| More

Articles, Quiz & Links

The Power of Now!

calming sunset

How many of us spend our time thinking and reacting to past events and projecting those feeling to future events. You know what I mean, maybe you had a disempowering experience when you had to stand up and speak in class and went bright red and felt really embarrassed. Ever since even though you are now a fully fledged adult you avoid any situation where you might have to speak in front of a group where the attention is all on you because that one event gave birth to a disempowering belief about your ability to successfully speak in public.

When you think about it logically it is ridiculous to allow such a seemingly small event effect your adult life to such a degree and yet emotionally it still happens. You might ask why that is? When you experience such an event, which maybe at the time you did not have the resources to deal with, you perceive that situation as not safe and your unconscious mind will create unpleasant symptoms such as blushing, palpitations, shortness of breath etc. to make sure you do your best to avoid this unsafe situation. It is your fight or flight instinct and its only purpose is to get you away from the perceived danger.

We could all learn from very young children who spend their whole time in the now. They can fall over one minute and be smiling the next. They do not carry the fear of another fall forward, just carrying on regardless. Have you ever seen a baby having taken its first steps and falling many times, just sit there and decide that walking is just not for them? If we all realised the important message that making a mistake is just an opportunity to learn maybe we would not take on so much negative emotion and beat ourselves up about our own perceived failings. Indeed all great innovators rely on making mistakes for the opportunity to learn and take their ideas further towards fruition. Without such mistakes many inventions would have never have existed. The ability to reflect on what didn’t go well and to take those realisations forward is priceless.

Living in the now is a truly empowering skill and it may take a little practise. You can only truly reach happiness when you are in the now. I am sure you remember times when you are out for the evening and before you know it the evening is over, it just seems to pass in an instant. You were in the now and totally lost track of time because you were enjoying being in the moment!

Take a moment to be in the ‘now’ right now. When you have read this through just close your eyes and take yourself through this process. Or you could have someone read the following to you remembering to read it slowly with plenty of time for pauses.

Bring your mind totally into the room you are in right now and just be aware of being totally in the moment. This moment is all that counts. Allow yourself to let go easily and effortlessly of any thoughts of what you have to do later or what you did yesterday and tell yourself you can park those thoughts for reflection later. Now take your attention onto your breathing and become consciously aware of your depth of breath and with each out breath allow yourself to become more aware of the rhythmic beating of your heart and imagine if you could just slow the beating just a tiny bit. And as you become more aware of your heart you realise it is quite easy to steady the beating and allow yourself to be more still and peaceful. You may now be aware of your mind being quieter and being more in tune with your body. Just going with the flow and enjoying the feeling of letting go. Remember you are just in the moment right now and the only thing you need to focus on is enjoying every single moment to the full. Imagine time was set out on a line which runs right through the core of you and notice where you represent the past and the future and while you can clearly see the past and the future they remain where they are and you are totally in control of your destiny because you remain in the here and now. Imagine now how it would feel if you could remain in the here and now whenever you feel anything other than relaxed and calm. Try that thought on for a moment as if it were true for you. And now that being in the here and now allows you to remain clear headed and able to embrace life to the full with peace and clarity become aware of what important resources you have and how easy they are to access. And being in the here and now also allows you to remain in control and accepting of anything that comes your way fully able to use your resources and to be aware of your own personal power. And as you begin to accept the power of now notice how you feel fully connected to your spirit, at one with yourself feeling free and peaceful. Enjoy that feeling for a moment and when you are ready open your eyes bringing with you the power of the here and now to use whenever you need.

As human beings we sometimes become very wrapped up in time. How often do you tell yourself ‘I don’t have enough time’ or ‘There are not enough hours in the day?’ When we do allow ourselves to be in the here and now it is like grounding ourselves as if time stands still and the urgency of our perceived issues takes on a different perspective. Ironically when we slow ourselves down and stay in the moment it is easier to stay in control and achieve more successfully. That is not to say that planning for the future and learning from the past is not useful, but be sure to take the learning forward and not the negative emotions or limiting beliefs that will hinder your progress. When making big decisions be sure to do it from an empowered position while experiencing a state of being in the now which will allow you to be centred therefore making more rounded choices that will bring you all the things that will continue to allow you to grow.

Visualisation

Visualisation refers to the process of forming mental images. Visualisation involves purposefully directing the activity of your visual representations. Visualisation can utilise memories, fantasy or a combination of both.

The ability to form visual images has many uses. It is the basis of the ability to dream, create and innovate. For many people visualisation is the primary component of imagination. A characteristic of many geniuses, for instance, is an exceptional ability to visualise. The great inventors of the world invariably had an image in their minds of what they wanted to create. If you can see what you want to create or do you are far more likely to manifest it into your life.

