Inspirational

Psychological Winter Resistance, SAD and YES, I CAN help myself

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Psychological Winter Resistance, or Enthusiasm Plateau. 

Today I am sharing about Psychological Winter Resistance, also known as enthusiasm plateau, motivational dip or valley, self-sabotage, as well as Season Affective Disorder (SAD) and suggestions how you can help and support yourself. I feel these topics are linked, perhaps one is given insufficient attention over the other. That is regarding resistance which may be related to the seasonal change, as well as something I think we all go through at times, as we travel through life.

Let me talk first about how weather affects your mood; Understanding Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). You are most likely aware of this physical phenomenon, which is a commonly held and these days, accepted, actual condition that so many of us feel.

Weather conditions affect us, let’s face it, we are basically animal creatures, connected to the earth, dependant to an extent on the time of the year for our survival and feelings of genuine well-being. Recently I wrote about the Summertime Blues, which people experience at the end of summer holidays, when there seemed to be so much time to achieve things. Maybe we had a list of everything we wanted to do and yet, it all took much longer, perhaps our priorities changed due to unexpected circumstances.

Many of us are affected due to the shorter hours of winter and what it may mean. Less time to go and walk the dog at the end of the day, the wet weather, preventing us from being outside, especially gardening, where growth slows right down.

SAD is more serious than feeling down in the winter, is a type of depression. It can cause low energy, constant sadness, and a want for more carbs. If your family has a history of depression, bipolar disorder, or anxiety, you might be more at risk. I know several people who are affected and it has been a relief to understand the effect that the weather has on their mood, and they have become self-accepting, understanding of the situation, and able to deal with it.

SAD usually begins in autumn, continuing on throughout winter. Winter has been far colder the last couple of years and you will notice, both within yourself and observing people you know, more feelings of disparity because of the wetter, darker winter conditions. People who live in Alaska experience SAD more, having little daylight and conversely, it is rarer in very sunny countries.

People have had enough and are yearning for warmer weather and springtime. I have noticed the birds seem to feel the same way and are starting to their build nests while still in mid winter, brought about by some slightly warmer days.

Ways we can help ourselves move through SAD.

Sleep and diet are very important along with more light, exercise and implementing self-supporting routines, which all of us will benefit by when we create new life giving daily habits!

A consistent routine helps; the basics are very important. For instance, to develop supportive routines upon rising and retiring at night. In the morning I like to go outside and greet the day, even better to walk barefoot on the earth for six minutes, which is a grounding practice. Open the curtains as soon as you wake up and go outside as soon as you can to take in the morning light. It assists with our circadian rhythm. Have breakfast or morning cuppa sitting by a window. If natural light is limited, a light therapy box would be very helpful. I know people who use this therapy. It’s a great idea.

Diet

Hibernating in the winter can be helpful when we spend more introspection, preparing inwardly for springtime. Many put on weight, as most of us know, we can prefer heavier, warming meals, with more carbs and very little exercise. I suggest paying good attention to your diet, to have plenty of fruit and vegetables, whole grains and lean protein. Consult your health professional and ask about vitamins, as I heard taking Vitamin D and C is essential, as well as zinc and echinacea which will support our immune system, thus making us stronger, fitter and unlikely to catch colds and flu.

Sleep

Limit blue screens before bedtime and have a regular bedtime schedule, going to bed and rising at a regular time. Also to sleep in a dark bedroom.

Light therapy, talking to a therapist, taking certain medicines, and getting enough Vitamin D can make a big difference. These treatments can help people feel better despite the weather.

Stay connected

Resist withdrawing from social activities, staying connected with family and friends. Do find time to exercise, there are many free YouTube videos if you cannot attend an exercise class like we do. There are plenty around in the community. It is also ok to have fun, to be kind and loving to yourself and plan something to look forward to. The movies, library talks and activities, various groups. Make a decision to be involved in life with other people.

Laughter Yoga

Regular exercise releases feel-good endorphins and dopamine, which help improve one’s mood and energy levels. Laughter yoga, which we do at laughter club, does this also, and is an aerobic exercise.  You are welcome to join us any time and in the case of bad weather, we go behind the Ferntree Gully Library under the eaves, on the decking, where we are very protected. It is indeed extremely invigorating.

Psychological Resistance

That is, when we have goals, focuses and so on that are of prime importance and we feel flat, in a lull, unable to get involved and be moving effectively forward as would be required to achieve the level of success we wish to achieve. Many of us feel ourselves in a motivational dip in wintertime but it may be at any other time of our lives also, when roles, work, family, situations and the like come about. It may be that we are bored, not having sufficient stimulation, a multitude of reasons may be at play.

Resistance can also be for many other reasons, and we may self-sabotage our pursuits with negative actions and lack of enthusiasm. There may be excellent intentions and yet it can be too easy to break the good intentions in a moment. A familiar one is how we make resolutions to diet and lose weight, finding ourselves quickly giving in, letting ourselves down, coming down psychologically with negative self-talk.

There is always a reason for doing so and it may be outside of our conscious awareness. Subconsciously we may be in conflict and behave in a way that is diametrically opposed to what was planned. One example would be low self esteem or deep psychological trauma, which means we begin on a high note and have a fall, we feel a failure, then give up. The feelings of self-doubt can be subtle. Then we can have hidden away, the fear of success and what it may entail. It brings us to question whether we really do want success after all? We think too much and it can sound very rational, listening to the quiet whispering within.

Negative self-talk can cause us to fail, perhaps we are more comfortable where we are and for whatever reason, our envisaged achievements are drastically diminished or fail for the time being. Which just means we were not up for the change at the time, and we receive the learning from the new situation. Similarly, we begin something new, there is an initial rush of dopamine, providing excitement and motivation. Can you relate to wanting to do something important and not being able to get into the groove to do so? You have been waiting for the time when you could apply yourself and then, when it comes, you become distracted and can’t become absorbed as you would like to and had envisaged beforehand.

This may be in relation to anything in your life, perhaps work, where you can’t apply yourself wholeheartedly to what is required for whatever reason. Work can give us opportunities and experiences to work through, which are invaluable to our personal growth, our evolution.

How about resistance we are unconscious of? Often this can relate to past experiences and conditioning, trauma and fear make it that we feel frozen in time, unable to step forward. Some of us love new challenges and others may say they do but when push comes to shove, back away or put it off, perhaps losing the prime time in which to achieve whatever that was.

Much of our resistance, and many of us can relate more to the word procrastination, is due to low feelings of self-worth. This can be unconscious, due to our programming and habits of survival we have taken on throughout our lives. I am not even going there, suggesting we may pick up from other incarnations, which we bring forth into this embodiment.

From the negative ego point of view, it is doing its best to carry out our instructions to keep ourselves safe. From this viewpoint, when we let ourselves down, there may be deep seated programming which comes into action. I wrote about this in relation to enneagrams, programs that are installed to protect us, as a mother would protect her precious child.

However, resistance can be a ‘good’ thing to encounter and work through, which takes diligent application and determination. Ideally, it requires introspection, journaling, meditation, self enquiry, at times outside support such as a coach or counsellor.

New projects can raise our feelings of wellbeing and positivity and put us in an initial high when positive endorphins are released into the body. Rather like a honeymoon phase which inevitably passes away, when we move into the next stage of application.

