Jun 19

24 hours in one day is a long time and there is so much that you can do with it. If you let it get repetitive every day will seem the same to you and you will get bored with life. Thats why I decided to create this list of 101 mini purposes or goals where you can pick and choose one to make the primary focus of your day. You will notice that the first 50 or so are quite random and more fun orientated whereas the last 50 or so are more specific in the area of personal development. I hope you get something out of this list and maybe even make one of your own! In fact create your own list and let me know when you have so we can link them all together so that people can get new ideas of goals they can keep throughout the day! :-D

1) Eat a little healthier
2) Smile more
3) Smile and talk to a complete stranger
4) Write a poem
5) Be a better listener
6) Try something completely new
7) Cut down on the junk food
8 ) Be more grateful for the food dished
9) Feel a bit better than yesterday
10 Help a stranger
11) Call an old friend and catch up
12) Stand tall in the face of adversity
13) Be a better driver
14) Write a song
15) Write a positive review of a product you like
16) Create a new TV show concept
17) Call a radio show and request a song
18) Enter a talent show
19) Start reading a new book
20) Start writing a book
21) Go for a drive with no destination in mind
22) Watch an old movie
23) Watch re-runs of your favourite TV shows
24) Go and see some famous works of art
25) Track down a lost friend and get in touch
26) Call a distant relative
27) Give some spare change to a beggar without thinking about what they might spend it on
28) Plan your strategy for becoming world famous
29) Start a trend
30) Create a cool new word that the young generation can catch onto
31) Organise a fantasy football tournament
32) Complete a crossword or soduku puzzle without help
33) Go old skool and write a letter to a pen-pal
34) Take a picture of something random and submit it to a photography competition
35) Make a fun video on your phone with your friends
36) Laugh for no reason
37) Poke some strangers on Facebook
38) Do some charity work
39) Raise some money for charity
40) Donate money to a random charity.
41) Do one ‘ARK’ (Act of Random Kindness)
42) Go explore a park
43) Get out the old photo albums and reminisce
44) Introduce someone who’s never see it to ‘The Secret’
45) Set yourself a challenge to double the money in your pocket by being savvy
46) Invent a new game
47) Play a board game instead of watching T.V.
48) Give someone a lift
49) Wear something you wouldn’t normally wear
50) Write an inspirational text message and send it onto friends
51) Wash your car
52) Focus on abundance for the whole day
53) Become more in-tune with people
54) Create a better rapport with people
55) Improve your attitude of gratitude
56) Remember that you have the power of choice at every step
57) Attract something simple like a sweet
58) Start a blog
59) Write a blog post
60) Let out pearls of wisdom you’ve been holding onto
61) Write to your favourite author or inspiration and say thank you
62) Shift your focus from the bad to the good
63) Focus on healing any minor ailments or injuries
64) Increase your sensory acuity
65) Give advice and guidance to those who need it
66) Ask yourself better questions
67) Pray
68) Meditate for brief moments throughout the day aka Minute Meditations
69) Practise following through on your decisions
70) Complete an unfinished project
71) Create some SOS’s (Simple Obvious Strategies) for enhancing your life
72) Focus on getting better at what you do
73) Practise being ‘in the moment’
74) Create a new way of doing a repetitive task
75) Look at a repetitive task in a new light
76) Listen to audio books throughout the day and at night
77) Apply your wisdom
78) Meditate in an open space like a park
79) Do some tai chi or yoga and allow people to join you if they wish
80) Get a book on NLP or EFT and learn it
81) Improve your memory and remember peoples names and other info
82) Find a good Life Coach and hire them
83) Start a new course or evening class
84) Learn to breathe more fully
85) Cook a healthy meal
86) Volunteer at a school and give some personal development tips to the students
87) Sort out your finances
88) Book some ‘you’ time
89) Be more charming and attractive to the opposite sex
90) Do a very challenging task e.g. walk on fire
91) Arrange a tournament of some kind
92) Get rid of clutter
93) Act more consciously
94) Appreciate the rain
95) Tackle something you fear head on
96) Overwrite a limiting belief with an empowering one
97) Anchor your positive emotions
98) Send out healing vibes to the whole world
99) Utilise the technology you have to do good
100) Get leverage on yourself to get into action
101) Write your own list of 101 mini goals/purposes for yourself.

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Jun 12

The true identity crisis is one where people get so caught up in being identified with labels that they forget the bigger picture. Are you caught up with the labels of being: ‘British’, ‘Christian’, ‘Jew’, ‘Muslim’, ‘American’ etc?

More often than not it doesn’t represent a divide in values as most people believe it to be as globally people want the same thing but it just represents borders of laws and economics.

The truth is there is only one label that we all really need to identify with that that is the label of the spirit of humanity. Forget about putting so much importance on being a ‘Hindu’ or being ‘British’ and only focus on the label of humanity.

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Jun 4
This entry is part 2 of 2 in the series accelerator tools

I had a wonderful response from my last article and decided to get inspired to write a follow up. These tools are things that we naturally do anyway but these articles are a way of bringing them to your attention so that you can do them more consciously and use them at will.

