Tag Archives: movies

Treat Yourself

Posted on February 10, 2012 | 1 Comment

Chinese Medicine teaches us that it’s important to boost our Yin Energy. Yin Energy is a cooling energy. It’s the energy of rest and stillness. Its opposite is Yang, which refers to heat and activity. When Yin Energy goes down, Yang rises. Alternatively, when Yang rises, it burns off the Yin. Either way, when Yin diminishes, the ageing process accelerates, disease sets in, and the person becomes irritable, suspicious, and “hot and bothered”.

Aside from treating yourself with acupuncture or Chinese herbs, there are many other wonderful ways to boost your Yin. All you have to do is relax, unwind, and enjoy life. Medicine never tasted so sweet.

Here are some ways I treat myself…

Taking myself out for coffee. I nearly prefer going for café solo as I’m free to cover myself in yellow cupcake icing, before licking my fingers and thumbs and perusing the Sunday papers.

Silent meditation – just sitting in the quiet, and not having to do or be anything. Becoming aware of my thoughts and bodily sensations. Letting go and surrendering so I can tap into the oneness of the Universe…

Midweek Movie Mania – this is my new favourite hobby. Every Wednesday, I make the trip up to Dublin to meet a few mates. And each week, one of us decides upon the film and the venue. This is promptly followed by a pint and a laugh in the pub. What better way to shake off the stresses of the week?

Booking a trip - be it backpacking in South America, a sun holiday in Spain, a retreat in the West of Ireland, or a weekend splurge in a European city, it’s always nice to have something to look forward to. And getting a breather away from everyday life is a tonic in itself.

A walk or a cycle or even a sit-down or picnic outdoors. Nature always calms and inspires me and puts things into perspective.

Buying myself a new outfit and applying my best makeup. Just because.

A bath. With bubbles. And candles. And relaxing music.

Long yoga stretches that one instructor described as “delicious”.

A great book, a cup of tea, and an ultra comfy couch…

Turning off all the lights and gazing at the flickering flames of the fire. Mesmerising…

It doesn’t require much effort or cash to boost your Yin. So go on, take the (Chinese) doctor’s advice and treat yourself! You don’t have to ask me twice!

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Posted in Health

Tagged acupuncture, ageing, chinese herbs, chinese medicine, de-stress, enjoy, exercise, health, heat, holiday in spain, life, movies, nature, relax, silent meditation, trip, unwind, west of ireland, yang energy, yin energy, yoga

No More Excuses

Posted on December 15, 2011 | 4 Comments

It’s all well and good having brilliant flashes of insight into our behaviour. It’s marvellous to come to some understanding as to why we might be miserable. We can have many an Aha moment as we read tonnes of self-help books and watch endless YouTube clips of Wayne Dyer and Deepak Chopra. But what’s the point if we never actually change? We moan:

“I’m exhausted because I push myself too hard. I’m constantly striving for perfection. Because I think I’m only worthy of love and acceptance when I’m perfect.”

What a wonderful realisation! But what can we do with it? We might take a little rest (if even) and resolve to love ourselves unconditionally, before falling right back into our old self-destructive patterns. Working too hard, exercising and dieting to excess, and denying ourselves any morsel of pleasure in life… until the next time we binge or act lazy or reconnect with a bad habit; until we fall ill or get depressed and can no longer do all those things that make us feel we deserve a space on this planet. And yet again, we punish ourselves and cry, and wonder what’s the point of life… And if we don’t break down completely or (worst case scenario) decide to take our own lives, we pick ourselves up, wipe away our tears, root out those Mooji clips and dusty Thich Nhat Hanh books and start all over again…

I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with this. At least we’re trying. I know I do the exact same thing, time and time again. I thought my life would never be the same after watching an inspiring movie, after being introduced to Byron Katie’s work, after reading Awareness, Mutant Message Down Under, Veronika Decides to Die, The Power of Now… And I really believed it. Every single time. Until my next spell at rock bottom, when I was left wondering where it all went wrong.

Maya Angelou wrote, “When you know better, you do better.” So, if we know what’s to be expected from that sort of conduct, why not save time, energy and heartache and just change, once and for all?

All the motivational books and videos and quotations do help. But they can only bring us forward a certain amount. It’s not called “self-help” for nothing. Ultimately, it’s you, and only you, who can help yourself. People can give you advice, tips and recommendations, but if you’re not ready to take them on board or if you’re unwilling to change, then it’s not going to do much good, is it?

“You can’t teach anybody anything, only make them realise the answers are already inside them.” Galileo

It’s much easier telling others how to live their lives, and to spot where they’re going wrong. We can talk all we want about needing to transform our thinking, but when it comes to actually making a change, most of us chicken out. Because it’s unfamiliar and scary. It takes courage, determination and persistence to change.

I’m not going to finish this off with a persuasive video clip or a book list that’s guaranteed to change your life.

Just change. Do it.