Working through resistance, feelings of flatness, going nowhere, a dip or plateau, and mind you this can be applied to many situations in our life, we can come out the other side stronger. Many share feelings of agility in handling their challenges, feeling stronger, more self determination and psychologically fitter than before. Once we do so, we develop new, enduring habits which support us and are stepping stones towards our goals, future self and worldly endeavours. Life is meant to thrust us into new situations and of course, new things become familiar, comfortable, the old ways of doing things.

Personal and spiritual ways to support us.

This section is more geared for people who may have lost motivation, whether it is the winter blues, that of feeling flat, tired, without it being the serious medical condition of SAD.

The human body seeks comfort, the easy way to do things, to be in control, know what lays ahead and we love to organise our lives neatly into boxes or compartments, instead of being open to interruptions and life happening moments, periods, difficulties etc.

It may appeal to some readers who are drawn to meditation and self-support, to spend quality time in introspection, rechecking and reviewing your life. What effort and focus are you putting into it and are you doing your best to greet anew every day. Daily journaling, which I like to do last thing at night, and meditation are most helpful. Remember to be patient, kind and tolerant towards ourselves is imperative.

Self Determination Theory SDT

Acknowledge the dip or plateau without judgment, because judging one’s actions exacerbates the situation. If we manage to keep going, our self-determination becomes stronger, we build endurance. The alternative to doing so risks not evolving and as energy is moving, we actually devolve, we lose the gains we have made in this lifetime. That is not something I ever wish to bring about, not at all.

We can do all sorts of things to help ourselves or find a teacher or coach you resonate with. Imagine becoming the best, highest, brightest, version of yourself and work towards it. It may be you can develop strategies and organise your time better, or cut down on what you are doing, becoming more of a being type of person. I used to be busy being busy and prefer to focus on more coming from a centred state of being. When in that centred and aligned place, the doing comes out of the being and not the other way around.

Rekindle with your WHY

Don’t wait for motivation to come to you, because motion creates energy. When you put your energy and action into it, the path is slow to begin with and then you build up momentum, which will then help to carry you forward. Motivation is tied in with self-determination which is fuelled from within you.

To get out of the motivational slump, revisit your WHY. There needs to be a sold reason to begin with which set you up, your direction, which becomes lost as time goes on.

It is not happening now

We may be feeling things that are unresolved from the past and create self-doubt, which is dreadful. Stop listening to them and create a plan of action if you want to succeed. Above all be kind to yourself, lose the judgment and be happy to get out of your comfort zone.

That being said, it may well be that you hadn’t thought through before embarking on a project and did not know enough about it. It may be time to give it away, move on, or modify the goal or project.

My motto is to Never ever give up. We need to apply ourselves and learn to trust our feelings more than our thoughts. Not easy to know what is up or down at times. That is why the spiritual growth activities of meditation, journaling, introspective, positive affirmations – all of it, are advised and necessary.

Patience, Tolerance and Kindness

Okay, you have read it this far. Well done! There is a lot in all this, if it is of interest to you, as it is to me. Basically, live your life making progress and don’t beat yourself up!!!

When we meet

The Ferntree Gully Laughter Club meets at 11am on the 2nd & 4th Sunday of the month.

We are at the Ferntree Gully Library 2pm on the 4th Tuesday of the month and the Boronia Library 11am on the 3rd Saturday of the month. I also run periodic laughter yoga and spiritual growth classes and workshops. First timers, please contact me, Lynette in case of a meeting change.

Let me know if you wish to receive my email newsletter and an email reminder when the laughter club is on next. You may even like to join the Ferntree Gully Laughter Club Facebook group, or receive an email reminder when laughter club is on, let me know. Thanks.

Cheerio for now and be kind to yourself. Lots of Love, Laughter and Blessings. Lynette Mitchell.

Phone:         0425 799 258
Email:          lynette@laughterforliving.com.au

Equanimity From Laughter Yoga is Fabulous

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Laughter Yoga Provides Equanimity in Our Lives

Do you ever think about, ponder, focus on or are aware of the topic of equanimity? I do all the time, as part of my spiritual journey.

Equanimity is living in a state of balance, achieved by focusing on living in the present, self-aware mindful and with compassion. It may look like someone is centred in one’s being, remaining calm, grounded and centred, whilst experiencing challenges.

Equanimity is generally on board as we practice living in this form of self-mastery. It is not something we can choose in case of emergency; it is ingrained in our being through regular practice in our daily lives.

This is a wonderful topic and the cool thing about it is we can all improve in this area if it interests us and we can see the importance of living this way. Let’s face it, we are not alone and are nearly always in various relationships, whether they be family, business, work, social etc.

I feel that equanimity is a whole body experience, a feeling, spiritual thing and need not be a controlled mental state. This implies suppression and the heart is not involved, although there are good intentions present.

To effectively be in equanimity we need to centre ourselves first and act with clarity of intention and compassion. As I practice being in equanimity, in order to centre myself I pause, take a breath or two, allow myself to slow down and become aware of how I am feeling. To be in this calm, centred, mindful state of mind and emotions, I am better able to apply myself to every situation. It is not necessarily so simple, nor easy to do, which is why it is important to have the quality of equanimity on board in one’s personality and self expression. If you attempt to be that way in an emergency, failure is more likely to be the case.

There are many Buddhist references to living in equanimity, which is a state of balance where one doesn’t react to difficult situations. It is part of living in a grounded, mindful manner, without supressing emotions and feelings. Equanimity is a beautiful state to become endowed with, which has a positive, uplifting effect upon those around us in our everyday lives.

It is a non-judgmental, accepting way of being and it may be developed through the practice of laughter yoga. 

How laughter yoga helps you achieve equanimity

Did you know that laughter yoga is a practice that greatly assists us to live in equanimity? A lot of research mentions the benefit of being in greater equanimity when we come together doing laughter exercises. Isn’t that grand? Perhaps is another terrific reason to come along and join us for regular laughter exercises.

This happens organically, that is very naturally, when we come together in playful fun with each other. The way we perceive life upgrades to that of becoming self-accepting and it follows, we become more tolerant and accepting of others and of life situations.

Notwithstanding the times when we may need to walk away from things or people, this is not an airy-fairy way of being, where we become doormats and allow ourselves to be in abusive situations.

What laughter yoga helps with is slowly developing a more cheerful, fun filled, optimistic personal value, leading to living in far greater equanimity because of the way regular laughter can help us.

Some Aussies Involvement in Laughter Yoga

It feels like a good idea to impress upon you more about this, the fact that many people around the world work professionally with laughter yoga and also a great many who are making grounded differences here in Australia. They come from different backgrounds and fields of work.

I will mention three people, firstly to give a shout out to Merv Neal, a local, who filled in for me when I was on a retreat recently. He is responsible for initiating laughter yoga in numerable places which call for more equanimity in people’s lives. For example, it is being accepted as a fabulous activity in the wellbeing and healing area; he is involved in research conducting laughter for kidney dialysis patients and working with the Cancer Council. He co-authored a scientific study book last year which I love.

A prominent Melbourne laughter leader, teacher and academic is Ros Ben-Moshie, who has written two laughter books. Ros also teaches short course courses in Laughter, Resilience and Wellbeing at Latrobe University.

There are many more prominent Australians doing amazing work in the laughter yoga field, which is taking off, i.e. becoming widely known and accepted as a highly beneficial practice for us all to be doing.

