The Intuitive Path Blog

A Poem by Rumi

There are two kinds of intelligence: one acquired,
as a child in school memorizes facts and concepts
from books and from what the teacher says,
collecting information from the traditional sciences
as well as from the new sciences.

With such intelligence you rise in the world.
You get ranked ahead or behind others
in regard to your competence in retaining
information. You stroll with this intelligence
in and out of fields of knowledge, getting always more
marks on your preserving tablets.

There is another kind of tablet,
one already completed and preserved inside you.
A spring overflowing its springbox. A freshness
in the center of the chest. This other intelligence
does not turn yellow or stagnate. It's fluid,
and it doesn't move from outside to inside
through the conduits of plumbing-learning.

This second knowing is a fountainhead
from within you, moving out.

-- Version by Coleman Barks
"The Essential Rumi"
HarperSanFrancisco, 1995

Today's Intuitive Self-Care Tip: Start a Night Me Time Routine

After having shared with you my morning me time routine the other day, I now want to encourage you to establish a night me time routine. It is more of a challenge for me as I am a big time morning person, and better with beginnings than with endings. Maybe it's the same for you? As with anything in life, the day has a start and a finish, and it turns out to be that concluding my day with a routine is as important and enjoyable.

Particularly, when our days are extremely busy and we move from task to task and are moved by ideas over ideas, this is essential. We need to make sure at night that we calm down and allow ourselves to truly restore our energies during sleep. If we go to bed all wired and jittery, it will be much harder to sleep well and wake up well rested. One of the recommendations by experts is therefore to turn of any electronics at least one hour before going to bed. Further, it is suggested to leave electronics out of the bedroom completely. There is a challenge for u always-like-to-be-connected folks :-). It makes sense though as the bedroom should be a serene and calming place.

Anyways, here is what my night me time routine looks like:

• Nighttime prayer
• Writing in my journal 3 things that I am thankful for that happened today
• Read a few minutes in my crime story (believe it or not, that's extremely relaxing for me)
• Read a few more minutes in a spiritual book
• If I still feel a bit wired at this point, I use my lavender body spray to calm me down (it really helps)

I would love to hear from you all what your night me time routine looks like. If you do not have one yet, share with us your journey and your experiments with what works best for you.

Enjoy & have a peaceful sleep!

Anja Recommends: The Movie "Last Holiday"

Here it is: I love music, have a weak spot for hip hop, and naturally I had to watch "Last Holiday" with Queen Latifah and LL Cool J when it was on the other night. I actually had different plans for my evening but when I read the movie summary, I was enticed to watch it. Basically, a woman who leads a quiet life in New Orleans one day by accident finds out that she will die in a few weeks. This naturally triggers a lot of pain for her and at the same time liberates her to think about what she wants to do with her precious time left. I will let you know right now that she was misdiagnosed just so that you won't get depressed by this post.

However, the movie raises a very interesting question which I like to address at times with my clients: If you found out that you only had a few weeks or months to live, what would you do?

In Western culture, we tend not to discuss or think about death and dying until we have to - for example, when we or someone we know is facing a serious illness. It is a taboo for many of us because we are naturally afraid of the unknown. The more we allow ourselves to contemplate it, the more we might fill our lives with enriching experiences and let go of the small stuff that bothers us every day. "Last Holiday" is a playful and thoughtful movie on the topic, and naturally with Queen Latifah it is fun to watch at the same time. What better way to spend an evening and be inspired?

Enjoy your day!

Today's Intuitive Self-Care Tip: Start a Morning Me Time Routine

"Morning has broken like the first morning..." ~ Cat Stevens

Working from home I have been tempted many times to walk over from my bedroom straight to the office in the morning. Do you know what I am talking about? Especially during peak times it seems the most logical thing to do. Get right to the task when you get up! However, whenever I do this and skip my beloved morning routine, the day just doesn't go as well. I feel that I skipped a very important part of me arriving into the day after several hours of rest. I get overwhelmed much more quickly, and I don't have as much fun and satisfaction with my work. How about you?

Hopefully, you already have a morning me time routine that energizes you and gets you ready to address the tasks of the day with joy and passion. For the ones of you who haven't done it yet and might also be challenged by the "me-time" phrase, think about how enjoyable it would be to have time by yourself in the morning, even if it's 15 minutes. You know by now, I am all about just doing it, just getting started.

So, let me share how I ease into the day:

* Prayer shortly before sunrise - nothing beats the connection with the Supreme Being right when I wake up

* Journaling with a cup of tea - I go with Julie Cameron's idea of the morning pages, just jot down whatever comes to mind: what I dreamed last night, how I would like the day to go, what worries me at the moment...

* Writing affirmations in my journal - my newest addition to the routine which has shown to be quite powerful the other day to calm my mind from anxious thoughts about work!

