April 2012
33 posts
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Why Einstein is the gift that keeps on giving
I find it fascinating that, more than 50 years after his death, Einstein is still the name we associate with genius. I’m sure this is partly because no one has disproved his theory of relativity but also because he was a very different kind of scientist to the largely reductionist types we see today. In fact, he thought of himself as religious.
Reading some of his quotes this morning I...
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I'm packing away that rod I made for my own back
I spend a good portion of my time telling other people to be kind to themselves, but rarely take my own medicine - especially when it comes to fulfilling my sacred schedule of writing a blog post every day.
I’ve come to realise that, having made a rod for my own back that has beaten me so effectively I often end up with a lot of tension in my neck and shoulders, something’s got to...
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Plug in to wisdom and surf the web of life
I’ve just returned from an entertaining and enlightening day in the presence of authors/coaches/inspirational speakers Robert Holden and Michael Neill.
Among the many nuggets they shared with us was the following metaphor. If you were given the choice of a sophisticated computer with a huge hard drive that wasn’t connected to the Internet or a sleek laptop with a fast broadband...
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Embrace your beautiful imperfection
I’ve had the honour of being part of three really special, authentic conversations today, and one theme that has recurred in these conversations has been that of self-acceptance.
In my experience, the path to the authentic self can only be followed by accepting all of your other selves first - the ones you identify with, the ones you reject, the ones you project and the ones you disown.
...
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Why it's the perfect time for women to shine
This morning I experienced another serendipitous moment when I happened upon the concept of the solar feminine. I’ve been interested in mythology and astrology for years and hadn’t come across this before - after all, the sun is traditionally viewed as masculine and the moon feminine.
So what does it mean? According to a quick Google search, the solar feminine is “creative,...
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Perhaps we should let joy be unconfined
You are carrying the accumulated joy of centuries. Setting aside for a moment what your logical mind makes of this, what if it were true? What if, rather than shouldering many generations-worth of pain and suffering, you have within you the joy passed down from your ancestors?
It’s an intriguing story. And if it were true, what if you lived your whole life without connecting with this joy...
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Give me a break, I'm about to go diving for...
Such are the demands of a sacred schedule that on some days I have to start writing a post without knowing what I’m going to write about. Today is such a day.
I’m usually brimming with ideas, or something I’ve read or heard will inspire me, but today I am feeling weary because of all the activity that is going on inside. That’s what happens to me when I’m about to...
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Let's do the time warp again...
I just can’t find the time. I don’t know where the time goes. Time seems to be speeding up. I hear these statements all the time, spoken by friends, family, colleagues, clients and often myself.
But in my experience, your perspective of time can change according to what you are doing and how you are feeling. Time is the province of the logical brain. But once you become lost in the...
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Come into the light, why don't you...
My sacred schedule dictates that I must write a daily post. It’s late because I’ve been at an all-day gathering of like-minded souls who are on a similar path.
We learned a lot about ourselves today; my discovery was that there is a part of me that feels the need to get the answer right and another part that likes to be right all the time. There is a difference.
The part that needs...
“It is necessary to write, if the days are not to slip emptily by. How else,...”
– Vita Sackville-West
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The importance of making a sacred schedule
On January 1, 2012 I made a rod for my own back. And just for this post, I’m not going to investigate that metaphor (although I could ask, what rod is that rod?). That rod was, in fact, the resolution that I would write one post for every day of the year.
I have managed to stick to that resolution - even when I was suffering from food poisoning - and only on a couple of occasions have I...
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What's your metaphor for life?
I’m on a roll now, playing with metaphors like a kid in a candy store. Except “kid in a candy store” is such a cliched metaphor I can’t believe I just wrote it.
Today’s game is one you can play at home. What is your metaphor for life? Here are some examples:
Life’s a bitch. Life’s a ball. Life is what you make it. Life is an adventure. Life is an...
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There's no such thing as an ordinary life
I’m not often excited by the announcement of a television programme, but this one is different. This one is the latest instalment of a brilliant documentary series that started way back in 1964 and has been broadcast only once every seven years.
It is now known as The Up Series, starting with Seven Up!, which introduced the 14 British children who would be filmed every seven years of...
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How the story of my love was told, over and over...
I mentioned in last Saturday’s post that if you Google me, the first listing is a link to an article I wrote for the Sunday Express in 2009, which tells the story of how I met my future husband - when I was 50 and he was 29. To celebrate our second wedding anniversary, I’m going to tell you the story behind the story.
I was in the office at the Sunday Express, doing that girly...
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The dangers of believing you're a consumer
This morning I walked past a shop selling the kind of clothes that I like. A sign in the window was advertising a 50 per cent off sale. I was tempted. In fact, if the window display had featured something that caught my eye, I may have gone straight in.
But the fact that it didn’t meant I paused, and thought better of it. I don’t need any new clothes. In fact, my husband has...