The third one I will share with you is Annie Harvie who lives in Adelaide and has written The Giggle Game. Annie has taken this fun, simple, interactive card game all around the world. It is designed for early learners, and I highly recommend it to school teachers and parents. It is a simple way of bringing the exercise of laughing together to us all and in particular, children.

Thank you for taking the time to read this article and wishing you an excellent 2025. You are always welcome to join John, myself and the small group who come regularly to laughter club.

First timers, please contact me, Lynette to in case of a meeting change. You may even like to add yourself to the email reminder for the laughter club or sign up for my newsletter. My website has information regarding workshops, classes, laughter yoga and blog.

The Ferntree Gully Laughter Club meets at 11am on the 2nd & 4th Sunday of the month.

We are at the Ferntree Gully Library 2pm on the 4th Tuesday of the month March onwards and at the Boronia Library, 11am the 3rd Saturday of the month recommencing in May.

Cheerio for now. 

Lots of Love and Laughter. Lynette Mitchell. xo

Summertime Blues

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Read my summertime blues blog, how to do new things, lift yourself up

Hello. Are you prone to procrastination? I am at times, and it can be debilitating, taking my mind away from living one day, right down even, to one moment at a time. Instead, my mind may go around in circles, with a continuous background narrative of ‘having to do something which feels timely’ and yet I can’t get my act together. It can be difficult to be in the right mindset for the best focus to apply myself wholeheartedly to what is most important to be done or achieved.

Why do we do it, have this resistance? There can be many reasons why. I will bet you that some can be from feelings of low self-worth and a general lack of inspiration. A common theme is not wanting to start because we think that the result has to be perfect. This may equate to needing to be in the right frame of mind or being totally prepared, in order to give it our best shot.

I was like that in writing this article. I had written down something which felt like it would be a worthwhile topic to share with you and blow me down, could not find it. I have been tuning in waiting to receive an inspiration, like a bolt of lightning. Nothing came until today when two words, ‘summertime blues’, popped into my head. I Googled them, feeling curious and was moderately surprised to find out it is a thing! All this time, I had not stopped to ponder, and I will share the essence of it with you.

Summertime blues can be similar to the SADs, that winter condition which many people fall victim to, where days are shorter, with little sunlight, which our body thrives upon. People become depressed, flat and find it difficult to feel joy in their lives.

“The summer blues, also known as the summertime blues, are feelings of sadness and depression that usually occur during the last week of summer, especially when you realise you have failed to meet some goals you set for yourself during the summer.” – The Center for Connection, Healing, and Change, in Virginia, U.S.A.

In my view as we live in Australia, where it does get very hot for often long periods of time, summertime blues relates to existing feeling depressed, due to excessive hot days and nights. Over time we become exhausted when we are unable to sleep, which puts our bodies under extra stress, which never feels fully rested. We tend to put things off and our motivation is low, achieving less towards the end of summer, holding out for more comfortable weather. I feel most of us can relate to that, the summertime heat, humidity, discomfort, lack of sleep, increased anxiety, which seems endless. And to top it off, we may live in fear because of it being bushfire season.

The general way summertime blues is referred to regarding experiencing depression, which can be overwhelming, is when you come to the end of summer and realise how much you have lost or frittered away your time, without achieving what you had planned. Although you may actually have achieved quite a lot in hindsight; your list was unrealistic and in fact you did very well. This can happen when we are too hard on ourselves, judgmental to a fault, rather than being our best friend, supporter and coach.

Who amongst us can even remember back to those water restriction days, when people gave up on their gardens, developed ‘bucket back’ from saving buckets of water from inside, such as when running the shower, waiting for the hot water to come through and then carrying them outside to put on plants. Many of us would carry 10 litres buckets to various places in the garden and develop crook backs. It was very common.

In Australia, we also deal with the Christmas madness being in summer, which serves to compound the various stresses in our lives. For many of us we may have lost a loved one this year, or fairly recently. This can be a very sad and grief filled time, which may be difficult to heal from. We all need help and to be supported by family and friends, not forgetting professional help.

This seems like I am sharing bad and gloomy themes with you, for which I wholeheartedly apologise. Life is as it is and no matter what, we serve ourselves best if we can get on with it and believe in ourselves. We can be our best friend and there is always time to learn, evolve, continue on the battle, be courageous and speculate how we can live a better life, for example more interaction and pleasurable activities.

There are many free or minimal cost community support groups; neighbourhood houses providing low cost activities and friendship groups. This can bring a sense of belonging and purpose to people who participate.

Also, we are classified as animals. And as such, we also need to belong in a group, tribe, community, whatever, seeking and relating with other likeminded animals. This could be one reason why we feel so comfortable with our pets, most commonly cats, dogs and birds, and other smatterings like rabbits, guinea pigs, frogs, reptiles etc.

It is unwise to carry on with negative self-talk wherein you judge yourself if you feel dependant on something, someone, a pet, activity or anything. I often mention neuroplasticity to you, how our brains are wired to benefit and truly need the stimulations that everyday life can offer us, which has an overall, positive affect upon our whole body system. Humans are meant to have experiences, to feel joy and purpose and it is very positive to do so.

If we feel that our best times are behind us, that may stop us from feeling purposeful on a daily basis. Time for some tough love from me and you may wish to give it to yourself. If you are flatlined in your life, ask for some inspiration and look for your own answers. You will be led to enquire here or there, to join with other people in an activity, hobby or group and learn something new.

We welcome you to the laughter club, which has been transformative in many people’s lives. People come and go and what we do helps ones to remember about the importance of having fun, deep breathing and laughing regularly.

I invite you to ponder on what type of things you may enjoy being involved in. You may like to contact your local council for advice about community groups and local libraries have incredible opportunities with free activities and talks. I have tried a lot of things in my life, one being various art expressions. Alternatively, you may be perfectly happy to keep doing what you do, freshening up your attitude a bit, improving your involvement, growing, still learning. We do need stimulation in our lives.

Words may be inadequate to bring forth to you a positive impact, which may encourage you to find or do something which will make your heart sing. This is in reference to becoming involved in an activity which will help you to relax, to focus, spending whatever time you have available’ in it, whilst interacting with others.

Returning to the subject of procrastination, is there something that jumps out for you to attend to? Or even the prompt to actively apply yourself to your ‘to do’ list in a way that produces satisfaction?

A new list could be understanding there are ways to deal with those feelings of sadness or the blues. Getting back to basics, you can ground some new beliefs which will benefit both yourself and those around you. Your to do list could include bringing yourself from feeling isolated and reach out to others in however you need it to be. You may benefit from receiving the professional support of a psychologist, social worker, counsellor or develop other social connections which may be like going to yoga or an exercise class. Ask and you will receive ideas and come to realise your own answers.

Exercise more, incorporate it to fit with your lifestyle and it will most likely help you to sleep better, which is so important. Exercise can be simple too, chair exercises, walking, yoga. You can learn something new and can do that in the comfort of your own home online, if you are comfortable with that.

It is in your hands to make a difference to your life and find joy again. You have the power to bring back the joy if it has been absent in your life. Wake up and affirm out loudly “I choose JOY”.

Give yourself a lift and a break from what was normal and everyday things, unless it feels like the best thing for you right now. Prepare yourself for summer and Christmas and keep on growing, keep on keeping on and never ever, give up. Never ever!

Laughter Club is on 8th & 22nd December, with a picnic after at Wicks Reserve. We will be at two libraries in January and take the month off meeting behind the Ferntree Gully for the first time, returning on the 2nd Sunday in February.