* 30 minute walk outside - if you are like me, nature does the trick to relax, energize and attune the whole being to the beauty of this world and my life

I would love to hear what my readers do for their morning me time routine. Please share with us so that we can learn from each other! I know that some people enjoy yoga first thing or meditation. We all need to find our intuitive path for what works best for us and speaks the most to our self-care needs.

Enjoy the process and try the first thing that comes to mind tomorrow morning!

Today's Intuitive Self-Care Tip: Every Body Deserves a Massage

I am just going to assume that all of you have enjoyed a professional massage before, and if you haven't, you are overdue! I find massages extremely relaxing and rejuvenating at the same time. They can be a great piece of your regular self-care routine. If you think that you don't have the resources for it, let me convince you otherwise with just some of the benefits of massage therapy (Source: http://www.massagetherapy.com/learnmore/benefits.php):

• Decreased anxiety.
• Enhanced sleep quality.
• Greater energy.
• Improved concentration.
• Increased circulation.
• Reduced fatigue.

I find that particularly as a solo business owner I can use all the self-care I can get :-). If our body is not in great shape, how are we supposed be present with our clients and produce great results in our businesses? This certainly counts for everybody but in particular for us because we are the greatest asset of our business.

If money still comes up as an objective, than let me share some tips for self-care on a shoestring:

1. Barter your services with a massage therapist (just make sure you find a mutually beneficial agreement)
2. See people in training at massage schools so it will cost less
3. Get a half hour instead of an hour - less is better than nothing!

Don't wait, make an appointment for this week, and enjoy!

Today's Intuitive Self-Care Tip: Fall in Love with Fall

“To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring.” George Santayana

As many of you know, I live in the Northeast of the Unites States, and the seasons here are very pronounced. Maybe you are like me: you love the spring and the summer, the fall and the winter aren’t really your favorite seasons ;-). Especially, when I think of the winter, I am getting cold. This year however, I want to walk on a new path and embrace all the seasons for what they offer to us and how living in alignment with those seasons can bring joy, energy and peace of mind. Well, it’s one of these things: If you can’t change it, you might as well accept it and make the best of it. And now, as there are the first signs of fall, I might as well get ready for it.

 

Contemplating fall, there’s lots of good to say about it, and is what came for me:

    ~ Sitting on the porch in the morning under a blanket taking in the crisp air 

        ~ Putting on warmer slippers in the house

            ~ Sleeping well because the nights are cooler again

                ~ Watching the leaves turn into all kinds of beautiful colors

        ~ Picking up the trees’ fruits from apples to beechnuts

            ~ Eating roasted chestnuts as often as possible

                ~ Appreciating the time of harvest

 

As you are working on your fall offers to the world and get ready for the after-summer opportunities, ask yourself what fall offers to you and your well-being:

• What does fall mean to you?

• What are three things you enjoy the most about fall?

• How can you welcome the change of season and make it your own?

• How does it change your work & social schedule?

• What one action can you take today in preparation of fall?

 

Have a productive & enjoyable day!

Today's Intuitive Self-Care Tip: Play / Play / Play

“The beneficial effects of just a little true play can spread through our lives, actually making us more productive and happier in everything we do.”

Stuart Brown in Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul

It's Friday, and the weekend is just around the corner. You might have lots to do, and even consider taking some of the work into the weekend. As solo business owners, we are always tempted to do more. At the same time, phases of rest are essential! So, remember that it's still summertime and such a great time to play outdoors or indoors! If you feel guilty about it already, watch this TED talk with Stuart Brown in which he explains why play is not a distraction from work or real life but rather a vital and revitalizing part of our life: Stuart Brown on TED.

I won't give you all the research on play because I want you to play instead of read about it. If you want to hear more about the research, you can also listen to my podcast on the topic: The Intuitive Path radio show on Play.

Here my questions to trigger your action:

What kind of play do you enjoy? Is it sports, or playing with pen and paper, or with your children?

What did you enjoy when you were a child?

What makes you feel good and forget about time and anything else?

What can you to today and when?

Remember, if it's 15 minutes or an hour, it all counts. Enjoy!

Today's Intuitive Self-Care Tip: Recharge through Nature

It's a beautiful morning here in Connecticut, and my walk in the park inspired today's intuitive self-care tip: to recharge your batteries and restore your energies through nature's healing powers. I know, some of you will say: That's wonderful but I am so busy today, so much on my plate, and I would love to take a walk in the park but there is no way I have time for this. Well, hear me out - even if it's 5 minutes that you take to go outside, it will do something good for you. If you can stretch it to more than that, even better!