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A masterclass in trusting your gut feeling
I don’t watch much TV these days but I decided to watch The Voice because it is based on talented singers performing for experienced coaches rather than judges, so there is none of the ritual humiliation of certain other series. I got the impression that the coaches - Will.i.am, Tom Jones, Jessie J and Danny O’Donoghue - were genuinely looking for and responding to authenticity.
If...
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What story is Google telling about you?
Have you Googled yourself recently? If not I advise you to do so. Because whether you like it or not, the ubiquitous search engine is telling a story about you - and it might not be the one you want to tell about yourself.
If you’ve got a common name you’ll be able to hide in plain sight but I don’t have that luxury. Not only do I have an unusual name (I’ve yet to find...
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Life is good. But I didn't always tell that story
The sun is shining, I’ve been on a few errands, I’ve not been glued to Twitter/Facebook/a computer screen all morning and I’ve had a lovely lunch with my husband at our favourite local restaurant. And in an hour I’m going for a massage at my local spa.
Life is good. That’s the story I’m telling myself today, and indeed the story I tell myself on most days. It...
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Who would you be without your story?
There’s an old Buddhist proverb that says when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. I have found this to be true so many times in my life, especially in those moments when serendipity intervenes and I seem to stumble upon just the right book, the perfect website or a new contact who points me in an inspiring direction.
It’s appropriate that the proverb is a Buddhist one...
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If women don't want to be judged, they must stop...
I’ve been reading a lot of stories about women in the past week. And I’m saddened that, even now, in the 21st century and after many years of feminism and equal rights, women are still judged on appearance.
In an age of instant communication the rush to judgment has intensified. There are many “news” websites and magazines that specialise in celebrities’ perceived...
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Who are you? The answer will shape your reality
Yesterday I was searching for inspiring quotes to put on my Pinterest board and found one that said: “I am. Two of the most powerful words. For what you put after them shapes your reality.”
This reminded me of an exercise I did years ago while training to be an NLP practitioner. It was quite simple: you can try it at home with a friend. Sit next to each other, one close enough to be...
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What's your Easter message - life or death?
Easter - what’s that all about? It moves around every year and can’t decide whether it’s about Jesus or fluffy bunnies or chocolate eggs or just a nice long weekend at the beginning of spring.
But hidden within this seemingly unconnected symbolism is a consistent message, which is about binding ourselves to the cycle of nature - the renewal of life after the dark of winter....
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What's in a name? A story of self-acceptance
I look in the mirror and see my face, my eyes. It’s surprisingly uncomfortable. I speak the name: “Beverley.” But before I can go any further a thought pops into my head. “Why do those three syllables always sound like an order? Why does that name always make me stand to attention and assume the guilt position?”
Beverley. It looks harmless enough when written down....
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The day I found treasure in the clutter
I spent the whole of Good Friday crawling around on my hands and knees, clearing out the stuff we had accumulated in the loft. When my husband (then boyfriend) moved into my small flat four years ago, some of his stuff and what seemed half my life had to be moved into the space above our bedroom.
It has stayed there, unloved and ignored, ever since - partly because we never got round to sorting...
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Why I make the most of every day
Three years ago today, I lost one of my best friends to cancer. We had known each other for more than 25 years and shared many adventures together. We supported each other when we were down and applauded each other when we were up.
She died a week before her 52nd birthday. A year later, when I was 53, I got married for the first time - on what would have been her 53rd birthday. At the reception,...
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Writing to heal: how to be a proper journalist
I’m a passionate advocate of writing to heal. And as journalist of some 30-odd years (some of them very odd), I am naturally drawn to the practice of journaling. It’s a simple healing tool that can reduce stress, liberate you from limiting self-beliefs and even give your life new meaning.
Research has found that writing about painful experiences boosts the immune system, reduces trips to...
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All in all it's just another Brick in the wall...
Regular readers will know that I’m a journalist as well as a coach, and therefore I keep tabs on what’s going on in the newspaper world. I try to maintain a distance from the worst excesses of the tabloid press but I still get sucked in by the seductive pull of Mail Online, the rampantly popular “news” website.
I say “news” because much of the content of the...
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Why we must listen to the wisdom of elders...
For centuries we respected the wisdom of elders. We listened to their stories and learned from them. Sadly, in recent times, the cult of youth has dominated our culture to such an extent that the old are often ignored, hidden away, disrespected and marginalised.
That’s why I was heartened and inspired when I discovered the Legacy Project: Lessons for Living from the Wisest Americans,...
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How life can change in the flick of a horse's...
Yesterday, I took another step towards turning my wounds into wisdom. It might seem strange, but after touching on an intensely personal story about my father’s devastating stroke, I now feel more alive. On the way to a family get-together, I visualised a jack-in-the-box that had finally been let out, exploding into the air with a smile on its face.
I decided to show my mother what I had...
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How I let myself become an April Fool...
Yes, it’s April Fools’ Day but this post is no joke. As April 1 falls on a Sunday this year, I am marking - rather than celebrating - a defining event. For today is the 39th anniversary of the day - Sunday April 1, 1973 - that my lovely dad had a devastating stroke, when he was only 46 years old.
While I am not going tell the story of that event right now, suffice to say it changed...
