Mindfulness

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

Laughter Yoga and 3 other ways to help you get over Fear.

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Laughter Yoga and 3 other ways to help you get over Fear.

Fear is Debilitating!

Laughter Yoga and other ways to help you get over fear, may be useful to consider and ponder, as fear is far too prevalent in today’s age and we are surrounded by it all the time.

There is so much fear in the world, it is impossible not to be affected by it and yet, you can live a life feeling joy and closer to nature. Let me tell you a little of how you can do so. Any advice shared here is intended to be thought provoking, enabling you to consider, feel into, ponder upon, implement and/or reach out to professionals if needs be. It may be the beginning of an area or time in your life which is timely for you to look after yourself, because we are unable to help others if we are not strong, which means we first have to attend to our own basic and healthful needs.

Danger is real, not imaginary. Look at the news on television. Many people refuse to watch it and I wouldn’t either, excepting John, my husband feels it helps him to stay in touch with what is going on in the world. It would be fantastic if good news stories were prevalent, instead of the shock and horror ones that are aired every night on the free to air channels. Apparently bad news sells and is more popular than positive uplifting stories.

I do enjoy watching some shows on TV, the animal and nature ones which are uplifting, entertaining and informative. But you probably agree, TV like social media, can take a hold on us and not let go. They are such time wasters and bad habits are formed, we get lazy, become couch potatoes, sit too long and it’s very unhealthy to spend an inordinate amount of time watching too much television and spending too much precious time checking our social media apps on our phone, computer or tablet.

The world is somehow geared towards us being and living fearfully. Which can be disastrous, where it is like the metaphor of a frog in a pot, whereby the water slowly comes to the boil, it is boiled to death, because of not noticing the temperature slowly rising.

That must be the reason why people hang out for their holidays and do activities to make them forget the world as it is, and provide relief from stressfully lived lives. Our challenges feel so difficult, when history tells us that there have always been seemingly insurmountable difficulties, appropriate for the age we live in. Difficulties, challenges and the like evolve and change according to the times and places.

Have you heard of or considered that our thoughts are not even original, as we are connected energetically with other people and things, which you may not even be aware of? People can come up with the same ideas and be travelling along the same path as others, following their inner guidance, and thoughts are little energy forms that zoom out from us.

Enneagrams are something that I have heard about, have a general idea of, enough to be helpful for me at present. Some people reading this may be experts in this area. What I feel to express here is that basically, human beings are animals, more evolved and with more on board of course.

We are creatures of habit, and I often write about patterning and conditioning which we take on throughout our lives and about releasing it, creating new positive, supportive patterns and habits, ditching ones that no longer serve us in our life where we are now.

Fear Related to Enneagrams

My understanding of enneagrams is how we behave automatically, in a protective way, which is more limited. When a traumatic set of circumstances has happened and something ‘bad’ happens in our life, the set of circumstances are recorded in our subconscious mind. If that set of circumstances happens again, we unconsciously expect the same result and react out of irrational fear. Even though intellectually we know there is no need to be fearful, think of the example of people who have massive fear around spiders, snakes, rats, or whatever. They may believe the person helping them to overcome the fear and it takes great courage to work through the subconscious, irrational fear they are facing and are able to transform it into a correct understanding of the situation, removing the ingrained fear.

Would you agree with this so far? What we need to do is create a future where we are living in more awareness, grounded in our body, connected to earth, nature and consciously able to hum away at living a productive life, irrespective of our life situation. If needs be, seek out a professional if the fear is debilitating, stopping you from living a fruitful life.

Realistically, fear and danger are real, we can benefit by having a respectful awareness of these two gremlins in our life, instead of avoiding or supressing these feelings. Fear can be a great motivator to learn to deal with and overcome it. A certain amount of stress and fear is normal, when we are being stretched, possibility having self doubt from our feelings of being unworthy. It is normal to have fears and challenges to work through and overcome; fear can make us give up, give in and not make any effort at all. Hold strong and don’t give up, never ever! There is always hope. It is not lost, maybe we’ve simply mislaid it along the way.

A healthy habit is to face our fears, which may be irrational and tied in with feelings of low self-worth, not wanting to fail etc. we can develop a good habit of facing fears, let us call them a common term, challenges and using that as a positive experience to develop self mastery in our lives. Yee hah!

Facing Fears

1st step – improve your self-talk and use affirmations.

It is important to face our fears, using positive self talk, such as ‘it’s unlikely to happen’, ‘I can do this’, ‘I am safe’. Basically, learn to switch things around, when you are able to understand and see that your outlook is irrational and apply yourself to lovingly, caringly, get out of your comfort zone (obviously without doing dangerous, unwise activities, using common sense) and try new things.

From my recent experience, I managed to overcome and clear an old fear, which was instilled in me following a bad car accident many years ago.

The fear was underneath my radar, I wasn’t questioning it, feeling nervous in a car on the road seemed normal and acceptable. This was both with my husband driving and when I was driving. Learning more about enneagrams, I started to positive talk myself ‘an accident is unlikely to happen’ being the main one and choosing to let go of being fearful of driving or being driven. I would also affirm to myself ‘I am safe’. It happened recently when my husband was in hospital for two nights after an operation and then unable to drive for 4 weeks. It seemed like a good time to get over my fearful self and switch things around, which was very quick in fact. I was surprised. I am now back to being a confident driver and not wimpish. They say be careful of what you wish for, and it was time to change the unconscious belief of being afraid of having an accident. It’s great! I am loving driving now again.

