The Intuitive Path Blog

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!

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

Intuitive Self-Care

Hello Everyone,

I case you missed hearing from me through my blog or my radio show, I am back in the game. My own intuitive path brought me to a time of reflection and retreat as I noticed that my message as a coach needed some new life and juice. I was able to take some time off to spend with family and friends, and it gave me time to think about my priorities in life and how I need to change course with some things. I set the intention to bring more attention, beauty and love into my life, and I strongly hope for the opportunity to share this with you as well.

How are we able to bring more attention, beauty and love into our lives? For me, I came to understand that I needed to focus more being in the present and to enjoy every moment that is given to me as a chance to grow and let go of fears and doubts about myself and my future. This is an every day exercise that I am not always good at but by focusing on it I get so much better at it ;-).

Simultaneously, I asked myself how I could give the greatest contribution to you as my readers, listeners and clients. So, the importance of self-care and self-love presented itself to me in conversations with friends and colleagues who have been so absorbed with their work that the rest of life had taken a complete back seat. I know how this feels, and I am very thankful for the time I had to step away from work. And now, I wish to share with you and help you in figuring out how to take better care of yourself so that life and work are enjoyable and energizing again instead of draining and uninspiring. We all need time away from work and we all need to satisfy other parts of our being though in challenging times like the ones we had lately, we tend to let go of self-care. I want to bring you back to what self-care means for you, what activities or non-activities, what your intuition is telling you about your needs at this point in time.

Please share with me and the other readers what intuitive self-care means for you. I welcome your comments and your general feedback about this new direction I am taking which I hope to present in this blog, on my radio show and in other venues.

Peace,

Anja

Next Intuitive Path Radio Show Tomorrow about Play

Hello Players of the Game of Life,

We are continuing our happiness booster series in the next episode of the Intuitive Path Radio Show tomorrow, Wednesday March 31, at 2:00 pm EST. One of the happiness boosters is to focus on positive experiences rather than things, and I particularly want to focus on play in this episode. I will discuss some surprising and very significant facts about play which the author Stuart Brown discusses in his book "Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul." Get ready to make more room for play in your life, and learn why playful activities not only bring joy but also success and more.

I hope very much that you will be able to join me, and share your comments and questions. I have been opening up the lines, and find the interaction with my listeners very enriching and enjoyable. Here is the link to the episode: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/theintuitivepath/2010/03/31/happiness-booster-series-why-play-deserves-more-room-in-our-lives

Love,

Anja

Happiness Booster Series: Wonderful Resources for Meditation

Dear Pathfinders,

As part of the happiness booster series that I started recently, meditation and prayer were one of the boosters mentioned. And meditation certainly has been the buzz word for a quite a while, and more and more studies show the great benefits for our overall well-being. I have been meaning to write about this topic, and then, as it happens so often in coaching, one of my lovely clients brought the topic up in our last session. Apparently, it was the right time to talk about meditation and share some resources with you here and now.

So, what came up for me first was that everyone talks about meditation and many of us practice it already but what does meditation actually mean? And what form do you practice? Are you aware that there are many different ways of meditating and as someone said to me recently, it's more about the state than about a particular form of activity? For me, essentially meditation is about bringing us back into the here and now as I personally tend to be all over the place - in the past or the future, outside while I am at my desk, on one task while I am thinking of another... Do you feel me?

In my typical research kind of mind, I looked at different definitions on meditation, and I thought that Deepak Chopra said it so well, that I wanted to share his with you: "Meditation is a tool for the re-discovery of body's own inner intelligence. Practiced for thousands of years, it's not about forcing the mind to be quiet, it's finding the silence that's already there and making it a part of your life. Silence is the birthplace of happiness, creativity and infinite possibilities. From this field of pure potentiality we get our bursts of inspiration, our most intuitive thoughts, and our deepest sense of connection to the Universe. Practicing meditation on a daily basis allows you to weave silence and stillness into your mind and body to create a life of greater compassion and fulfillment. Meditation is a journey to the center of our very being; a journey to emotional freedom; and a journey to the reawakening of our unconditioned self."

With all these benefits and enjoyments of meditation in mind, let me rekindle the fire and offer you some wonderful resources that I like to use and that I am very grateful to the "authors" for. Some of you I am sure are very consistent and committed to your meditative practice. Many of us though might have fallen off the horse, tried one or two forms out, and then decided it wasn't for them. Wherever you are in your practice, there is always more to explore and try in this wonderful world. So, here is my list for you, and invite comments and contributions from any of you to add to this:

http://www.soundstrue.com/guide/meditation/#state_twenty_one_exercises – New guide to meditation by Sounds True, the spiritual growth publisher

http://life.gaiam.com/gaiam/p/Gaiam-Life-Meditation-Rooms.html - Natural sounds and images, beautiful and so relaxing by Gaiam, the eco online store

http://www.myinnerworld.com - Playful website by Michele Bernhardt, an intuitive healer, with lovely graphics and beautiful meditations

http://www.chopra.com/library - A variety of relaxing and calming guided meditations by the Chopra Center

Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy...