Thank you to Barbara Oehring for being such a brilliant photographer and sharing this beautiful photo of John and myself. We appreciate you!

We laugh together as follows and YOU are most welcome to come along.

Ferntree Gully Laughter Club 11am 2nd & 4th Sunday

Boronia Library  11am on the 1st Saturday of each month

Knox Library   2pm on the 3rd Thursday of the month – note this discontinues in 2025.

Ferntree Gully Library  2pm on the 4th Tuesday of the month

First timers, please contact me in case of a meeting change. You may even like to add yourself to the email reminder for the laughter club or sign up for my occasional newsletter. A reminder as well, I can also support people, as I’m qualified as a counsellor and life coach.

Wishing you joy this summer and for a harmonious and love-filled Christmas season. Speak with you again soon.

Lots of Love and Laughter. Lynette Mitchell.

Phone:          0425 799 258
Email:            lynette@laughterforliving.com.au

Minimalising and Laughter Yoga 101 in 2023

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Hello Everyone

I feel to touch on decluttering again and bring up minimalising, as they can be expressions of our personality, because our habits are ingrained in our daily lives. A high percentage of people hoard and buy stuff, or even live in a way where they are being busy being busy, because of low self esteem. It may well be unconscious too, as we can put on a bravado attitude, which covers it up with others and we can be led to believe our strong bravado, outgoing way is a ‘good’ thing, when in fact it covers up how we actually feel about ourselves. Ha. It is all very complex, isn’t it?

Attending a laughter club may help us to change for the better, as we let go of rigidity, which can improve the way we conceive of ourself in a natural and spontaneous way. My last blog on decluttering struck a cord in many people and there was positive feedback, as it really struck a cord, as we have in general, grown up in a material world, where we can look outside of ourselves, getting more and more away from nature and what matters the most. 

Many of us are aware of the value of releasing the hold that material possessions have on us for various reasons. I am doing well with letting go of possessions and enjoying a life where I feel more expansive, especially when I manage to create more space in our home. It has a beneficial affect physically on my life. There is also an awareness to review what I do, as many things have become, or have always been, unconscious ones which can make me feel flat. What we need is to wake up each morning with unbounded enthusiasm and positive self-talk, which releases positive endorphins into our brain and the more we do that, the better we feel, which is part of maintaining good brain health. 

If you listen to podcasts, Mel Robbins on Spotify interviews psychiatrist Dr Daniel Amen on 7th August, entitled ‘Optimize Your Brain: 3 Important Habits for Productivity….. (based on 2000,000 Brain Scans).  I hadn’t heard about brain health before, have you? It was extremely interesting to listen to.

We saw Peter Walsh from his TV show Space Invaders last week, as he was the guest speaker for Ryman Healthcare. I loved his presentation on downsizing, finding Peter most entertaining, informative and engaging. Peter spoke of two main reasons we hold onto so much material stuff, one is often out of duty, sentimentality and the other one we keep looking for fulfilment, instead of looking within and filling ourselves up. Peter’s third series is on TV now and he had been working 16 hour days filming it in Sydney, was obviously tired. I am looking forward to watching his show again, it is one of my favourites. Peter spoke of how we reach a stage that our possessions own us, we are so tied down by them, that we can feel suffocated and not have time to do things in our life that we would much prefer to do. 

Minimalisation

This, I feel is a softer feel to implement to the somewhat heady method decluttering. It is developing a sense of what is essential in our lives, which means we have more inspiration and energy to live a full and meaningful life. I found myself doing this and it is not rigid about getting rid of stuff, some advice is about experimentation of what we need and what would be better to release. Every possession has a drain on our energy and time. We can become lost in the humdrum of life when we keep on going the same way.

Books by Joshua Becker, a famous decluttering and minimalising genius from the U.S.A. have had a positive impact on me, in my journey of letting go of stuff that I have accumulated over 81 years. It is an ongoing journey for me. Joshua shares that everything we own takes up our energy. We have outlaid the money, things take time to look after, we need to create more open space, which gives us a feeling of being able to breathe, as we can feel so claustrophobic. Joshua has written several books, one being The More of Less. One of his famous quotes and portrays his philosophy is “The first step in crafting the life you want is to get rid of everything you don’t. Minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of anything that distracts us from it. Owning less is better than organizing more.” I feel to share a YouTube video for you to connect you with who Joshua is. Click here to see it. 

Laughter Yoga

Laughter Yoga, is what we do at the laughter club, laughing and deep breathing. This helps us somehow to be more alert, conscious, aware, present and connected to life. It is such a great way to come together in a gentle, loving, kind, caring community. We have childlike, playful fun together as we move about, creating new brainwaves by singing, dancing and laughing, as we do in our version of improv theatre. It energies and instils light-heartedness in all of us. We do not tell jokes; rather we focus on spontaneity, being present in the moment which is just as well, as if we aren’t good joke tellers, it would be a very flat laughter session.

Laughter really is a fantastic exercise, where we laugh together followed by a cuppa afterwards, simply chat and share what we have been up to, everyday news and happenings in general.

Get in Touch?

Find out more on this website, which includes information on self-help classes, the laughter club and more. Feel free to connect with me if you need support or to find out more about laughter yoga. classes etcetera.

Cheerio for now and all of us at laughter club are looking forwarding to seeing you sometime!

Lots of Love and Laughter. Lynette Mitchell.

Click Here for Ferntree Gully Laughter Club page

Minimising and Decluttering, Why and How Laughter Yoga Can Help You.

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Decluttering has been part of many people’s intentions over recent years and, quite a mini revolution in many homes. It has been a prominent buzzword and a whole range of businesses have arisen to cater for de-clutterers who embark on their own unique personal journey of letting go of possessions.

Marie Condo wrote Spark Joy, which helped create this enormous clearing out of stuff movement. I love her book, reading it opened my eyes and started me on a long journey to reduce material possessions. These include various hobbies and collectables such as ornaments of horses and elephants. (I am keeping the swans for now). I have accumulated a lot over my 81 years. Many people have referred to me as a hoarder. Does that ring a bell with you too? We can all be hoarders of a variety of objects and not others. Our interests can change, yet we usually accumulate more things, rather than letting go of what has passed to make room for the new.

I prefer the term ‘collector,’ it is kinder, and I feel has a depth of understanding, of emotions or reasons why we like to keep things. There is nothing wrong with having anything, rather it is our motives about possessing, collecting, hoarding, hanging on to things that is paramount.

Spark Joy helped me to value, respect and treasure my possessions, to treat them with appreciation and look after them as well. For example, to thank the clothes as we fold it and put it away, not to squish it into cupboards. To treat our belongings with gratitude and respect. Marie says that things last longer when we do so and treat things as energy, even a low level of intelligence. That is an interesting concept, who knows? Perhaps there is a miniscule of intelligence in everything, as everything is energy resonating at different wavelengths. And think about this, our possessions need our attention and energy, otherwise their energy is weaker. You can even feel it.

Why do we have Clutter?

We become who and what we are in our upbringing and influenced by our parents or caregivers’ behaviour. Added to this has been the outer influences in our lives, radio, television, printed material, and innumerable other things. Now there is Spotify, YouTube, Facebook, Blogs, all sorts of modern age apps and the list grows exponentially.

All these modern conveniences impact on most of us as a general rule. There is less time, less sitting quietly in stillness, more of being busy being busy. Our minds and lives become cluttered as we tend to rush and try to fit more and more into our lives.

