Change with IOEA

Throughout the day your conscious and unconscious minds take in all forms of information and sensory perception. Your minds not only process all of this information but also reacts to this stimuli, whether it is right, wrong, sometimes inappropriate or at other times seemingly indifferent.

The simple mantra of IOEA (Inhale, Observe your breath, Exhale, Awareness of your thoughts) applied as you breathe can help you moderate your reactions and allow you to choose how you will respond in life. As you Inhale, simply take the moment to Observe your breath. Do not try to overcomplicate things, as this simple act of Inhaling and Observing will allow you to pause any seemingly unconscious reaction. Then as you Exhale, take the moment to apply some Awareness to your thoughts and thinking. You may find for more difficult situations that you will need to repeat the cycle of IOEA a few times so that your unconscious thoughts or reactions do not see the light of day. Instead, with awareness, you may choose to respond differently rather than reacting.

♾ Awaken your Mind ♾

How the Mind Controls your Existence

Extremely few people are aware of, or comprehend, just how much we come to be totally connected with our intense thoughts and psychological responses in our lives. Being so engaged, we rarely consider that it is our mind, which generates a huge portion of the unhappiness, worry, anxiety, sorrow and even aspects of depression and ill health in our lives.

Every day and every instant in time, you can choose exactly how to react or respond to anything in your life. Via the astute application of active intelligence, you can opt to remain in control, rather than falling right into habits or sets of pre-programmed thought archetypes, which have been bolstered by the psychological reactions of your passive intellect and everyday excuses. Seize the moment to briefly stop and deliberate regarding just how your own thoughts and psychological reaction and responses are impacting your everyday thinking; after which you can choose to make an informed response through the application of your active intelligence.

♾ Awaken your Mind ♾

Everyday Kindness

Kindness is greater than merely an elementary word or a disposable expression. The real intent of kindness is manifest by means of your thoughts and actions every single day. Kindness is personified with the inner countenances of harmlessness, which can aid you to re-establish the balance in your life and redress the karma we all carry. Come to be that individual of true and unquestionable kindness to expand happiness and no hurt into the world around you.

♾ Awaken your Mind ♾

A New Slant on Stress

Each of us have some form of stress which impacts on our lives. Appropriately recognising and dealing with it can lead to a more balanced and healthy life. There are many schools of thought as to the root cause of stress. However, a new way to look at stress, is that stress is purely a build-up of energy. As you experience life, your own thoughts and reactions can lead to an accumulation of energy within different areas of the mind and body. If this build-up of energy is not appropriately dissipated, the overload of emotional energy will cause issues for the human mechanism.

While we can still consider the traditional aspects of stress, this new slant on stress provides you with an opportunity. When you start to feel stressed, find a way to release the build-up of emotional energy so that it does not hurt you or others around you.

Some simple techniques can be utilised to help you destress by draining away these overloads of energy. One simple method can entail taking a few minutes out in meditation or mindfulness to seeing yourself near a lake or ocean, seeing the emotional energy draining away into the water. Another similar method is to stand on the earth, then think of the emotional energy being drawn away into the ground. Alternatively, if you are practised in breath works, then you can see these excess energies flowing out as dark clouds when you exhale.

♾ Awaken your Mind ♾

The Sixth Sense

You may believe we have more than five senses, however, one sense is routinely neglected. That is common sense, as it appears to be seldom acknowledged and frequently in short supply. Your sixth (common) sense is not a conventional sense of the physical body. You may identify that common sense is not intrinsic in everyone to a similar degree, rather it is derived from awareness and is an integral part of your thought processes.

Encountering your common sense is about becoming more aware, taking the bigger picture into view and taking into consideration the effects of any one of your thoughts or actions. As you become more mindful of your common sense, you may sometimes feel through the pit of your stomach. At other times, common sense or sound judgement can seem akin to the quiet whisper originating from the back of your head, informing you to be aware or do something another way.

Throughout your day, ask yourself if you have suitably considered your thoughts or actions. Being aware of the repercussions of any thoughts or actions can be the most significant step in learning how to tap into your sixth (common) sense.

♾ Awaken your Mind ♾

Take Charge of Lower Emotions

As you continue your journey on the pathway of awakening, you will face many challenges. Not all of these challenges seem obvious or straightforward. Every day we all express different thoughts and emotions. However, certain emotions can cause more problems than others as they feed your lower ego.

These lower emotions are typically characterised by fear, arrogance, rage, despondency, jealousy and greed and can be analogous to many aspects of the seven deadly sins. You should strive to recognise any aspects of these lower emotions within you. Where you do find any thoughts, emotions or feelings of this nature, you should do your best to bring these aspects under control, then banish them from every facet of your life. If you allow these emotions to be retained within, they will feed your lower ego with energy, giving the mind the opportunity to then regain its power over you and your life.

♾ Awaken your Mind ♾

Positive Psychology

Have you developed a pattern of tuning to the negative? There is a strong correlation between being optimistic and being physically well. Typically, people who express positive emotions are at a reduced risk of becoming ill. Feeling happy is linked with better general health and longer life.

Positive psychology encompasses a variety of techniques that focus on: developing positive thoughts, positive emotions, developing positive experiences. It also works at a deeper level on improving our positive character traits, such as loyalty, humility and integrity. Positive psychology does not discount that there are negatives that impact our lives. Instead, positive psychology aims to look at the situation to better understand human experiences and determine how to best foster positivity and good thinking.

♾ Awaken your Mind ♾

Become your own Influencer

How often do you scroll through Instagram or your Facebook feed, looking at the picturesque snippets of other peoples lives? You may flick through glossy magazines and view TV, wondering how the other people get to have the perfect body, fantastic homes or seemingly enviable lives. Increasingly it is becoming easy to be swamped in your insecurities, fears, wants or desires as you compare your life to the world of others.

Take the time to become your own life influencer as you expouse the thought that “I am enough”. Building this thought within you can give you a sense of calm and happiness allowing you to change the direction of your life for the better. Take the opportunity to make it into a mantra, which you repeat every morning or even throughout the day, until it sinks in and your mind accepts it. As you allow this positive aspect to build within your life, you will begin to discover that many things are your own source of happiness. With ongoing positive reinforcement as your own influencer, you can begin to experience that “I am enough, I have enough, I have always been enough and I always will be enough.” ♾ Awaken your Mind ♾