So I decided to get into my inspired state and see what else would come to me. That brings me straight onto my first part of my 3 advanced accelerator tools.

i) Inspired State - Flash moments of inspiration occur for us all but how often can you dictate when and where that moment of inspiration occurs for you? You may not always be in that state 24/7 but what you can do is esbalish your mechanism for getting yourself into that state frequently and at your own behest. Think back to a time when you were in an inspired state where ideas came to you easily and naturally. Now find the key elements of the process and replicate them here and now. Once you find those key elements you are in a position to get into that state at crucial moments for your life.

ii) Flow - Flow is when you get into the stream of doing without conscious thought being present. Your conscious awareness can even be elsewhere while your subconscious becomes the main driver. Time also ceases to have it’s place when you’re in your flow state. Your flow state in many ways is similar to dreaming. No one taught you how to dream. It’s just something which is inherent within all of us. The same goes for flow state and is the most natural feeling during any task or activity to be in; when everything just flows seemlessly. Think back to a time when you had such a moment and spot the pattern that got you into your flow state. If you can’t think of one think back a time possibly when you were revising for exams and you were so focussed that when you look up at the clock 4 hours and passed as if it was just an hour or so.

iii) Internal Wisdom - Internal wisdom differs from inspired state in that when in the inspired state you may often get a flash of inspiration while in flow relating to any random subject whereas connecting with your internal wisdom you ask a direct question and get a clear direct answer. Whether you’ve experienced this personal phenomenon before not; I assure you, everyone has access to a limitless supply of internal wisdom. Mostly, like the inspired state, you will get the most succinct answers when you are very centered and focussed.

I’m sure while reading this you felt a sense of familiarity and resonance with each of these zones and now it’s up to you to develop each one consciously and use them at will unconsciously.

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Jun 1
This entry is part 1 of 2 in the series accelerator tools

As with anything in life you will reach pinnacle or plateau points where you feel like you can go no further. So it begs the question of how some people get further than others. How do some people get to be the best? If they got to that point why can’t you? Yes, of course, you need things like determination, confidence and self esteem but what specifically is it that takes us from one level of expertise to an even higher level of expertise?

There are 3 key things that you need or powers which you need to develop in order to get off the flats and be back on the incline to your desired point. It’s essential to have a clear idea of where you would like to get to but know that, no matter where you are right now, there is no reason that you cannot accelerate at the same rate as a child does when s/he is introduced to something new.

To boost yourself you need to boost your M.I.C. You may have guessed I happen to like my Acronyms! :lol: So what does M.I.C stand for?

i) Memory
ii) Imagination
iii) Concentration

i) Memory - If you suffer from a bad memory then it’s crucial you learn different ways of utilising your memory. I used to think that I had a bad memory. I used to say to people that I had trouble remembering names and faces and yet my memory for numbers was excellent. Why? What was it that separated numbers from names and faces? I’ve got to be honest, to this day I’m still not even quite sure what it was but I knew that I didn’t want to suffer the embarrassment of forgetting peoples names and even faces any more. What I did realise is that I wasn’t making enough of an effort to remember peoples names and now I find that since I started making more of an effort to do so that I can now remember 95% of the names of the people I meet; it’s now only the rare occasion now that I forget. I’ll leave you to find your own method or technique for improving your memory but it is an essential skill.

Your memory is key when it comes to learning. Sounds like an obvious statement I know but what people don’t realise with learning is that in order to change something that has up until now been a habit, you need your memory to intervene and take over. Let’s take a look at an example. You’ve been playing tennis for a year and you’ve hit a plateau and so you decide to hire a coach. Your coach is going to teach you new techniques. You need to memorise those techniques and then apply then. If you don’t remember to apply the new techniques frequently enough your old habits will continue to reign supreme and your new learning’s won’t be able to cut in and take over. You can only do that if you remember to apply the new teachings from your coach. Does that make sense?

Another example is in dealing with people. Let’s say you learn a great NLP technique for communicating with people. Unless you remember to apply it at the appropriate times, that technique is useless to you. I remember that when I was at the Brahma Kumaris they often to this as being “Yukti Yukt” which translated means applying the right technique at the right time.

ii) Imagination - I’m a firm believer that unless we employ creativity in our daily routine we become stale and lose momentum with life overall. Life in fact begins to lose its meaning to us. Repetition is important for certain skills we need to develop. Let’s say you’re a basketball player, the more times you throw the ball the hoop the better you are going to get at it. If something is not working you need to find a new way of doing it or having a new outlook upon it. To illustrate, take your job for example, there are certain aspects that are going to have repetition but it may get very boring to you unless you bring variety to it. Sometimes you can’t change what you do but you can change the way you look at what you do.

Invention and innovation are crucial to personal improvement. I was recently commuting on the tube and I just wasn’t in the mood to read a book as I often do and I didn’t want to waste that valuable time either. So I decided to use that time to meditate and I was shocked by the results. I found it so easy to meditate and the results were also that I had many new ideas flow to me during that time. So it was a change of outlook and activity that enabled me to have a whole new experience of something I do regularly i.e. traveling on the tube. The key here is not to allow yourself to get bored. If you feel bored start the engine of your imagination and see what you can conjure up for that free time!

iii) Concentration - I’m a Piscean and we’re renowned for being dreamers and procrastinating; I am no exception! :-P However what I realised what that when I did day-dream or drift off my concentration on my day-dream was exceptional! If people tried to distract me from my day-dream they’d have a tough time of it. So I realised it was not my concentration that lacked but rather what I was concentrating on. The final key here is learning to stay focus on something for extended periods of time despite any challenges you might face.