Low Self Worth and Wanting a Happy Fix

A major reason we hoard or collect things to excess that is most commonly spoken of is due to our lack of worthiness. Oftener than not, it is out of our radar of awareness, as we struggle to cope the best way we can, in varying amounts and situations. We may not be aware of having a lack of feeling worthy. Many of us have unconscious needs to be fulfilled, as we struggle with feelings of unworthiness. Buying or acquiring something makes us feel better for a short time. We feel a little happier for a moment or longer, as we try to fill ourselves up with things. Then look for the next fix, like a drug addict. Shopping can be an addiction in this day and age.

The temporary fix may be objects or activities, we develop a life and habit to be so busy so as not to feel negative things such as sadness, anxiety, depression or empty. It is a big and complicated subject. The theory and scientific evidence are that there may be some underlying cause which is making us want a full house. It could be an unresolved loss in our life, something so horrible that we have not been able to accept or get over it is occurring.

Isn’t it wonderful that there is greater awareness about all this now? There are many hoarders shows on TV and a favourite of mine is Space Invaders. Peter Walsh is the presenter, with a psychology background who confronts participants as he uncovers usually traumatic experiences, which led to the deeply seated unbalanced obsession of hanging on to stuff.

Decluttering sure is interesting and has led to me to delve into the subject of becoming a minimalist.

Minimalisation.

I love this one, as I am learning that to minimalise which is like a higher turn of a spiral, a more evolved, less mental way of looking at our possessions. It is feeling based, less thinking involved, it is gentler, with one being able to do it slowly, gently, learning and appreciating ourselves and life itself. We can embark on an interesting journey where we develop a graceful relationship with the universe and discover our needs are less than what we thought they were.

What we really and truly need in life is unique to us and ever changing, as we discover how free-er we become with less accumulated stuff around us. People wrongly may have the understanding that a Minimalist is a person who has hardly any possessions. That may be so, but those who think that is what it boils down to misunderstand.

They can be frugal with an empty looking house, storage areas, etc, but consider this, it is not about forcing change, instead it is learning to live with less over time, which ultimately unburdens us.

Essentially developing this way of living is having a growing appreciation of what life has to offer and to value it, unburdening ourselves of much that gobbles up our time and money.

We can then feel enthusiastic about our future, to find time to do what is important in our lives and develop greater appreciation of who we are and our direction.

How Decluttering and Minimalisation Links With Laughter Club and Laughing

Part of the benefits of laughing together are psychological and social. When we come together in group harmony as we do, we feel many beneficial things. A sense of belonging, being loved, accepted for who we are, without judgment. Over time our sense of humour hones itself in ways that we do not ourselves notice. Simply put, many wonderful things change in our lives which naturally induces greater self-appreciation, as well as compassion for ourselves and humanity. As our belonging grows, we feel sucked into place and hold hope in our hearts. The hope is unique for each individual person.

Gradually, people who come regularly somehow feel a greater hope and connection with mother nature, with spontaneity. Gathering afterwards for a social chat and cuppa helps as we have an opportunity to share with others who feel like family. I firmly believe and have observed people feeling better about themselves, simply by coming and being part of the group and what it offers.

that over time these improvements add to the way we view life and, in this way, we ever so gracefully, with courage and conviction, let go of stuff we have gathered around us to feel better or to cover up feelings of inadequacy.

A Golden Rule to Live By.

William Morris’s famous quote is “If you want a golden rule that will fit everybody, this is it: Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” I have also heard and live by an additional item, ‘Is it necessary?.” Many necessary everyday items these days and neither useful nor beautiful, possessing them brings ease into our lives. Necessary examples could be having a roof over our head, a car to drive, a television set.

Get in Touch?

Lynette is available to talk with you about this or other blog subjects, if you feel to reach out to her sometime. Also, she runs self-help classes, if you want to find out about that, you certainly can.

Cheerio for now and all of us at laughter club are looking forwarding to seeing you sometime!

Lots of Love and Laughter,

Lynette Mitchell.

It is Never Too Late For New Things – You CAN Teach an Old Dog New Tricks!

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You can teach an old dog new tricks
You can teach an old dog new tricks

The Ferntree Gully Library regularly hosts Laughter Yoga for the Ferntree Gully Laughter Club. It believes in providing the community a taste of what activities, groups, interests are available for them to be part of.

One said that she had spontaneous light-hearted laughter afterwards, which continued for a couple of days and she planned to join us on a regular basis. And so she did, together with a friend, who participated and enjoyed it as well. As a result of this occurrence, two ladies have joined us as regular members/attendees, both as a result, also bringing a friend along.

Another new club member loved it, deciding at the end of the library session to join us and stop procrastinating. She has been aware of our existence for a very long time, perhaps not quite eighteen years since we first began, however for a very long time. She was not going to put it off any longer!

Following the laughter club session, she kindly shared her experience. “I thought that I would be self-conscious with new people and others walking past us in the park. But it was so much fun, everyone was great, and I was surprised how easy it was to join in wholeheartedly too.”

Her experience inspired me to do a blog about it never being too late to begin something new. “You can teach an old dog new tricks”.

Her turning up after so long, was a reminder I felt for all of us, that it is never too late to start something new. How often do we fall into a way of thinking that it is too late to start something else in our lives?

I do not concur with that! In fact, I totally disagree and feel we need to continue to get out of our comfort zones and extend ourselves, in a healthy, gently stretching way. Hubby John frequently shares that, “get out of your comfort zone”.

The same lady shared over a hot cuppa at the café following laughter club her feelings. Which are, similar to others to whom I have spoken, become more involved in life once again. Covid restrictions were psychologically damaging, and she makes it a priority to keep busy, joining social and interest groups, resolving to live life fully, with vim and vigour.

This ties in with Neuroplasticity, which I frequently touch on, that we need stimulation and new whatever’s, for our brain and general wellbeing.

Would you agree, to be active and that it is beneficial to learn something new? When we are doing our ‘old’ interests and hobbies, we may be unaware of ourselves becoming less engrossed. So often we have a ‘good’ habit and lo and behold, without realising it, what we are doing for fun, service, hobbies, physical activities etcetera, loses its sparkle. It might be time to stop and review what we spend our time and energy on.

There is the risk of becoming stale in our interests, even bored, when we do not stop to take stock to check and see how we are going. It may be time to bring in something new to switch things around somehow. I am not suggesting stopping something for the sake of it, rather to check in, review our life, our habits to consider what we are spending our time on, as usually with the rhythms of life it can be beneficial to swap something over, let it go to make space for new stuff.

I reckon that laughter club is pretty good for helping in this, because of the spontaneity involved with what we do. It helps us be in the moment and generally feels fresh every time we meet, even though it’s usually the same regular people, it feels fresh and energises us. There may be different people walking past, picnics happening, changing weather; it adds to the freshness and enhances our laughter creativity. We get ideas and run with it, adults playing, like back in the days when we were kids. Remember those times?

We would love to see you come too and give it a go. Don’t be shy. Would you agree with my views, to bring in something new? As time goes on, we can be influenced by the media, people’s opinions, what is expected of us and especially due to our age, interests, abilities and being either male or female. It can be a struggle to step out of the box of other people’s expectations and to take opportunities as they arise.

