From grumpy carpe diem to happy camper

Today is one of these days that I am extremely grateful for being alive. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s pretty awesome to be alive every single day and stating and appreciating that is actually a part of my daily meditation. However, today was special – for no particular reason. Just an ordinary Saturday except for my mood, which was surprisingly bad for a day without plans, obligations or stress. I woke up way too early after a restless night and after going to bed too late in the first place. I was tired and grumpy!

About two hours after I had dragged myself out of bed I was ready  to hit the couch and call it a day. But for whatever reason I got dressed instead and left the house. At that point the carpe diem voice inside my head seemed pretty determined to make the most out of this day. I decided to just go along as I was too tired (and still grumpy) to fight it anyway. After grocery shopping and a little walk I called my mom to see if she wanted to get some coffee – luckily she did. We had such a good time chatting, giggling and laughing and after our first round of coffee we ordered a round of drinks. I had to be 5 o’clock somewhere at that point What a fun time we had…and on a little side note: love you mom!

After we left the café I wanted to go home, fix some dinner and finally keep my coach some company. But apparently the inner carpe diem brat had other plans again and it seemed to be controlling my car: instead of making the turn leading to my house the car just kept driving – and  I surrendered. And this was when the magic happened. Once I stopped expecting a certain outcome and taking things for granted, openness stepped in and my eyes and soul were able to see and experience each moment fully. Carpe diem me had taken over – completely! Whenever I got to the end of a road I followed my intuition and took the turn that was “pulling” me. My intuitive GPS was taking me to places I didn’t know existed: beautiful houses, scenery and hidden treasures! And the entire time I kept thinking: How in the world is it possible that I never noticed any of this before???

By the end of the day carpe diem me decided it was time to take myself out to dinner. I ended up in a nice (and up to this point also unknown) Brazilian restaurant with a delicious plate of dried cod in palm oil and coconut milk and a caipirinha in front of me, chatting with the Brazilian-Portuguese-African waiter, got a drink on the house after I finished eating and just sat there and enjoyed the music for a little while longer thinking: I am a truly great date Thank you life for proving me that you are  stronger than my moods and that we never know what the day might have in stock for us!

Nothing endures but change – Part II

I’ve been on a journey for a while now. I set out with no specific goal but I had high hopes: hopes of finding myself along the way, hopes of reclaiming ease and joy as my guides and most importantly hopes of reigniting my long-lost passion and zest for life. After about two years of being “on the road” it’s time for a little check-in with myself.

I’ve come a long way already – a way full of ups and downs, joys and sorrows, hopes and fears. And this is the essence of life’s most valuable lesson: We live in a world of change and duality! There is no day without night, no summer without winter and no joy without pain.

We tend to favor the joyous times in our lives, when everything just seems to be easy and falling into place without stress or worries. Of course those are great times but would we really enjoy them as much if we didn’t also know the down side, the “dark times” of struggle in and with life?

Feelings of frustration can actually tell us a great deal about ourselves. When we feel stuck and not at ease with ourselves and our lives our soul is trying to talk to us. Sure we can ignore this little voice and pretend everything is fine and nurture the belief that life is a struggle we need to deal with.

But what if we started talking to the voice and instead of just ignoring its yearning let it be heard and ask questions like:

• What are you trying to tell me?
• What am I not seeing?
• What are you longing for?
• What brings me alive again?

If you allow yourself to be open and honest – not only with your questions but also with your answers – this “dark place of numbness” has the potential to become a source of inspiration and a chance to tap into your hidden potentials and passions. Always keep in mind: Even in the middle of the longest winter, spring is just around the corner!

Treat your numbness, fears, worries or whatever it is with compassion and they can be loyal companions guiding you to a life in ease, purpose and self-determination.

A Cage of Thought / Ein Käfig aus Gedanken

Only a life in freedom is a life well lived!

I’m super thrilled and delighted that my guest article on dogmas and limiting sets of beliefs was published on the German blog “Geist und Gegenwart” today!

You can read the entire article here: http://www.geistundgegenwart.de/2013/03/glaubenssaetze.html

To all my English-speaking readers: Sorry, for now it is available in German only but I am happy to provide translation support

Thank you Gilbert!

——-

Ich freue mich riesig darüber, dass mein Gastartikel zum Thema Glaubenssätze heute auf Geist und Gegenwart veröffentlicht wurde!

Den kompletten Artikel gibt es hier zu lesen:

http://www.geistundgegenwart.de/2013/03/glaubenssaetze.html

Vielen lieben Dank Gilbert!

The cage is the limit

Polly the Parrot is quite a jolly fella. Colorful and chatty she is roaming her cage day in, day out. By doing what comes natural to her and what she knows best [parroting] she brings joy and entertainment to her “owner” Paul. Little does Paul know that in theory he is entertaining himself because after all Polly is just repeating whatever he says – but that’s a different story.