Anja

Happiness Booster Series: Finding Flow Every Day

Good evening friends & fans,

Yesterday in the Intuitive Path radio show I discussed the concept of flow and how we can invite flow more into our every day lives. I introduced one of the main experts on "flow", Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi ("cheek-sent-me-high-ee"). According to his definition, when we are in the flow or in the zone it is a state of great absorption, engagement, fulfillment, and skill. I am sure you can already think of some activities that evoke flow in you, and I encourage you as I did the listeners yesterday to think about activities that move you into this state. Further, reflect upon what benefits you do see in your life when experiencing flow on a daily basis? And what are your challenges in getting into your flow or spending time on these particular activities?

These are such some key elements of the show but that was certainly not all. So, I encourage you to listen to this episode to learn more. As always, any past episodes are available through the player on this site. Alternatively, you can go to the radio site to listen or download the episodes from there: www.blogtalkradio.com/theintuitivepath. I invite you all to send me suggestions or questions for the radio show. I would love to hear from you!

Next week, we will have my friend Ulli Allmendinger on the show. Some of you might have heard her on a previous episode. Ulli is an old friend of mine and an Ayurveda practitioner. She will share tips with us on how to prepare our bodies for the spring season. I will announce the day and the time together with more details shortly.

Until then, invite the flow and take some time for the activities that bring you a sense of fulfillment and joy. I am sure you have an idea what those could be ;-).

Be your best,

Anja

How To Develop and Improve Your Intuition

Intuition Teleseminar 3-10-10

Download audio

Hello Everyone,

Last week I had the wonderful opportunity through my friend Maryellen Smith to share tips about how to develop and improve your intuitive sense in a teleseminar. Now, you are able to access the recording of the teleseminar, and I very much hope that it will be enjoyable and beneficial to you. We spoke about what intuition is, what the different intuitive channels are, and in what ways we can protect ourselves from negative energy the more we access our intuition.

I am looking forward to your comments and questions,

Anja

Happiness Booster Series: Play to Your Strengths, Not Your Weaknesses

Hello Folks,

In my Intuitive Path Radio Show today we continued the happiness booster series, and discussed how to play to your strengths, and not your weaknesses. You can access or download the episode from the player right here on the left side bar of my blog. We had great interaction between the listeners, and I look forward to the next episode on "Flow" next Tuesday, March 16, at 1:00 pm EST. Look out for the announcements!

Thank you all & enjoy every moment,

Anja

Setting Boundaries for Self-Care

Hello Wonder-Ladies!

Many of us women have a challenge with setting boundaries in our personal and professional lives. This certainly shows up at times when I work with my clients. We’d rather accommodate and fulfill everyone’s desires before responding to our own. And at that point, we often times have no time or energy left to do so. Many of us are conditioned to be nice girls, always friendly, always willing to help, selfless and giving. These are certainly wonderful features in a person as long as they are in balance with treating ourselves the same way as a measure of self-care. However, we tend to overlook the importance of our own well-being in giving to others and sharing ourselves so freely. If we deplete ourselves how can we continue to satisfy our need to care for our family, friends and a network of people we want to attend to.  

Here is my encouragement for all the women out there who struggle with this. I have a few questions for you that hopefully will help you overcome the nice-girl-syndrome and turn you into a powerful and loving lady who knows exactly where and when to draw the line for herself:    

1)   Why is it important for me to set boundaries?
2)    What has kept me so far from drawing the line?
3)    How would I benefit from communicating with others what is acceptable and what’s not?
4)    What would help me to say ‘no’ when I feel it?
5)    Which part of my life needs this new approach the most? What are my new rules?  

Be frank with yourself because you already have the answers in you, and talk to other women about this topic in case you get stuck. As always, feel free to share your comment on this blog because we all can benefit so much from each other’s experiences and wisdom.  

Faith & strength to you on your path,

Anja

Happiness Booster Series: Metaphysical Worthiness

My previous blog post was about 12 happiness boosters that the author Ariel Gore gathered from her own and other people's research. I found these points so important that I wanted to elaborate further on each in my blog, and I hope you as my readers will contribute with your perspective and insight. Today, I address arguably the most important happiness booster of metaphysical worthiness - and allow me to do so in the language of poetry.

You are worthy of a beautiful and powerful life ---

We are all worthy of a life that has been given to us by

Call it a higher force, call it the source, may it be Allah, God, Jahwe...

... we all carry the divine in us...

with the love we feel, the intuition that connects us to all, the energy that flows through us

Call it life force, or qi, or prana...

You deserve

you are loved

you are full of talents, gifts, strengths - a unique mix that makes you you

Call it truth, or soul, or core...

so never tell yourself that you can't do it

never make yourself believe that you are small

and never trust the voice that says you don't deserve

--- because you are worthy of a beautiful and powerful life

Love,

Anja