There are a multitude of health benefits from the simple matter of laughing more. A simple benefit is that it renews our ability to be light-hearted, to update our sense of humour and play. Adults frequently say they forget to laugh, becoming serious over time, weighed down by the worries of health, family and world affairs. Watching the news on television is something many people choose to stop doing, because it can be depressing, the ‘bad news’ so outweighs the news that is more positive.

Also we can take on and believe what we see on television, which may be influenced by things other than sharing truthful situations and events. How uplifting, how refreshing, it is to watch a hopeful news story, especially with a good outcome.

I trust that you are finding some fun and joy in life, as together we have all been through a very hard time for a few years and are emerging from it like a butterfly, with new growth. There are very likely new opportunities coming your way.

Does this inspire you to join us someday soon, or check in with consideration what you are up to? I sincerely hope so and invite your phone call if you feel to share a chat together before you first come.

Finally, a huge thank you to the Ferntree Gully Library for hosting laughter sessions, which gives people a taste of many things out there, beyond our awareness. If you are interested in attending the Rowville Library to join us for the next laughter session, it is at 11am on Saturday 12th August. Book with them on 9800 6443 or to book online, log in with your library details.

Lynette and John lead the free Community Ferntree Gully Laughter Club on Sundays, at 11am on the 2nd and 4th Sunday of the month, behind the library. First timers, please contact Lynette in case there’s any alteration to that.

We also express our heartfelt gratitude to Janet Claringbold at the Studfield Wantirna Community News for including an article and Ferntree Gully Laughter Club information for over 8 years. Thank You!

Lots of Love and Laughter,
Lynette Mitchell.

Phone: 0425 799 258 - Email: lynette@laughterforliving.com.au

How to Develop Beneficial Habits.

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Good Habits Blog

Creating healthy habits for self-improvement.

Many of us like to work on ourselves in some form of self-improvement, which usually entails improving our habits so that our life is more effective and functionals to the best of our ability. Habits develop from an exceedingly early age. From the moment we are born we are impressed upon from outside of ourselves to behave in certain, acceptable ways. That is generally what occurs, we develop unconscious habits which become ingrained into our expression.

This is the exact opposite to living mindfully and being aware in each moment what our energy is doing. Are you interested in living your life consciously, mindfully? If so, this may resonate with you and a few others who read this post. We are at the mercy of all our past programming and patterning, when choosing to break old habits and create new, beneficial ones, that will take us to where we want to go. Rather like pushing against the tide or walking uphill.

I recently wrote regarding affirmations, which is do them daily for 28 days, or a full lunar cycle. It takes a month for new habits to become ingrained into our positive daily rituals. I believe that habits are easily formed and difficult to break, when they become automatic, mindless, unconscious ones.

Consider this, you try to give up a ‘bad habit’ such as smoking or eating chocolate. You succeed and then one day, feel like just one, it will not hurt me. Then daily you look for it, more likely at a time when you feel a little stressed and want something to make yourself feel better. It is called comfort eating.

This is how easily an unwanted habit can become an unconscious, automatic habit, which is not conducive to living the life you were meant to lead. In one moment of self-sabotage, we undo all the good work and consistent effort we have put into establishing a good habit or routine.

What if we choose to implement a new, so called, ‘good habit’ into our life? It can be easier than you might think and admittedly, we may need some outside support or encouragement to get it going. BUT do not underestimate your value and adaptability, your willingness and wanting to succeed. Your courage to persist.

I share a favourite motto with many of you, who like Winston Churchill, held the firm belief to ‘Never, ever give up ‘. Success is not how many times you have fallen over, but how many times you have picked yourself up and kept on going, trying, persisting. There are many successful people who failed at first. Such as Henry Ford, F.W. Woolworth, Akio Morita (Sony’s founder), Bill Gates, Albert Einstein, Walt Disney, Charles Darwin, Socrates – to name just a few.

Do you have utmost faith in yourself to achieve something that has eluded you thus far? Most of us are particularly good at self-sabotage patterns. We then carry regrets that we gave up too soon, rather than persisting. This leads to adverse feelings of self-worth, which diminishes. Also we lose faith in yourself, which once this happens, is less likely to return. How sad indeed.

What does this bring up for you in this very moment? Perhaps there is recognition of failing over and over when attempting to improve yourself and niggley negative feelings that persist.

It does not matter how much we go through life, failing in whatever it is that we are attempting to do. What matters is our ability to continue or whether we give up on ourselves, even life.

It may be helpful to look at the examples of others who have ultimately succeeded. You will have your own ones, those people you admire for living their lives authentically, who followed their dream, no matter the odds.

Humans tend to be naturally lazy and want things to be easy, even cushy. There is no gain without pain and the path of most resistance is the one to take. Think about it. The times of greatest growth and accomplishment in your life are most likely the most difficult ones, which took consistent effort, a strong will and determination. Also, a belief in yourself and that somehow, no matter what others may say to convince you to the contrary, there is an innate reason you want to do it. Perhaps an inner knowing.

I love this beautiful quote. “But what if I never get there?” asked the fox. “A small step is still a step” replied the Moon. “Just do what you can today and be proud of yourself”.

My view about establishing new habits is a little different to the norm. In my personal experience, it is about allowing yourself to feel instead of supressing feelings. Meditation, journaling and using the energetic hygiene practices work together. I share about these in our Thursday night class, as methods which help clear unconscious reasons, which is why we fail in the first place.

I feel you may recognise what I mean, we can have some confusion and lack of clarity. One part of us wants strongly to go in one direction but other parts of us are not on board with the inspiration. A perfect example is those who make New Year’s Resolutions, with every good intent to be a better person, for whatever reason. They don’t usually last very long before we fall off the wagon and go back to what we have been doing for ages.

Judgment!

I feel to explain that judgment keeps us stuck, going on a treadmill or a mouse wheel, repeating without getting anywhere. Have you heard of the expression about Being and not Doing? Our doing needs to come out of our being, that is to be heart connected, centred, grounded into the earth and from that lovely still space, how we live our lives is in a beautiful flow, from our heart centre. We flow and trust our intuition, our inspirations.

As we judge anything, it gives it energy and we are rooted in habits which we wish to change and each time we fail, we project that energy in towards ourself. Our subconscious mind accepts it as a truth too, something we want more of. This is why we can learn to work with our inner coach, rather than our inner critic. To be gentle with ourselves, as a being of nature which needs nourishment, as much as any other thing of nature.

The best results are when we are working together with all our inner team on board, clearing the conflicts within us as we become aware of them. This gives us real progress and lasting achievements, leading to more and more successes and new discoveries.

You can reach greater heights. Trust me. Keep aiming high to reach your highest, brightest, potential and keep on keeping on!!!

Cheerio for now. Until next time, love, and laughter blessings. I look forward to hearing how you go with these ponderings.

Lots of Love and Laughter, Lynette Mitchell.

Phone: 0425 799 258 – Email: lynette@laughterforliving.com.au

Disclaimer: Information shared here is from my personal understanding and experience. Advice given is general and as I am not a medical doctor, take no responsibility for how it is received, my intention is that articles will be supportive and assist in living a fuller, holistic life.

Power and Colour in Your Life

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Power & Colour in your life

Hi there, life is still topsy turvy, which is expected to continue for a very long while. Is that bad? Is that good? Or just as it is? Do you agree, we can make the most of it and take it as an opportunity, not a hindrance? Life has become even more testing and stressful than most of us can recall. Covid restrictions fluctuate, which can (but not necessarily) lead us to feel confused, flat, stressed and more. Can you relate to this, where you feel lacking in vim, vigour, enthusiasm and colour?