If we go back to the tennis example only this time you’re playing a grueling match which has been going on for hours. It’s neck and neck, both you and your partner are exhausted. The winner of the game will undoubtedly be the one that can maintain concentration or focus on the closing of the game and not let their focus wander onto how tired they are or even the thought of making mistakes on closing points.

It’s an easy skill to develop. I always thought that I didn’t have the ability to concentrate and yet I’ve been sat here for the last hour and a half straight through totally focused on this article. It’s easy to do once you get into the flow of what you’re doing by not letting those little thoughts that creep in take over.

—–

The 3 core skills are a simple way of accelerating your personal growth and skipping past your plateau.

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May 15

The fusion of Business, Science, Spirituality and Politics has already begun. People are beginning to understand that there is actually no separation between them, they are all facets of the same universal system. I see more and more companies adopting the holistic approach when it comes to it’s values and the training of it’s people. There is a very fine line between all of these that is slowly fading away!

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Apr 21

Personal Development and the bigger picture

Whatever your perception of the world, there is an undeniable truth in that the change comes from within. Everyone will see the world in a different way, some people will choose to focus on the economic crisis, some will choose to focus on the the upheaval in Tibet,some will choose to focus on the political situation in Zimbabwe and some will focus on the rising fuel prices. Where does Personal Development fit into the the current climate?

It boils down to whether we choose to focus on the symptom or the cure. Personal Development is the cure whereas each individual problem is just the symptom of a greater underlying problem. Trying to tackle each issue one by one is kind of like masking the symptom with pain killers. It never gets to the root of the issue. The solution is understanding. A broader scale understanding that we are all one and have just this one home to share.

Do you see your family as just those around you that share a home with? Or do you see every single soul on this planet as not just an extended family but an immediate family? Try observing a stranger on the street as someone who is part of your immediate family. You will be amazed at the difference it makes to the way you feel about them. Suddenly they’re no longer a threat to you. As soon as you look at the physical differences of language or culture or skin colour or any difference, those differences can make you feel the need to arm yourself. Whereas if choose to look at the similarities instead of the differences a whole different world opens up to you.

Think of them as human just as you are. Think of them as someone who is just trying to find a purpose just as you are. Think of them as someone who is trying to make a lively hood just as you are. Think of them as someone who is creating opportunities just as you are. Think of them as someone who would like to enjoy life and experience some variety. Think of them as someone who believes they are significant just as you do yourself.

Can you feel the shift within you already?

This is where the path of Personal Development makes inroads to the relationships between all beings on this small planet. It begins with a small shift and so, if we can start with ourselves, those beliefs and attitudes spread and eventually will create mass change, especially if we educate our children this way.

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Apr 17

Meeting Deepak Chopra

On Monday I had the wonderful pleasure of seeing Deepak Chopra speak personally at a seminar in London.

For those who don’t know who Deepak Chopra is, he is a medical doctor by profession but over the years has fused eastern medicine with quantum physics and has developed his own philosophy on the mind-body-spirit connection. He has written over 50 books in which he very wonderfully and succinctly explains the connections in a way which even a child could understand.

His talk was lively, entertaining and very informative. He shared some very interesting facts about the make up of the human body and how within two years every atom in our body is completely replaced and so in essence; we are completely different. So what is it that retains the information that allows me to still know myself as Amit Sodha? ;-)

During the talk we had a brief 10 minute meditation in which all we did was repeat the words to ourselves in silence “I am”. So simple and yet it was so powerful. It also reminded me of a blog post in my ‘100 Days of Wisdom‘ series from day 2.

I was so engrossed in his discussion that I didn’t take many notes but he did share 15 thoughts at the end which I wanted to also share here too. I was scribbling as fast as I could and so I believe I captured all the messages correctly but if you think I missed something please do let me know.

1) There are hidden dimensions to our existence

Jesus - The Kingdom of Heaven is within you.

2) The world is in you

Jesus - Be the world and not of it.

3) There are 4 paths to unity

Jesus - For my yoke is easy and my burden is light

4) All fulfillment comes from within

Jesus - Ask and you will receive

5) Suffering is the result of not knowing the true reality

Jesus - Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us

6) Freed comes from choiceless awareness

Be still and know that I am god

7) The world is a mirror of the self

Jesus - As you sow, so shall you reap

8 ) Evil is not our enemy , evil is the personal and collective shadow

Jesus - Resist not evil

9) You live in multi dimensions

Jesus - In my fathers house there are many mansions

10) Death makes life possible

Jesus - You must be born from above

11) The universe thinks through you

Jesus - You are the light of the world

12) The only time is now

Jesus - You are the light of the world

13) You are truly free when you are not a person; we all exist in consciousness

14) Consciousness conceives, governs, constructs and becomes reality through synchronicity, self interaction and karmic connections.

Jesus - For where there are two or three gathered in my name - I will be there

15) The goal of life is unity consciousness and transcending the limitations of space, time and causality.

