Monday, 30 July 2012

Knowledge vs. Wisdom

A great Zen proverb reminded me of my past life in technology-related jobs...
Knowledge is learning something new every day.
Wisdom is letting go of something every day.
I remember I was asked the question at a job interview once - whether I knew my range in-depth or had the wisdom to fully understand the extent of the range. In any job interview situation the instinct is to make yourself look as good and clever as possible so, of course, I had the wisdom!

Bligh me, did I have work to do if I got the job?!?!?! Oh yeah!

I have never applied for a job I was fully qualified to do because my reasoning has always been that if I know all I will be doing in a job then I will quickly get bored.... and I did get the job by the way. 

And isn't that what it is about? Extending ourselves beyond what we know in order to grow? I believe it is and I believe it builds the kind of confidence that allow for us to create little (or big) miracles within ourselves and stretching out beyond.

Through my work with spreading laughter through teaching Laughter Yoga to individuals and teams and whole organisations there is a huge element of learning in every workshop and course I run.

Laughter Yoga, therapeutic laughter, laughter coaching - whichever label you add to the work I do, the inept wisdom it represents is there and available to anyone who wish to be a student in life and of life. I never get tired of learning!

The perspective it adds to what we know and what we don't know and what we don't even know we don't know is truly mind-buggling and very exciting if you like learning and understanding the lessons life brings about.
 
I believe we, as people, are at a stage in our life cycle where we must look inside in order to preserve and rebuild what is around us for a caring view instead of one of all-consuming want'ism.  There is a reason more and more of us seek knowledge in the ancient wisdom that we used to live by when we had less things and required less to lead a good life.

People are looking inside and looking for ways to improve health and wellbeing - not just for the self but for the environment, our communities, and humankind in general. 

And it all starts in one place... Too many people think that they cannot do anything because they are just 'one person' but the ripple effect has been around for a long time and it doesn't stop once you take the step...

Always trust that your step makes a BIG difference!

And remember, I cannot help but adding my view and thoughts along with what I think is going on - it doesn't mean you agree. However, it does mean that I send you lots of love, healing, giggles, guffaws, and kind thoughts, and whichever are appropriate for you at this moment in time are the ones you will get.

On that note, I wish you a lifetime of growth and wonders!

Monday, 23 July 2012

Searching for the answer???

What would be the question to ask?

I find it really interesting that when things are slightly challenging and the feeling that 'something' is missing becomes persisten then we tend to look for an answer to what is missing.

What if nothing is missing and it is just the moment in time that things feel disconnected and short of a non-existing part?

We are all on a journey through this life and Universe and I have learned that no matter whether it seems like times are only challenging me I know that this is the exact moment I should be on my path, and trying to avoid it would proabably just move the challenge a bit further ahead but I would need to face it.

That is, of course, my perspective and what I choose to believe!

So why try to find the answer?

Sometimes it may be that our usual patterns repeat themselves over and over again and it is time to break up with them - but how to, and this is where the answers are being sought and questions are being asked.

Even when searching within and discovering those defining moments of truth, the life-changing ideas that tell us how to move on we need a new frame to work within and without because otherwise the result will always be the same and we will get back to asking the same question again.

Repeating patterns!

What kind of questions are they and how do we break free?

Any question that may be uncomfortable to voice...

...and deal with!


Check for yourself, what is your self-destructive pattern? Do you have anything you would like to change for yourself or do you already know the answers but still go in the same circles? Same thing! What is the answer to that? How to get out of the 'same-old-same-old'?

Or maybe things are just perfect in a perfect world!

I don't have answers but I know that quieting the voice that keeps asking those questions, searching for happiness and other solutions, is the ultimate solution and it really does provide a great 'YES! everthing is alright exactly where I am'.

Anthony Robbins keeps saying:
'If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten.'

I practice Laughter Yoga - not just the Ho Ho Ha Ha Ha - and I learn from every day I 'laughteryog' (a new verb!). 

The practice includes more than faking the laughter and when you truly get the idea of 'World Peace through Laughter' then the questions and search begin to crumble and disappear because the answers are within the space of peace and tranquility along with every solution.

This is the true value you get from being a Laughter Yoga Teacher!

Time to stop searching and be the answer to all the questions, knowing that nothing is missing!

Monday, 16 July 2012

Love is the Universal Key.

How is it possible to love when there is no one to love? Or when there has been hurt and pain so many times?

Love yourself!

Love is not always about other people, animals, things or stuff but moreso about embracing the sensation of this ancient and profound emotion from a center within the self. 

Loving yourself is, however, for many people easier said than done... 

When asked, it is easy to say 'Of course, I love myself' but not always easy to feel, and mostly it is not something we brag about because other people may view us as pretentious, self-contained, self-significant and all those things that we believe are important that people don't think we are.

Why does it matter what people think? Well, perhaps it matters because we don't always love ourselves enough and therefore it is important that at least other people LIKE us.

However, love is about being authentic and real. Love is about being truthful and honest in the moment. Love is about sensing the unconditional expression of life. Love is about committing to the moment and to life itself.

LOVE!

Is there anything more exhilarating?