Besides her repetitive qualities Polly has another ace up her sleeve: her great memory. This allows her to memorize all of Paul’s favorite words and phrases so she can recite them without even being asked for it. Quite an impressive parrot super power in Paul’s eyes, bringing him even more delight and joy.

Polly is a clever and quick learner so it didn’t take long for her to figure out that parroting pays off either way! Praise and attention are a given…but an outstanding performance is sometimes even rewarded with an extra treat. “Good job Polly! You’re a truly great parrot!”

Polly never questions any of this. Why would she? After all she’s a parrot and this is what she knows: Repeat what others tell you and it will result in praise, admiration and food. That’s what a parrot’s life is all about.

But what if Polly woke up one day realizing that her (self-)constructed identity was nothing but a mere illusion? She could just take notice of it, ponder for a second and then go on with her daily routine of pleasing Paul in exchange for attention and food…

Polly’s choice is a different one though – she takes a stand for courage and steps into her power. Settling for ordinary mediocrity is no longer an option! So she spreads her wings, breaks the cage of limits and parrot beliefs and finally lives up to what her soul has already been telling her for a while: I’M AN EAGLE!

The true nature of man is the one of the eagle, hovering without limits between heaven and earth [...] But most people have turned into parrots. They sit in their cages unable to fly and repeat what they have been taught for the simple reason of  being liked and fed.” ~ Matt Galan.

Of ducks and driftwood

This post was inspired by the two little fellas to the left. The other day I was going for a walk along the river, which I usually do to organize my thoughts when I have a million things on my mind. While I was taking my stroll I noticed two little ducks in the water so I stopped and watched them for a bit. Although I’m not an expert on the mating habits of ducks, I am pretty sure this was the duck version of a couple – male and female. Lets call them Donald and Daisy for simplification purposes.

Daisy was swimming close to the shore pretty chill and content, whereas Donald seemed to crave the excitement. The shore wasn’t enough for him so he kept paddling into deeper waters and at times was too far away from Daisy for her to even see him. But Daisy didn’t care. She kept doing her thing and explored the shore in her own time. Turns out there was no need to worry for her because Donald kept coming back at all times. And after each return they kept swimming together for a certain distance until they parted again until reuniting…

Why is it so hard for humans to do the same in a relationship? Once we fall in love with someone we come to think that we need to be physically and mentally close to each other at all times. As soon as a distance emerges between us we start questioning the whole relationship. In situations like that life tends to send us temptations – I call them “life’s special offers” – they usually appear out of the blue and would provide an easy fix for our problem at hand. Many people love sales and special offers so they go for it. After a while they realize that there was a reason for the bargain prize: bad quality, limited durability or it breaks right away…They regret the “purchase” and want to return the “item” but usually the warranty is up so they are either stuck with the faulty person item or without it because they disposed it right away. And this is when most people start regretting quick fixes and previous impulsive decisions.

I think we can learn a lot from the two little ducks: Even if one of them maneuvers the waters much quicker, it would never leave the other one for a faster piece of driftwood. They trust that the other one will catch up at some point and enjoy the times when they swim side by side. And this is what people should do as well…instead of fussing about the differences and problems there might be in a relationship, the focus should be on similarities and trust. We put so much energy into “making things right” again according to our own definition and before we know it our ego and inner control freak is turning our relationship life into a living hell. If we’d just have more trust in life and would let go of the things that are not controllable anyway, we’d be much more peaceful and could save our energy for relevant and changeable visions and missions. Just because our pace of life doesn’t always go hand in hand we can still have a good foundation to build on. And when the time is right, our pace will come together again and we can enjoy a swim together… Two people will never have the same heartbeat…they can still dance to some groovy beats!

If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away. Henry David Thoreau

A little request…

about something I care about. 12/12/12 is a very special and significant day. The world is changing and energies are shifting. At 7:30 am EST (New York time) which is 1:30 pm in Germany there will be a 30 minute worldwide guided meditation to “heal the world”. A second shift will take place at 9:30 pm EST. Please check the official website for more information and your local time: http://www.theworldshift.com

Or watch the video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3boqddWaF1g&feature=youtube_gdata_player

This is important and a chance for all of us to make the change we want to see in the world! Please share and participate if you can!

Namaste!

Untitled…

…for a good reason: I don’t like labels. Never have and never will because I find them limiting and restrictive.
But a lot of people love labels and seem to be walking around with invisible label makers at all times – an easy and comfortable solution. Once something is labeled our mind takes a break, goes on auto-pilot and brings up associations based on previous experiences with that label. As a result
people are stuck with predefined perceptions and experiences. A safe and predictable but also limiting way of experiencing the world.

We all have a choice; mine is to keep my mind and imagination active and infinite. And that’s why I love untitled pieces of art!

To see we must forget the name of the thing we are looking at.
- Claude Monet