Jesus - What does it profit a man to gain the world and to lose his soul.

If you didn’t get to see him this time join me in setting a very powerful intention for him to return in the very near future! :-D

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Apr 13

People are always searching about the truth and what is real but is there such a thing?

Have you have recalled an event in your memory, a place you’ve visited, an object or anything of the like only to see it again, this time in person, and then realise that it wasn’t like you remembered at all? Or on the flip side, have you ever thought about how something was going to be only to reach there and then think “this isn’t how I imagined it was going to be at all”.

I remember trying a piece of food and thinking “eugh, that tastes horrible” only to try it again a few years later and then think “ahhh, actually, that doesn’t take too bad” and now I love it!

What this tells me is that no matter how I see things, even right now, I’m not actually seeing them as they are. I’m seeing them through a series of filters that I’ve built up over my life time. You’ve all seen mind magicians like Derren Brown do tricks like convince someone who’s seeing something that we think is red but after a bit ‘abacadabra’ suddenly the subject is now seeing the object as yellow.

This suggests that it’s all a matter of programming. No matter what I believe to be real it’s all just simple series of constructs and filters that I’ve built up over time and without being conscious I will skew those memories with my own opinions of how I wanted them or thought of them to be.

So is perception more real that what we perceive to be real? (Yes I like confusing my readers! :lol: )

Even science is now teaching us that what we see if not really what we’re seeing. I may look down and see my hand and just think I’m seeing four fingers, a thumb and my palm but what I’m really seeing is a sea of particles, sub atomic particles and all sorts of other wonderful things that are vibrating, dancing, popping in and out of existence, flying perpetually, etc the list just goes on!

Great…so how does that help me?

Think back and try and remember a time when you thought you observed something a particular way only to return to it and realise it’s completely different to how you remembered? So understand you’ve constructed and obscured that memory. What else have you obscured?

Now that you know that what is real is truly limited by your perceptual experience you can then choose to change alter your perception. Look at your life right now and ask is this real, or just my perception of it? If you’re perception has been skewed by your filters how can you alter your perception in order to alter your experience?

A very simple exercise you can do right now is think about something which you consider to be a problem for you right now. It can be anything at all you choose. Now you have this in your mind, change your perception of the problem; instead of calling it a problem call it a challenge! What can you learn from this challenge? How is this challenge going to benefit you, your experience of life and others? (Send your answers on a postcard to… :-P )

So lets take this up a scale and think about global issues and what we see as issues that don’t just affect us but the globe as a whole. Think about the environment, recycling, world poverty and nations at war. If all you know about these issues is what you’ve seen on T.V. then your perception, or your definition of what you think is real about those events and circumstances, is filtered through another medium and then also filtered again once your brain has stored the information. So you’ve now got two layers of filtration.

Think again now for a second about what you think it real…

Your reality is really and truly your perception of it. Or is that just my perception of what the difference between reality and percption is? :-p

My reality is my perception of reality. There is no right or wrong with my perceptions, no absolute truth except my truth through my learnings and experiential filters.

Related posts:
Perception Vs Reality

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Apr 12

Whatever task you’re engaged in right now…do it like there’s no tomorrow!

Remember this powerful thought and use it when you need it as it has got me through some challenging times of late.

Related Posts:
The True Value of Time
100 Days of Wisdom…Day 29

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Apr 7

It’s a great feeling to have my blog back up and running again! It was a bit scary there at one point as I thought I’d lost everything and I also noticed that my site was no longer being indexed by Google. In fact it was because of that I noticed that something was wrong.

I first noticed that the number of hits on my site had gone down considerably. So I decided to search for my site on Google and noticed I could not see it. I asked a few friends what my be wrong with my site and why that might happen? No one seemed too sure but they had some ideas and one of my friends spotted that I had and immense amount of spam code embedded within my blog. It was hardly surprising considering that I was still running version 1.5 of wordpress. I did attempt to upgrade my blog a few months ago and was unsuccessful. When I asked for help through wordpress no one responded to my messages on the forum so I decided to leave it again until I had more time.

This though though the situation was incredibly desperate. So I backed up everything and deleted my blog directory on my server and decided to start from scratch. This time I enlisted the help of a friend who was a lot more web savvy than I and he did the upgrade for me but it still didn’t work. Finally, thanks to his suggestion I got a setting rectified by my web host. That was supposed to fix it but for some reason it still wasn’t working! After nearly working on my site for 24 hours straight I finally managed to fix it and get it all running. I looked around for a nice theme and found the one you see before you now. I will be making minor changes at some point but for now this is a nice clean design with some good features.

My site is still not showing up on Google search however I think that for some reason Google had a cached version of a robots.txt file that was set to disallow crawling. I manually changed that and now I believe that will get my site indexed once again…fingers crossed!

I learned a very important lesson that if I’m going to continue to maintain my own blog then to keep the software up to date and change the passwords regularly. If, like me, you’re not so web savvy, then a good plugin to get is the Wordpress Automatic Update Plugin which pretty much does the upgrades to wordpress for you with the simple click of a button. My gratitude goes out to the creator of that plugin as I know it’s going to make the maintenance of this blog that much easier!

