Together we have had such a powerful impact on the lives of thousands through the funds raised for clean water.

Can you believe there's just over one more week to go?

Today there's a lot to share so be sure to scroll down to the end of this page!

Just remember that even if you haven’t meditated as regularly as you planned, you can always revisit and reset your intention for doing this program and begin again. 

“The greatest of all mistakes is to do nothing because you think you can only do a little.” 

~ Zig Ziglar

If you've been meditating most days (or even ALL DAYS), take a moment and give yourself a serious pat on the back! 

It's a BRILLIANT EFFORT! 

You're well on your way to making this a lifelong habit that's going to support you through life’s many challenges and bring more presence to life’s many joys and delights.

MINDFULNESS FOR GREATER COURAGE

Week three is a good time to talk about living in a more authentic way, where our outer life and actions reflect what matters most to us on the inside. We’ve been practising focusing our attention on physical sensations in the body, the breath, the thoughts, and the feelings, and we’ve heard a lot about what makes our relationships flourish. Acting in alignment with our values can take quite a bit of courage.  

Whether that’s:

• Speaking out when we feel scared or fearful of being judged by others;
• Acknowledging that the work we are doing isn’t aligned with what we truly value and taking the steps to start a new career;
• Ending a relationship that’s not serving us or finding the strength to work on a relationship while it's going through inevitable growing pains; or
• Following a longstanding dream, whether it’s to write a book, sing, perform, or start a new business.

Showing up in the world and living in a way that honours our true selves - our souls - is an important foundation for our happiness and wellbeing.

Mindfulness is a powerful tool that can support greater courage and alignment in our lives, but how? 

Mindfulness teaches us that we don’t have to believe all of our thoughts. This allows us to step out of the prison of our old limiting beliefs and experience new possibilities. We liberate ourselves by becoming more aware of our thoughts and not taking them as “truth” (especially when they’re negative and demotivating - or, as Byron Katie told us on day 6, not taking as gospel the “fake news” the mind often churns out). As Russ Harris told us on day 5 (make sure you listen if you haven’t), the mind isn’t always trying to sabotage - it’s trying to protect us. 

“I often describe the mind as an overly helpful friend. Have you ever had one of those friends that was trying so hard to help they actually got in the way?” 

~ Russ Harris  

For example, if you wanted to start a new business, a thought may arise that sounds like, “I don’t know how to run a business. There’s no way I could make money by following my passion.”

Mindfulness helps us learn how to stay with difficult emotions. Courage isn't the absence of fear - it's the ability to step forward despite the fear. We have to feel the fear and do it anyway! 

As we become more experienced at mindfulness practice, we get better at being able to stay calm amidst the storm of difficult emotions.

Mindfulness helps us build greater confidence and get better at recovering from setbacks with more ease. We become less fearful of failure knowing that we are resilient and can face difficulties with greater strength.

Mindfulness brings us in contact with the truth of the impermanence of everything, including our own life. Getting deeply in touch with this sense of our own mortality makes us more courageous as we realise this is not a dress rehearsal - this is our life.

Time passes quickly and this moment is as good as any to change things and take healthy courageous risks to live in a way that reflects what we really want for ourselves. Time to do something about that unfulfilling relationship or that soul-destroying job and take the brave leaps that are needed to find deeper fulfilment and happiness. 

Mindful Inquiry: 

What area of your life is asking for more courage?

What is the smallest possible action you could take to move towards being more courageous in this area?

How might your lack of courage in this area be protecting you?

What is it protecting you from?

Today is an integration day where you get a chance to catch up, so visit the meditation page and choose your favourite one from this week (or one that you might have missed).