With the advent of Covid-19 most of us have been affected in major ways. Our freedom has been withdrawn; we may feel shut in, shut down, trapped etcetera. It has caused us to become flat, colourless, apathetic, in victim consciousness, even angry. We may not be absolutely aware of the plethora of feelings that move through us. The manner we have been affected by the pandemic either positively or negatively, may not have truly registered. Would you agree? 

It feels appropriate to share about colour and power, which go together in our expression. So much of what we do is connected in all aspects of our lives, can we recognise it as being the case, and how there is that wonderful interconnection with everything that we do? Nothing is random.

In this context references to power are positive, such as being inspired by love and to have self-determination. We do not want power for the sake of power, which is based by fear and the negative ego.  

Colour equates to many things besides what we see as we normally relate to colour. It can also be the feelings we hold inside us, whether our life is vibrant, we are enthused, upbeat. Whether or not we usually feel drawn to wear colourful clothes or use it in in our daily expression. For example, our website, cooking, artistic expression, pictures, wall colours – the list could be endless, no doubt you can see that too. With the restrictions most of us have had to curtail our chosen extra activities, which gave us stimulation, learning, interest. Colour is lacking and we feel powerless. Most of us are somewhat affected anyhow, whether we realise the significance of it all, or otherwise.

Power is a huge topic, one aspect being how we frequently self-sabotage ourselves using negative self-talk. This automatically leads us to all sorts of unhelpful behaviour, as when we realise that we are being passive, we may go in the opposite direction which is to be too forceful. From my experience, when we decide to be assertive, it can tip the balance until we come back into the harmonious middle. We are not practiced in positive self-talk, which is best to come from a loving space, instead of forcing us to be and act differently. Change can be gradual. I can share some affirmations with you to help reinstall positive words, removing the negative power that can influence by us constantly worrying, being full of judgment and negativity. We become conditioned by everything around us from birth and on the most part, it goes unnoticed.

How about we deliberately decide to bring more colour and power into our life again? We decide how to go about it, what will work for us. We have power, determination and courage within, although it may be latent, untapped. We can choose to make a difference, to learn from our restrictions and be more. More love, vibrancy, colour, courage, harmonious, assertive power. Little by little, one step at a time, one moment, one day at a time. What can you do today to bring back that spark of joy, to feel uplifted? To begin with, there would be a simple behaviour that you can apply yourself, which will help you to turn the tide. Be open for ideas and inspirations to come to you.

What I suggest you do is become aware of how you are actually feeling and where you wish to be. Even good habits can become dull, we slip into an unconscious routine which may be outworn. Work with me on this, see what you can do to create new habits and let go of the old ones, even for the time being, as an experiment. Humans thrive on stimulation, interaction with each other, having interests, hobbies.  And of course, because I run a free community laughter club with husband John, can offer the suggestion to bring more laughter to yourself, to laugh often would be one fabulous decision to choose as a positive new habit. We meet on Zoom and in person behind the Ferntree Gully Library and we invite you to join us anytime you like.

You can start by doing an everyday habit differently consciously. Stop living as an automotron; bring greater awareness into each day, each hour, each moment. I like the idea of adding colour and that will not resonate with everyone. Many people are not drawn to colour as I am, you may not have many colourful clothes, nor have much colour around you in your home. You may prefer to express yourself in a quieter, more refined way. And yet, we have the power within for anything to change, if we choose it. 

Adding colour to your life implies physically and metaphorically. It can mean to lighten up, be more fun loving, positive, adventurous, different, a risk taker. Think about it, can you do this for yourself, to step out of your rut into something new.

To consider colour and choices in our life, we may like to sit down and do a little review of where we are at right now and our direction. Are our choices and what we do each day going towards what we wish to happen, or moving away from due to lack of focus and direction? 

Let’s refer to ourselves as ‘Colourful Me’. Colourful Me discovers that each day can be a new adventure, that there is always something unseen to uncover and be moved by. It helps to lift ourselves out of a mundane routine and implement something else to experience or experiment with. For example, a new hairstyle, hobby, challenge. 

What would your Colourful Me reach out for? I feel one big thing we can all agree on, is the upliftment when we see a beautiful sunset, which is made even brighter when outside somewhere in nature whilst watching it. Most people have learned in this last year to value the simple things of life and also that there is much to gain by connecting with nature more often, to do outdoorsy things. The garden has become a source of connection with nature in the past year for a lot of people.  

There’s been a renewed appreciation of pet ownership. People are undertaking buying a dog or cat with a loftier understanding of what this really means, that we can work with pets, together, complementing each other. They are not disposable, have even become scarce, leading to them be truly valued and treasured. 

Be careful what you put out for, as it may come back for you to experience the consequences. Are things in our life because they have been put there because of our choice, or for another reason? This is something for us to experiment with, as regards to become increasingly aware whether we are doing something because we have chosen it, or because we have been told by another what to do. Perhaps there’s the aspect of our conditioning, doing things because it is expected in the roles that we live. 

How we live our life may feel like there is no other option, or going back, rewinding. Karmically there may not be an alternative, with no opportunity to get out of a binding situation. Does this sound like you?  

If we can’t change our circumstances right away or at all, there is that saying about being able to change one’s attitude. Even prisoners of war were able to come through their experience when they held hope in their hearts. 

Things to ponder for you. More laughter. Introduce colour, determination and hope. Review your life. Make new choices. Work towards your goals. Increase your focus. Do something different. Laugh more! Take up meditation and work on your personal growth. I have classes you might like to try out.

I hope this stirs up something in you and would love to meet you for some laughter therapy. 

Cheerio for now. 

Until next time, laughter blessings. I look forward to hearing from you.  

Lots of Love and Laughter, Lynette Mitchell. 

Photo courtesy of Milada Vigerova

Let’s do it different this Christmas 2020

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Regarding 2020 and this upcoming Christmas I feel to share my experience and feelings, for those who have had similar ones and are looking for alternative ways of coping. The intention is one of planting ideas to help you grow and blossom inside.

What an extraordinary year it has been, so many challenges, stresses, limitations as many of us have never experienced before. At the same time you may have noticed that with the worst things that can possibly happen to us, there comes equally unparalleled opportunities for growth.

We have observed with the advent of Covid-19, limitations placed upon us which we have received with varying amounts of grace and grumbling. It had to happen. The earth, or Gaia as many of us know her, is in dire straits, with her resources being pillaged, and abused. Yet it is not too late! There is still time to turn things around. Hope is not entirely lost.

How this relates to Christmas for me, has been to have stronger convictions to resist the conditioned patterning learnt right from early days, about it being very much about materialism, gift giving and particularly receiving.

Letting go of judgment, as we are all where we are at and for me my life has been about not having strong enough convictions to carry through what has been felt in my heart. That is to not get caught up in all the hype, the stretching of the wallet and using credit card. To feel there wasn’t a choice, which meant rushing hither and thither. It seemed as if everyone in the family would all agree, it would be easier, simpler, more of a haven and peace filled time, to spend less focus on presents and make it about connecting and love. Acknowledging the spiritual and religious meaning behind it all is important also. For many it comes first and foremost.