Visualisation is a skill which can be practised and the more real the image is the more effective the visualisation will be.

To add power to your visualisation add some sound and associated feelings.

To practise this take your self through the following steps:

Think of something you really want to achieve, maybe it is to make something, purchase an item you have always wanted or go on holiday to a location of your dreams.

Once you have the idea begin to picture it just how you want it. Make sure you are seeing it through your own eyes as if you are there. As you create your image pay attention to whether the image is black and white or colour. If it is black and white begin to add colour as if you are painting your own picture. Remember to add your favourite colour and make the colours as vivid and life like as possible. If your picture is small just imagine now how it would look if you expanded it and made it panoramic. As you do also notice if this picture is a still or like a movie. Allow the picture to come alive with movement. Is the picture close to you as if you are right in it or further away? Just allow yourself to bring it closer and notice the difference. As it becomes closer begin to make the image clearer. Now that you have a clear vivid moving image of what you want begin to add some sound. Think about what sounds would be in your image and become aware of being able to hear them clearly, notice how this changes your image and perhaps you are beginning to get a feeling about your image. Notice where that image is and allow it to resonate throughout your body as if you already have what you want right now and you are appreciating what you have. How real is that feeling right now?

Wouldn't You Like to Know?

Do you ever wonder how your mindset creates the world you live in and want to understand what motivates you? Read the following carefully and see what the answers say about YOU!

1. When faced with a deadline do you:

  1. Wait until the last minute and work until the early hours under pressure
  2. Organise your time so that you are finished a long time before the deadline to allow for any unexpected delays that might occur
  3. Know you will get it done and work on it as and when easily and calmly meeting the deadline.

2. When you think about a pleasant memory which one of the following makes more sense to you:

  1. I have a vivid colourful picture of the memory
  2. I can really resonate with the memory and recall the sounds very clearly
  3. I get a sense of feeling I am back in that memory.

3. When dealing with an issue which of the following would make you take action:

  1. I can see the positive outcome of sorting out this issue and it spurs me on to take action
  2. I wait until the issue becomes so uncomfortable that I really have to do something about it.

When you don’t feel able to work through an issue which of the following describes most accurately how you feel:

  1. That the whole situation is hopeless
  2. That you are helpless to do anything about it
  3. That you are not worthwhile enough to deserve to be rid of this issue.

5. When given a task you don’t find easy which of the following describes most accurately your reaction:

  1. a. You rise to the challenge
  2. b. You avoid it and try to delegate the task
  3. c. You see it as an obstacle, stress about it, but give it your best shot.

6. During your day do you:

  1. a. Always find your day is full of issues you have to deal with and it just seems to be one crisis to the next
  2. b. Whatever happens you know you always cope although you sometimes get stressed about how little time you have and how busy you life is
  3. c. Every day is full of challenges that you enjoy and you manage to do the things you want to do.

7. When you have completed a challenge and want to weigh up how well you have done do you:

  1. a. Tell yourself you have done yourself proud
  2. b. Ask others what they think of your results
  3. c. Tell yourself you have done well and then check with others as to their opinion
  4. d. Ask others their opinion first, but have a sense inside of how you have done.

8. When considering the impact of your actions do you think firstly of how

  1. a.It affects you
  2. b.It affects others.

9. When you organise an event do you first:

  1. a. See the big picture of how the event will look before thinking of the detail
  2. b. Think about the details that will build to create the big picture outcome.

    3. 10. When you are asked to learn a new way of doing a task do you:

    1. a. Take time to reflect and plan before taking action
    2. b. Act first and think about the result later.

    11. When starting a new hobby what are the most important elements?

    Pick two, if appropriate, in order of their importance

    1. a. Having fun
    2. b. Learning a new skill
    3. c. Self development
    4. d. Using your mind
    5. e. The social aspect
    6. f. Competition
    7. g. Action

    12. Which of the following most suits the beliefs you have about yourself and your life?

    1. a. You are in control of your life, but sometimes events stop you from living the life you really want
    2. b. You are not in control of your life as other people have a habit of getting in the way of what you want
    3. c. You are totally in control of your own destiny.

    When you have completed this questionnaire send the question numbers and answers & Click Here to Email Me for a personal and individual report on how your mindset works and tips designed to work with your mindset to create motivation and steps to be more successful.

    Do you want to benefit from a regular newsletter with further practical top tips and ideas? Click Here to Email Me. and type newsletter in the subject line of your E-mail.

    Useful Links:

    'Only those that dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.'

    Restoring the Natural Flow of Mind and Matter

    Disclaimer: This website is linked to sites operated by third parties and Karen Oliver accepts no responsibility or liability arising in respect of any content on such site. Their presence on this page may not be deemed to be a recommendation or endorsement by Karen Oliver.