Lynn Shaw put it quite eloquently:
What is a laughing heart? A laughing heart is a heart that hears what is not being said. When you are present with another person and laughter occurs between you, your hearts have laughed together. When you are alone and have a moment of clarity and your eyes light up, your mouth forms that "Ohhh" sound and you want to shout, 'Yes!' Your heart is laughing. And, when you have a laughing heart, you have a healing heart.
This brings about the aspect of laughing which is quite suitable as laughter is what I do very well - hahaha.

Laughter, and in particular laughing for no reason, truly brings out the best in us and as we laugh we let go of all the negatives of life, enabling us to view everything with an open heart and mind - from a place of love and warmth.

The essence of Laughter Yoga is about our unconditional commiment to joy and peace within. When there is peace within it is easy to embrace authentic love and peace will happen outside us.

On a final note, I enjoy reading Barefoot Doctor's messages and guess what, as I started writing here I received a message on the same topic...on love! and here we are almost at the end of my blog post...

peace and tranquility...
The Universe works its magic and is totally drawing in from all multifaceted verses and multiverses in order to adjust and align the messages people send out in unison.

This is my opinion on universally outreaching love - and it is just an opinion that I'd like to believe!

Only love is real!

Monday, 9 July 2012

The Fairy within...

'I believe in fairies, I do, I do' the famous line from Peter Pan.

As children we believe in these magical, mythical little people who live in the woods, the gardens, the attick, the basement and so on - places where they can nurture the environment and ensure the continuation of life of all sorts.

The 'little people' who are the keepers of the earth in all its amazing shades, whether it be earth, water, rocks, trees, flowers, animals or wherever there is space to care for...

And even if you don't believe in fairies you probably know what a fairy is and looks like - or at least the fairy outside yourself... 

Perhaps fairies are not just without but hugely wihtin? Perhaps this side of life and of you should be cultivated and nurtured as if it was real.  This starved inner child, the fairy in us all, that is longing to reclaim its territory of fun and play, joy and laughter, song and dance - in all parts of life.

You may think this is a lot of silliness and nonsense but if you stop that line of thought for a moment and really evaluate the true meaning of your inner fairy perhaps it makes more sense than you initially thought.

Because isn't it exactly about caring for, nurturing, defending, taking a stand for, preserving, and loving our life and the world we are here to be part of?

Being in that way with joy in heart and mind!

It is easy to forget the tiniest joys when we grow up because of the conditioning we constantly have to embrace as part of adult life, how to behave, speak, laugh, act - be part of the seriousness and heavy commitments in life.

It doesn't have to be that way - all the time...

When we laugh we tickle our soul and we tickle the spirits of realms that we may not physically be aware of, see, hear or feel - even the ones within.

A good couple of years ago when I first started teaching people to laugh the Laughter Yoga way, the course was held in a spiritual training centre in St. Albans and along with my training other spiritual and health oriented teachings were taking place regularly. Now, it so happened that on day one of the Laughter Yoga Leader Training the room below us hosted a past life regression workshop taking place...

You may call that extremely challenged planning of the room schedule or you can believe that the laughter attracts even more spirits and makes any spritual workshop and experience that wee bit more complete. Your call.

Getting upset about coincidences like that doesn't change the fact that they have happened but the upset may keep your good mood away and keep your spirit low.

I believe in the things that make me feel good - whether they are real in our realm or not. Believing is a wonderful way of bringing wishes and dreams into life!

Please keep dreaming, playing, laughing, singing and dancing - good things oftentimes follow and even if they don't then you have still had a blast and your inner fairy will love you for it.

Wishing you a wonderful week of discovery!

Monday, 2 July 2012

Return to Innocence

After I started writing this blogpost I saw the same title on a Facebook post from a spiritual group - it seems we all turn our attention to the parts of life that at times seem so lost and forgotten.

As I was thinking about my blog I realised that what I blog about has already been said in so many ways by other people.  Even so, I hope I can add a little other perspective - perhaps that of a less schooled view and more of a personal insight without the opinions of theosophs, philosophs, other sophs any other than my own opinions.

I remember years ago a dear friend said to me about University that this is the time when you let go of your own individuality and adopt other people's standpoints - the scholars' and professors'. No offence to anyone, I have the deepest respect for studied people and enjoy it myseld.

Haha - well...

Hopefully in time - after the campus years - people rediscover their own voices and opinions again.

In any case, enough said about other people's views and opinions!

After teaching a wonderful group of laughter-willing individuals about the amazing technology called Laughter Yoga, it is clear that they have already made their minds up about how they wish to pursue the joy these tools enable them to bring to life for themselves and other people.

Laughter Yoga is a powerful tool for reclaiming the unconditional joyfulness everyone has stored up and often packed away inside, as well as releasing all the energy-stealing emotions and feelings such as guilt, resentment, anger, fear, hatred and so on and so forth.

By letting go these emotions and the ingrained conditioning fantastic things and events start unfolding!

This is how life started...

This is how we fall in love...

Laughter Yoga allows you to return to the innocence and playfulness which encourages creativity and cultivates an open mind full of love for life - and motivation! 

And by the way, Laughter Yoga is completely free of judgement, religion, politics, GMO, discrimination. It is a true and honest way of setting yourself free of conditioning that wear you down and keep you from exploring life fully.
Play! Sing! Dance! Laugh! - very beneficial for anyone at any stage in life.

Embrace your inner wisdom and return to innocence with Laughter Yoga!