This experience has been a great lesson in personal development and the power of choice because, ultimately, I know that these problems occurred through the choices I made. It wasn’t a bad or a good thing specifically but I learned valuable lessons and web skills through it so I see the good that’s come out of this whilst also knowing that it wasn’t the best approach. However it’s done now so I’ll remember the lessons and try my best to implement them into the future.

Now comes the easy bit of writing blog posts! :lol:

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Mar 20

Enjoying the process

Now it may seem contrary to my previous article in the series from day 13 but there is also a strong reason to learn to enjoy the process. You can’t always be in this frame of mind though. It’s simply taking a few short moments to remember who you really are and what your existence is truly all about.

Having a strong focus on your desired result is awesome for long term achievement but very often what happens is people get to that point and then ask: “Is this all there is?” So what you must remember is that you won’t get satisfaction from the result. The satisfaction must come now through the process; in actual fact, the result is secondary. It’s fulfillment from the experience and the joy of doing now that will give you ultimate satisfaction. The result is the driving force to keep you going in the now. The fulfillment won’t come at the end though! That must also come now through an understanding that the process is very special time for you.

It’s a time for you to appreciate and acknowledge this wonderful gift that you have. It’s a time for you to understand that you truly have an amazing gift to be here, in the now, in this particular situation and are able to plough your energy into the things that you love doing the most. After doing this you will find that you energy levels will rise and surge. Now doubt you’ve experienced times of lethargy and low emotions? Well this is the way to increase your energy and lift your emotions. It’s a way of stilling the mind for just a few brief moments and just enough for you to feel recharged.

Related Posts: Minute Meditations Part 2

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Mar 15

Be afraid!

To put yourself into a position of fear is actually a good thing. Doing so on a regular basis is even better. Putting yourself in stressful situations is not and there is a very distinct difference!

The fear factor is wonderful! It’s the mechanism that tells us that we’re experiencing something new and something that is challenging us on every level. I had extreme fear the first time I went up to do the ‘Firewalk’ and I can in all honesty that it wasn’t the kind you associate with stress. It was a very different kind of feeling, I was very excited but scared at the same time.

That kind of fear is good for us; it’s when you do the thing that was giving you fear in the first place that you experience growth!

Stress based fear is very different and more often that not comes from being unprepared. You cannot be prepared for everything but you can prepare for most things that you know are coming your way and hence eliminate the majority, if not all, the forthcoming stress. Being prepared is probably the main key to the this and planning ahead also plays a big role.

You can also change your mindset and covert the stress into the healthy kind of fear by simply remembering that it is a challenge that is going to make you grow. It can be for anything too; like buying your first house or going for a job interview.

Also read...

Mar 13

Hey everyone,

For anyone who’s been wondering where I’ve been for the last three weeks, as previously mentioned, on the 9th of March I completed my double whammy challenge of not only running the half marathon, but also performing my second stand-up comedy gig.

As you can probably imagine the last few weeks have been intense. Not only was I training for the run physically and preparing for it mentally, I was also re-writing my stand-up set and also rehearsing it too.

—–

I entered the Adidas Silverstone Half Marathon and I’m pleased to say that I ran all the way without stopping or walking in 2h40m. I was running at a pace to complete it much faster than that but when I got to the 10mile mark I was utterley exhausted and I had to drop my pace considerably to make sure I finished. It was more than double the distance I’d ever run in my life! Last year I ran the 10K Great Capital race and after I had done it I didn’t continue with the running. I started running again approximately 8 weeks ago and I got back into it quite quickly as I mentioned in one of my previous articles.

This time I decided to raise money for a charity called Children Walking Tall and have thus far raised approximately £400. I was elated with myself that I did it but for me the challenges will not stop there! I’m already looking into doing another in October in preparation for the full marathon next year.

This was of course…just my pre dinner time challenge…my day didn’t stop there! Oh no! :lol:

Next was the Humili-Asian comedy gig as a follow on from the one we did in December last year.

Not a lot of people realise this, and to be honest, neither did I until recently, but the biggest challenge, was not the events themselves, but taking good care of my thoughts before and after both events. You’ll understand once I start explaining what happened.

About a week and a half before the big day, I found out that that half marathon started at noon. Without going into too much detail; it basically meant that I didn’t have much time inbetween both challenges to rest, eat, recouperate etc. So it was there that my next challenge began; trying to not let the worry of time get the better of me! Of course, at the same time I was still training, preparing myself mentally, studying human anatomy, finding out how best to keep myself fit, energised, healthy and injury free during the run.

I wanted to improve on my stand-up routine from the last time so I began the process of adding, deleting, re-writing and polishing off the routine. This took as much time as the my first attempt of comedy set writing. Even though I had previously memorised my routine, I had now forgotten 90% of it and so I had to begin the process all over again of imprinting it into my brain. It was quite funny as during this process I noticed that I couldn’t help let slip some bits of my old routine, which I also ended up doing on the night; although I don’t think anyone noticed. I certainly did though!

During this whole time I could feel the onset of stress and anxiety. As the clocked ticked and the days passed; it steadily increased! I was nervous because I wasn’t sure if I was ready or fit enough to run the half marathon. I was nervous and scared because I did quite well at my first stand up gig and I wasn’t sure that I could repeat that performance! Loads of little niggly thoughts started to peck away at the back of my mind!