Images: http://blamethecrane.tumblr.com/; http://stylishwebdesigner.com/50-stunning-photographs-to-refresh-your-mind/

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Posted in Personal development

Tagged acceptance, advice, aha moment, anthony de mello, awareness, bad habit, behaviour, belief, books, breakdown, byron katie, change, clips, courage, deepak chopra, determination, diet, Eckhart Tolle, energy, excuses, exercise, exhaustion, fear, films, frustration, galileo, heartache, hurt, insight, inspiration, laziness, marlo morgan, maya angelou, misery, mooji, movies, mutant message down under, pain, paolo coelho, patterns, perfection, perseverance, personal development, pleasure, positivity, quotations, quotes, realisation, recommendations, rock bottom, self-acceptance, self-belief, self-destruction, self-hatred, self-help, self-love, sickness, striving, suicide, the power of now, thich nhat hanh, thinking, tips, tough love, unconditional love, veronika decides to die, video, wayne dyer, youtube

Table for One

Posted on December 12, 2011 | Leave a comment

She sits with a large sigh, relieved to set down her Christmas shopping. The waitress asks if she’s waiting for someone. Or is she alone? She nods at the latter.

She eats quickly, a glazed expression in her eyes. When she’s satiated the initial intensity of her hunger, she begins to slow down. Only then does she look around the bar.

There is a guy to her right. He’s on his own too. She tries not to look directly at him but he lingers in the outskirts of her vision. He could be cute… He plays self-consciously with his phone, taking occasional sips of his latte. She pushes the plate away and opens a book.

If this was a movie, he would spot the title of the novel she was holding and realise that he found this woman intriguing. He would pluck up the courage to approach her and their story would begin…

The potentially attractive man smiles as his date walks towards him. The lone female diner looks up to appraise the pretty new arrival, then bows her head to read about somebody else’s romance.

Image: http://fuckyeahtumblraddict.tumblr.com/page/2

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Posted in Health, Spirituality

Tagged attraction, bon iver, christmas, crush, dating, dining, i can't make you love me/nick of time, love, men, movies, reading, romance, shopping, single, women

Men are from Mars, Women are Crazy

Posted on December 9, 2011 | 2 Comments

Who knew I’d be inspired by watching Knocked Up? Please desist from turning up thy noses. Because it takes a certain sort of genius to make people laugh. And you can’t beat a good Apatow flick. And Seth Rogen’s laugh is priceless. But none of the above reasons are what got me writing this post. It was the thought-provoking scene, where married couple, Pete and Debbie, played by Paul Rudd (I so would) and Leslie Mann, have a huge argument.

Debbie is furious because she’s just found out that Pete has been sneaking around and lying to her. But he’s not cheating. He’s playing fantasy baseball league with his friends. Which is worse than infidelity to Debbie because it means that he would rather hang out with his nerdy mates than be with his family. He can’t understand why she can’t understand that he just needs space. He simply cannot fathom how his wife loves him so much that she wants him around all the time. And that is their biggest problem.

Basically, he just misses his male camaraderie and she’s being controlling. Sound familiar? So many married men would do anything to get away from the old “ball and chain” as often as possible. But what about the women? Don’t they want to get out and party with their gal pals too? Or is it presumed that just because they’re female, they’re clingy?

I was in a relationship once where I could never quite figure out whether I was being needy or he was just a commitment-phobe. I wanted to spend time with him. He wanted to play sport.

Admittedly, there are a lot of women out there who drop their friends, their hobbies, and their nights out the moment a half-decent dude shows up. They throw their everything into making the relationship work. Can you blame the overwhelmed partner for itching to get away from this co-dependent woman, who’s rapidly gone from being passionate and smart to whining and insecure?

It’s funny how, when describing matters of the heart, you can’t avoid terms of violence… I love you to death. All’s fair in love and war. She loves me to bits.

Just because you’re in a relationship, doesn’t mean you have to give up who you are and what you enjoy. If you don’t believe in relationships, don’t join one. But if you do want a partner, you’ve got to realise that compromise is a necessary part of a partnership. The trick is to find someone you’re compatible with. Because that is half the battle.

Images: http://www.graphicshunt.com/wallpapers/images/lots_of_hearts-7088.htm; http://break–my–heart.skyrock.com/1.html

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Posted in Love

Tagged argument, break ups, co-dependecy, comedy, compatibility, dependency, film, friendship, genius, hobbies, independence, insecurities, judd apatow, knocked up, leslie mann, love, marriage, men, movies, nights out, passion, paul rudd, relationships, seth rogen, women

Pass the passion, please.

Posted on November 30, 2011 | 12 Comments

We all have something that causes the passion to bubble up within us. Be it writing or photography, health or healing, art or literature, dance or travel, nature or sport, film or fashion, justice or love.

When someone takes that passion and uses it for the higher good, it can be translated into something beautiful. And if it fills just one heart with joy; if it resonates with at least one other human being and makes them feel that they are not alone; if it helps even one person live a better life, then that is a passion worth sharing.

“There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” Nelson Mandela

If you have something that awakens some little bit of a sparkle within you, don’t be afraid to blow on its embers. Set the world alight with your passion. Not only will you be doing a service to all those who witness what you have to offer, but it will make you feel alive.