hard not to smile back at them.
It's infectious.

The other day I was just walking down the street feeling pretty chilled and content, and then realised that I was smiling.

It was amazing how people reacted to it.

Some smiled back.

Some looked away (what's up with this guy???? They were probably thinking)

Some didnt notice.

The point is this - what we think is what we create in our lives. My feeling happy, showed as a smile - which was reciprocated by a number of smiles back.
Nice!

Simple.

CONTROL.....

Something I know all about. Most of my life has been about trying to control everything around me in an effort to feel more secure, happy or content.

And you know what? It's ridiculous.
I have no right to impose my control on anything or anyone.

The only thing I can control is myself, and how I choose to live my life.

So it's okay to have a messy kitchen, a To-Do list that never gets done, a pile of clothes that just sit there.

Replace it with sitting under a tree with your kids, spending time with yourself - or just doing nothing (i.e. No - Thing)

Let it go. I have.......