I realised then that my mind was clouding with all these random thoughts and that was resulting in me feeling quite, heavy, depressed and nervous. It didn’t have to be that way; that only came from where I was choosing to focus my thoughts. Many people feel that where there thoughts flow from and to is not really through choice and that is true right now; it’s conditioning! To change you have to choose to change. If you want to shift your thought patterns then it begins with the decision and then the conditioning comes later. It’s like a smoker that successfully gives up smoking; they have to decide that they want to give up smoking first and then after that they find a way. I gave up coffee by changing my thinking; it began with my choice or my decision to make a change. It is the greatest power by far that we humans possess.

To achieve that kind of mental clarity and balance is not easy but it is essential if you want the repeated results you’ve been getting in your life to change. Without doing so you will find yourself having moods and getting very easily upset or depressed.

Sunday arrived and I was still not quite 100% prepared for the day. I didn’t feel nervous about the run and all through the race I felt relatively relaxed and calm and even though I did struggle, I knew that I would be able to finish the race running. During the run though I was still heavily focused on my stand-up set because I felt like I wasn’t quite ready. I felt like my material wasn’t quite up to scratch and that I wasn’t quite ready to perform.

When the time for me to perform arrived it was the thoughts of self doubt that kept me from being at my best. Even though I got plenty of laughs I knew that it wasn’t quite as good as it could have been and that came down to one factor and one factor only; taking care of my thinking before, during and after the event! I did well and even though I was faced with a few surprises I handled then all well. Experience has taught me though that having mental clarity and flow will always lead to much more fruitful results. If you want to be at your best during something, you have to be at your best before it too.

If you find that your thoughts are like a runaway train learn to apply the brakes and change your focus. If you feel like you’re experiencing worry it’s because you’re focused on results you do not wish to occur. If you’re stressed it’s because your thoughts are tuning into the worst case scenarios. It’s a that moment you need to set your personal wake up clcok and say to yourself: “snap out of it *insert name here*!” :lol: And that’s when you have the opportunity, if you choose to, to change your thinking. You can now focus on what you want to occur, what result you would like or even things like what you could do better or remembering the reason why you’re there in the first place! The choice is yours!

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Oct 22

The power of flow…

I just finished reading the book called Flow by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi and it was one of the most well written, informative and practical books that I have read thus far. The principle of the “Flow State” is described on Wikipedia as:

The mental state of operation in which the person is fully immersed in what he or she is doing, characterized by a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity.

I took a great deal of time reading this book through thoroughly as I felt there was so much information to asborb which was meaningful, solid and highly applicable to day to day living. Another great thing about this book is that in many ways it decribes what many of us may call spirituality and it is done in a way that everyone can understand and appreciate. I have always said that pretty much any activity can become “spiritual” if it is done with a spiritual mindset. For me, the “spiritual mindset” and flow state” is very similar. It could be any activity ranging from writing to golf, from motor racing to gardening!

The reason I mention this book is because I feel like this book would be extremly useful if it was introduced, not only to educators, so that they can explain flow and use it as a tool for children, but also re-written as version which young adults from the ages of 14-18 could appreciate. The language in the book is very simple, however it is quite long, so a condensed version would not only be easy to create, but would then be more enjoyable for young adults to read with pleasure and at the same time give them the ability to take more control of their lives. Who knows, maybe this is even a project I may take up myself or even propose to Mihály Csíkszentmihályi. :-D

It is books like I feel which will ultimately stand the test of time and will shape humanity in it’s own unique way. As time passes I get the impression that more and more people are understanding the principles behind the spirtual human evolution. Learning how to create the flow states within ones own life will be one of the major tools that people will look towards in terms of enriching and enhancing the human experience!

I wanted to share some quotes from the book with you:

“The general malaise is not due directly to external causes. Unlike so many other nations in the contemporary world, we can’t blame our problems on a harsh environment, on widespread poverty, or on the oppression of a foreign occupying army. the roots of the discontent are internal, and each person must untangle them personally, with his or her own power.”

“As people move through life, passing from the hopeful ignorance of youth into sobering adulthood, they sooner or later face an increasingly nagging question: “Is this all there is?” Childhood can be painful, adolescence confusing, but for most people, behind it all there is the expectation that after one grows up, things will get better. During the years of early adulthood, the future still looks promising, the hope remains that one’s goals will be realised. But inevitably the bathroom mirror shows the first white hairs, and confims the fact that those extra pounds are not about to leave.”

“The pursuit of a goal brings order in awareness because a person must concentrate attention on the tast at hand and momentarily forget everything else. these periods of struggling to overcome challenges are what people find to be the most enjoyable times of their lives.”

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Oct 19

I feel as if we’re entering a new paradigm. It doesn’t matter how much politicians try and fix all our problems, it seems like those problems only want to grow with the desire to fix. With a growing culture of “please fix this for me” it seems we are losing our way somewhat. The more we ask for others to fix for us the less gets fixed because we disempower ourselves by asking, “please can you do this for me”, or “what is the government doing to tackle this?” The onus is always put anywhere else but ourselves. Offering help and asking for it are not the same thing and they do not produce the same result.