So, take as much time as you can "sacrifice", ideally 20 minutes, and go to a local park or another green place like your backyard, and take in nature to the fullest. Let all your senses enjoy this time of rest you allow yourself:

• Breathe in the fresh air until your nostrils burn ;-)
• Feel the sun on your skin and the breeze around you - and if it rains, enjoy that, too
• Take in the beautiful sounds of nature - the birds, the wind in the trees...
• Admire the green of the trees, their majesty and calming presence
• Sense the environment how it affects you positively

Again, you can do this in 5 minutes, too. Taking care of ourselves is a matter of giving attention to what relaxes and energizes us, and then start incorporating it into your daily busy life. The more you do it, the more you will find the time because you'll see how much it benefits you in all aspects of your life.

ENJOY!

Ladies, Let's Change This Pattern!

… and you will ask, what is she talking about?

I am inspired to write about a pattern that I see in a lot of women including myself. This comes out of a conversation I had earlier today with one of my dearest friends in Germany. She told me about an incident with a guy that told her something very hurtful, and she actually accepted his harshness until she had a physical reaction a few days later. This made me think about a pattern that a lot of us have where we willingly take in any criticism from others because we want to make sure that we are loved and accepted. So, we accommodate whatever they are looking for in order to get what we want. But do we truly get it this way? Is there ever a way to receive self-worth and self-love from the outside? We need to look at the “self” in the equation!

As open as we are to adjusting and answering other people's expectations, as difficult it is for many of us to accept compliments, gratitude, and other gifts from others. Can we only handle the “bad” stuff? Come on, ladies, let’s change this pattern, finally and for good. Decide consciously if you want to receive the critical word from someone, if there is really a ground for it that makes you want to change for the sake of your own conscience and decision. Determine just the same if you want to receive a gift or a compliment based on your own terms. Does it come from the heart? Was it really meant in all honesty? And even if not, maybe you still want to say yes to it at times. Let’s enjoy the good stuff, give it some more weight over the “bad” stuff because most of the time we are already so critical of ourselves as it is. Isn’t this true?

Be gentle, be loving, be true, and you can give all the love and worth you need to yourself and more to others as well!

Thank you for reading and please share your insights,

Anja

Wow! I just watched this very inspiring TED talk by the hotelier Chip Conley about measuring what makes life worthwhile. So interesting and impressive!

http://www.ted.com/talks/chip_conley_measuring_what_makes_life_worthwhile.html?utm_source=newsletter_weekly_2010-06-22

The Fourth Truths of FISH!

Hi Folks,

Sometimes the smallest books can have the greatest impact, maybe because we can actually get through the whole book in a few settings. Or maybe because the simplest messages have so much truth in them. Based on the recommendation of a good friend of mine I picked up Fish! A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results by Stephen C. Lundin, Harry Paul, and John Christensen. My friend mentioned to me that this book was describing the effort of improving morale and the work environment in a company. I found, however, that it is just as applicable to our personal lives.

 Here is one quote from the authors: “There is always a choice about the way you do your work, even if there is not a choice about the work itself.” Isn’t the same thing true for our life in general? Whatever situation we are in, we always have the choice how we deal with it and what we make of it. Do we take it as a stepping stone or a stumbling block? Do we see the blessing in any situation or only the curse? This is the first of the four truths, and let me share with you all four:

1. Choose your attitude
2. Play
3. Engage & make other’s day
4. Be present

 Often times, we don’t feel that we have a choice how to face a situation or experience. Similarly, we can get so serious about life because yes, it is a serious matter but then there is also the part in us that wants to take it lightly, laugh about it and be creative and playful in finding solutions and insights. That’s where the second truth of play comes in which allows us to have a lighter and more creative outlook.

 When life gets too serious and we get too serious about ourselves, we might forget to be there for others because we are focused so much on fixing what’s not going right. I can personally attest to it, and I am also witness of how good it feels to engage others and attempt to make their day better whenever possible. It creates connection, a sense of purpose, and a feeling of moving forward – "even if" it starts with moving another person’s life forward. And many times, it’s the small steps of smiling at a person or holding the door that engage us with each other and lightens up our days – so much for the third truth.

 Last but not least, being present as the four truth enables us to commit to the other truths. Because as long as we are focused on the past or present, we give away the chance to choose our attitude in the moment, play with what occurs in the present, and engage with the people that are around us. Every moment is an opportunity, and if we turn it into something empowering or disempowering is our own choice!

 Ask yourself the following questions which have been inspired by the authors, and I hope they will boost your morale and improve your life results :-):

1. Who do you want to be while you live your life?
2. How could you have more fun and create more energy?
3. Who are the people around you and how can you engage them in a way that will make their day? And how can you make your own day?
4. How can you be more present with yourself and others?

Imagine what it would be like to bring your whole being to every moment in your life. That’s when we flourish and thrive.

Much love,

Anja

 PS: To find out more about the book and the philosophy behind it, check out the website: www.fishphilosophy.com