What I am sharing is my experience and your experience is fine. Unless you feel the pull to do it a different way. And what would that be? Perhaps you can step out of the mould, outword traditions and choose something new. I frequently mention in blogs and personal growth classes about greeting anew. To be able to live consciously in the present moment, aware and responsive instead of reacting. To greet yourself anew is to question whether you are living mindfully, perhaps to before you go to bed journal how it is going. I have a couple of great resources to help you, I will send upon request and you may like to join a class.

This year my experience was different, there was greater resolution to assist with clarity and stronger boundaries to do what felt ‘right’ for me. The alternative was backing down, being influenced by ones with stronger wills to stay with age old traditions.

The alternative is feeling a sense of peace and wellbeing, gone the angst about Christmas and going along with ‘should do this because it is expected and because it is how it has always been done’.

Summing up, reconsider how you go about things, particularly the silly season. You may like to sit and feel into what the whole Christmas season means to you, write it down, so you remember. We can get caught up in what we have to do, thinking there is no choice. We are not victims and can stand up and be counted. Break the mould.

Here’s to doing it differently. Let go of some rules, be kind to yourself. Stop hanging on to things, the past, regrets. What if we greet each day, each moment, as a new day, moment and live consciously? We can achieve pretty much anything we believe we can and living in this way greatly assists. Let’s do it!

Finally an important point is we can not ask other people to change. Our actions may create friction and I have found usually things work out for the best when we hold strong. It helps to have the intention of creating the greatest possible harmony between people. Sometimes new ideas take time to germinate but don’t let that stop you from going for it, gently and with love.

Love and wishing you an awesome Christmas, with loving friends, family, and yourself. Be grateful and kind to yourself. You deserve it.

Lynette Mitchell xo

Death Sits On Our Shoulders

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I have spent some time feeling into this one and have written a posting relating to the recent passing of my ex-husband Bill, who I was married to for 17 years. Death brings great opportunities for growth and clearing unresolved feelings hidden away and to ponder one’s life. Here the link to my Blogger. Please do contact me if you have a feeling to, as we are all really connected energetically and there is a saying about how we are all connected one breath away. It is such a small world and I believe that you will all agree to that!

Lots of love and laughter hugs.

Lynette xo

Doom and Gloom – Breathing Exercise Helps Rid Negative Feelings.

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Let’s talk about doom and gloom, then move to talk about positivity and hope and what you can do on an individual level!

There is so much doom and gloom in the world, locally, nationally and internationally and I think you will agree that there is a lack of good news stories. How uplifting it is to watch, read or hear about news of a positive nature. Someone’s great achievement, overcoming odds, people banding together, donating time and money for a cause they believe in.

It is so true, that bad news travels fast and the media thrives on bad news. I wonder what that is all about? Could there be something there within us also, that thrives on drama, this thing  somehow relates better to negative things which actually increases our stress levels. Maybe on a deeper level of consciousness, it makes our lives more bearable, our crosses lighter to bear.

Let’s turn this around to focusing on and holding the intention of improvement and hope. Begin by bringing things back to ourselves and when we read, see, or hear bad news, choose to release our feelings of judgment. We can choose to imagine and understand that the universe does work in mysterious ways. Let us hold the vision of an ideal of ‘it’ being for a reason and that there is growth in it for the ones involved. To take away suffering can deny ones the ability and opportunity to be self determining and learn through trauma.

On a personal note, are we focusing outside ourselves to distract from self-effort? Or are we putting responsibility and blame outside ourselves onto others? Usually we are in situations of our own making (I believe this to be 100% true). This leads to a realisation that if we are unhappy about what we have created, we can also seek help outside of ourself with a person, mentor, counsellor or other person we may think of who is a few steps ahead of us on the path.

Bringing it down to small managable steps, what about baby steps? Instead of trying to solve all of our problems in a day, what is one thing that we can do to take ourself forward today?

Oftentimes we take one step and do something, which creates movement; unseen forces then work with us and support us moving forward. Rather like that beautiful poem ‘Footsteps in the Sand’ by Mary Stevenson.

I will share how easily you can change your state with some laughter and simple breathing and this way, you can just ‘fall into doing it’. Take note of how your body is feeling right now and then go ahead as follows.

Laughter is the best medicine and now, take a deep breath and as you are breathing out, quietly or loudly, laugh, hahahahaha. Now breathe in again and as you laugh out again, do so more deeply. And again, do it three times.

If you prefer, it can be quieter laughter with the mouth closed. If you feel to open your mouth and laugh wholeheartedly, please do. It is your exercise and experience.

Now how do you feel? A little or lot lighter? Your perspective has probably changed for the better.

Here is another little thing that you can try. Standing is preferable for this exercise; we will do a little deeper breathing, using our arms and hands. Try this two ways, first with one long deep breath and then two short, deep breaths.

It goes like this. Standing if you will, arms stretched out straight from the shoulders, on the in-breath, bring your hands in to chest then stretch them back out in front on the out breath saying ‘ha’. Rest a little being conscious of your body limits then repeat with two or three breaths in, breathing through the nose. This can be described as sniffing breaths. Then a long breath out through the nose. The hands can be left to do their own thing, naturally you will bring them in on the in-breath as fists or open hands on the chest.

My suggestion is to do this exercise in the morning to get your energy flowing and at night, even as well in the middle of the day and monitor the difference it makes to you. Once you have mastered it, it can be done at any time, even without the outstretched hands and arm movements. If you hold the intention of it assisting your body, however you need it, your subconscious mind will work with you and make it automatic and success is assured in helping you to be freer from stress, conscious, in the moment and grounded.

As I am a Laughter Yoga coach, I enjoy combining Laughter Yoga and coaching, believing there is a lot that we can do to help ourselves lead a happier, less stressful life. This can be done as outlined, in baby steps, to simply decide to do small, regular practices to experiment and if they work, incorporate these helpful things into our everyday lives. When we are happier, less stressed and becoming more joyful, finding fun in little simple things, the world around us changes and our upliftment helps those around us and ultimately, is a positive effect on the planet and those upon it. I invite you to email me about this sharing if you wish to or need clarification about the breathing exercise.

Love and laughter blessings.
Lynette Mitchell xxx ooo

Love Your Sister Organisation

by

Samuel-JohnsonLast week I met Samuel Johnson, a speaker at a conference I attended. He was chosen to speak to inspire and motivate his audience by his self-determination and passion. His sister is dying of cancer and set him what would appear to be impossible tasks:

  1. Raise a million dollars for Breast Cancer research
  2. Raise awareness of the disease that’s killing her
  3. Break the Guinness World Record for the longest journey on a unicycle.

Samuel is well on the way, has ridden 12,000 kilometres and raised over $800,000 so far. By February, 12 months after starting, he expects to have raised $1,500,000. I felt to share so as to help increase the awareness of his mission, which in part is to tell every woman in Australia to be aware about breast cancer.

The entire audience gave Samuel a standing ovation and rushed out to buy products in support of his cause, as well as be photographed with him. He is such a rare breed to follow through with such utter determination. He has made it fascinating, like Hamish and Andy’s show, asking that very town and city that he rides through provide him with a local challenge, which makes it all very newsworthy. You can read and see more about the ‘Love Yours Sister’ organisation on the following links:

http://www.loveyoursister.org/ and https://www.facebook.com/loveyoursister

And remember to love your sister and each member of your family while you can. Really love and appreciate them, not forgetting yourself.

Love and Blessings.
Lynette Mitchell xxx ooo

Sam-and-Lynette.