Change won’t come tomorrow, but it can come within a generation. Just the other day I heard on the news that within a generation we will face a mass obesity crisis. That means that it can also remain the same within a generation or it can improve dramatically within a generation. Self empowerment is the only solution that I currently see to this problem and many others! It’s a cycle but it must begin somewhere so I choose that it will begin with me. I’ve made many mistakes, I myself am overweight, something that could have easily been avoided if my parents and guardians understood better how to communicate and empower me. It’s the sole reason I now have chosen this path that I have. If I can empower the children I work with and show them that there is another way then maybe they’ll be much better prepared to deal with the challenges that not only face us on a community based level, but a global community level, the level that affects not just humans, but every living creature on this planet.

The paradox is here is that the more selfish I become the more selfless I become. True self consciousness is where I understand that I’m not just this bag of bones but we are all intricately connected. Every little thing I do has a global impact. If I focus on myself to become a stronger, more focused, caring, loving, spiritual individual then in turn it puts me in a better position to help others and that in turn will create a massive domino affect that will impact 100’s if not 1000’s of people. In turn those people will then affect 100’s or thousands of people too and so begins the process of a change within a generation. If my desire is to better myself then maybe, just maybe it will rub off onto others!

I see so many people out there who have the tools but don’t know how to use them. Some people though, genuinely don’t have the tools. The source of change is firstly insight and then choice. Many people like myself who follow a similar path first came to it through insight, the old patterns and old ways were interrupted for whatever reason, it was like an alarm clock woke us up and after the insight we made a consciouse choice to first begin the change in ourselves then show others that there is another way. I’ll make it clear, I don’t think we should all be thinking the same or doing the same things but deep down, I know we all want change in one form or another, and change is the source of the new destination we’re sailing for!

I went to a talk not so long ago and one of the speakers, Roger Hamilton said that if we take matters into our own hands, begin the change process now, then eventually there will be little left for the government to do!

And so begins my 100 days of Vision series… ;)

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Oct 1

My heart is sensitive and romantic and I believe that everyone in this world has that one special soul who they connect with. However recently, life has illuminated the reality of love, and essentially compartmentalised it into a ‘black and white’ order. I have been granted a brief look into the eyes of others around me, who see love as the manifestation of hormones, lust and desire. Where love has nothing to do with your heart or higher self’s purpose, but more of an indication of what other parts of the body are pulling you to do. The stark realisation of this fact aggrieves me; even though I have known it for years and am no stranger to its concept, I never the less find it a difficult and painful awareness to accept.

Have we as humans become so disconnected that even love has lost its mysterious potency? It has been handed over to our bodies and we are but slaves to its satisfaction.

The more I cling onto the thought that love is a beautiful, transformative, uplifting journey for your soul, the more I am forced to witness its corrupt expression.

However being a firm believer in the teachings of Abraham, I know that my thoughts are the powerful engines which shape my reality, therefore I understand that this moment in time serves me well to uphold my firm beliefs in love and what I REALLY want from the love of another.

Why should I bow down to an unnatural concept when my heart craves to experience the power of my creator through the love of another soul. Do I compromise my hearts calling for the sake of conforming to a lifestyle that is accepted by everyone else around me?

As I transmit my intention of love to others I am consistently made to feel guilty for asking for a love that is innocent and sweet, looked upon as though I have a warped, archaic perception of love. Have I always been the human dreaming of being the butterfly, who is now lost in the psychosis?

As you can see, my internal battle and quest to eliminate this loneliness brings pain, doubt and fear. However even though the world around me adopts such a view, I wish to live in my fantasy and hold on to my concept that this person who I fall in love with, will also have the view that love is a soul connection, and not just the result of chemicals and hormones surging around the body.

If this view is indeed a result of years of misconstrued understanding where the barrier between the dream world and real world has been breached, then I wish to allow this to grow within me. It gives me ‘hope’ and paints a picture of a world I ‘choose’ to live in, albeit a reverie.

So with this in mind, I allow the tears in my heart to dry and hold firm my views in the face of harsh truth and with god’s grace breathe in life and wait for the day when my fairy tale romance becomes my reality. I wish to be saturated in its magic, to bathe in its sweet aroma and to taste its intoxicating essence upon my lips!

Follow your dreams in the face of adversity – no matter what the cost!

Peace and Blessings – From a slightly broken heart, but i know i will heal! Kavi xxx

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Sep 10

Woooohooooo! :-D

The 100 day mark has arrived. For me this is a true milestone. When I first began this “100 days…” project it just started out as a little idea to keep me blogging regularly. Now I can see that it has the potential to go much further, who knows what else I can achieve with this idea. It’s just the beginning and I know it will go much further. Very shortly I will be begin a new “100 days…” project and it will have a slightly different theme. One thing is for sure, I’d like to make it more challenging for myself.

Throughout this wonderful journey, I’ve leanred many new and exciting things. Each day has brought with it a new adventure and a new understanding in how to live a more purposeful, spiritual life. Spirituality is everything that we do and if you can do it with a spiritual mindset, you will love every moment of life, no matter how challenging it maybe!

Always keep the relativity paradox in mind, you cannot know happiness without sorrow, you cannot know love without fear, you cannot know light without darkness. These things were created to so that we might know what it means to be loved and what it means to recieve it. We enjoy that feeling because we know it’s counterpart!

There are 10 things I want to share that will ehance the quality of your life, remember and use these 10 things and I promise that you will life will be more happy, enjoyable and fulfilled!!

1) Have fun with life! Don’t let your first response to people be about how stressed out or how depressed you are or about how busy you are. Always start you interactions on a positive note. If during your interaction you need to talk about your challenges then do so, then finish where you started, on a happy and light note, sharing what you’ve learned through that encounter, or just share a joke!

2) Challenges don’t disappear, they change form. Notice I say challenges and not problems. Problems are barriers, challenges are hurdles, hurdles can be leapt, it takes a leap of faith. Barries need to be broken down and take much more energy! It may appear to you that other people don’t face challenges, or that their challenges are not as challenging as the ones you face. That’s your own mind creating a story to hold you back from being where it is you want to be. Running away will not take away your challenges, changing jobs because you have a horrible boss won’t take your challenges away, they will change form. When challenges arise, face them head on!

3) Whatever your religious or spiritual beliefs, don’t hold so tightly to them so to you nothing else is true. Keep and open mind and listen to others when they share. Everyone’s point is valid and there is truth in every way of thinking as it all comes down to perception! There’s no need to challenge anyone else’s beliefs either, respect them, appreciate them, and share yours with spiritual pride. Views are not there to be converted, they’re there to be enjoyed and appreciated.

4) Our childrens education is not just dependent on the teachers. I consider every single child on this planet as my children and I make it my responsibility to educate them. Education doesn’t necessarily have to be of an academic nature, in fact, most often that’s not real education. Real education comes from what children see us do and then, in turn, emulate. Whether we like it or not, we have a responsibility to them as they will always follow our actions. They will adopt our attitudes and they will look to our actions to shed light where for them, there is none. Make it your responsibility to educate every child on this planet. The more we educate them, they more they will be prepared to deal with the challenges they will inevitably face.

5) Learn NLP! NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) has some pretty impressive, no nonsense, tools that you can use for improving your life. It will be one the best investments of your time and money that you can make. You don’t have to become an expert, even learning the basics from any “off the shelf book” and acquiring a basic understanding will improve the quality of your life and your relationships. It will enhance your skills no matter what profession you’re in, whether you’re a house husband, a lawyer, a high powered business woman, it will benefit you!

6) Even if your life is going amazingly well, get a Life Coach! I’m not being biased in this because I am one! :P In fact, when you’re life is going amazing is the best time to get one because they will be able work with you to enhance your performance! If your life isn’t going so great, get one and you’ll be amazed at the results. They don’t perform magic, they just know how to ellicit the best from people!

7) I’ve said it before many times and I’ll say it again! Follow the 5 a day rule! Make sure that you incorporate these 5 things into your day, every day! 1) Meditate, 2) Smile, 3) Laugh, 4) Give, 5) Appreciate! They don’t have to follow any particular order but if I were to say one was mandatory, it would number 5, to appreciate and have gratitude for everything in your life! If you can do that one consistently and regularly then the other 4 will pretty much come naturally!

8 ) If you’re not sure what to do with your life the sure fire way of getting out of that rut is to put yourself out there and try different things. Watching Eastenders, even at the best of times, isn’t going to improve the quality of your life. What will is being social, interactive and experimenting with various activities like a sport or doing some charity work! Activities like that will enhance your focus and give you some clearer purpose and direction. The rule of thumb is to do something that completely takes you away from what you would normally do. If you’re normally on a computer or games console, then get out there and try a new sport or go speed dating! Anything that challenges who you are is worth trying once!

9) So often these days the first thing a person will tell me about is how tired they are! I’m no doc but one of the main reasons why people get so tired is because we’re so used to cars and junk food and living a lazy lifestyle it’s no surprise that lethargy sets in. We’re no longer use to physical exertion! When you feel tired is the precise moment you should get up and do some physical activity, push your body beyond what it’s used to and soon you’ll start feeling less tired! Another reason it lack of “good quality” sleep. Even if you’re consuming small amounts of caffeine, your sleep will be affected. Cut out as much caffeine as possible and was your quality of sleep jump from 3/10 to a 8/10 and you’ll feel more fresh and rejuvenated. You’ll actually wake up feeling like you’ve had enough sleep and be ready for your day!

10) Last but not least, tip 10 is read my blog and make it part of your daily spiritual digest! :lol: Ok that was a joke! You are valuable and important, make sure you make time for yourself on a regular basis. Whether that be 20 minutes a day to have some quiet time or whether you take 1 whole day a month and dedicate it to yourself is up to you but make it a regular ritual! We dedicate so much time to everyone else and unless we take the time to look after ourselves and nuture our well being that any pleasures in life will be short lived. The more you make time for yourself and take a step out of your life and become a spectator with an attitude of gratitude the more you will feel naturally happy and the more you will enjoy life.

There we have it folks, my top 10 tips and learnings from the 100 days of wisdom! Thank you so much to all of you who have left me messages, comments, sent me emails of blessing and well wishes! I truly hope this has been something you’ve not only enjoyed but something that you’ve got use out of too! Stay tuned for the next 100 days series! :-D

With love,

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Aug 22