2nd step – be quick to act on inspirations

Especially if you know in your heart, have a feeling about, doing a new activity, whereby the feeling comes to you for a split second and then your rational mind steps in, persuading, thinking your way out of it in another direction. I imagine some of you lovely readers will get this. You have a feeling and if the inspiration is not acted upon straight away, the feeling becomes dulled and you have talked your way out of doing that thing which initially seemed like such a good idea. The negative ego is chit chatting with you and it’s purpose is to run the body, which it does amazingly well and keep you safe.

3rd step – come to laughter club

Give this a go, you will be stepping out of your comfort zone into an unfamiliar territory. This is a ‘good thing’. New people come from time to time and I encourage them to come at least two or three times, before deciding it is not for them. I am not alone in suggesting that you will not know if it will be a very positive and beneficial activity in your life, without coming more than once. Fair enough, people may know immediately it is not for them. Many people find it very uncomfortable, which is their body type/personality, set in their ways and very likely, inhibitions or deep-set fear such as unconscious trauma, may be at play here. Given time, people become confident, relaxed and embrace the light-hearted fun way that laughter clubs are renowned for.

For instance, we don’t always know what is good for us. I once was leading laughter at a nursing home and it was obvious that the people who were low care, joined in and appeared to be uplifted. It felt like a mistake that the activities organiser asked the residents if it was an activity they enjoyed, instead of seeing the bigger picture that in time, the magic works when people come together, laugh and sing. They did not give it a fair trial, which would have far benefited the residents in the long run. I am suggesting if you have resistance to coming along, look at the bigger picture. There are so many gains to be had from it.

Laughter yoga is an aerobic exercise with innumerable benefits. It isn’t for everyone and you will not have a clear understanding of it being ‘right’ for you, without attending a few times. And it’s free too! We go along to the Ferntree Gully and Boronia Libraries and the laughter club meets twice a month behind the Ferntree Gully Library.

4th Step – We are all in this together

Human Beings are creatures of habit and beneath our seemingly distant exteriors, hide ones who are genuinely kind and helpful towards each other. We have a need to belong, as we are mostly like animals who feel comfortable gathering together in packs, or tribes. A sense of belonging, which helps us feel happy and at peace, coming together and sharing with other like-minded people. It gives us more purpose in our life.

Essentially, and summing up, laughter yoga is a great physical exercise which makes us feel better. Our communication and listening skills improve. We become light-hearted. It is a rich experience. Everyone benefits. Yet again, I encourage and invite you to come to a laughter session in the park, or inside the Ferntree Gully or Boronia Libraries. It is never too late, and people have taken fifteen years or longer to do just that!

Please think about it. Come along and satisfy your human by interacting with other human beings.

Alternatively, if you do not have a social life, think about, feel into and enquire about, what would be a suitable group for you to be a part of. There are many in the community and the Knox Council is brilliant at supporting its residents. We love being in Knox. From what I see, all councils have the wellbeing of their residents at heart as well. Look after yourself. Get moving, grooving, do something you love and remember firstly, to love yourself. Warts and all!

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.

Let me know if you wish to receive an email newsletter and a reminder email for the laughter club or wish to join the Facebook group.

Cheerio for now and be kind to yourself. A strong mantra that I use and hold in my awareness on a daily basis is ‘Patience, Tolerance, Kindness’. Try it for yourself and let me know how it works for you, or whether you need more assistance and guidance in using it, such as combining with one’s own breath.

Lots of Love and Laughter. Lynette Mitchell.

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

Are You on Automatic Pilot, or Are You Living Mindfully?

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Hello Everybody

We are back in the swing of the year now and as people settle into 2024, laughter sessions are going well. Laughing together is such a healthy thing and there are now more opportunities to do so, thanks for Your Library support in this area. 

I have been still working a lot on decluttering and minimising, being present, drawing, walks in the park, meditation, and more. What we make of our life can depend so much on what energy we put into it, the direction we are focusing on and being flexible and adaptable.

Over the years I have let go much wanting to be in control of my life and what happens in it. There seems to be a lot that is out of our control, and yet we can create opportunities, and take them up as they present themselves, out of the blue, unexpectedly.

Have you every been told to be careful of what you wish for? What we put out as a need or want in our lives, consciously or unconsciously, may come about and with it, unwanted consequences. I once heard a simple metaphor about this type of thing, which is if you were to throw a pebble into the centre of a still pond, it expands out and out and out, creating a ripple effect, bringing consequences with it. We may regret the outcome of our action and that is why we often say to be careful of what you wish for.

I feel it is important to have a clear focus and idea of the direction in which we are heading, which can be beneficial in living a mindful life. There is also the concept of co-creating with God, Energies, Spirit, the Universe, Upstairs, whatever you want to call such a positive, supportive, unseen, yet it may be felt, energy. Things are able to come into our lives as if by a miracle, when we let go the fixed viewpoint by which we desire for them to happen and experience in our life.

From my experience when we live in a manner as to be clear about the direction we are going, yet not entirely fixed upon exact details regarding what we want to have happen, is a far better way of doing it. The reason is we can imagine what we wish in a strong mental manner, rather than develop a feeling experience of our future, which is how we may better draw things into our lives, through our feeling nature. I admit it can be most difficult to know what we are feeling, because we are usually too busy thinking, having a strong mental body.

I will explain something here, which is similar. We often share with newcomers that the body does not know the difference between real and fake laughter. When we pretend to laugh, as a general rule, it develops into real, spontaneous, natural laughter. At the same time, even pretending to laugh, will positively change the body’s chemistry, for example releasing endorphins into the bloodstream.

As the subconscious and unconscious mind cannot differentiate between real and unreal, they absorb experiences, thoughts, feelings, intentions, everything, as if it were true.

That is why I feel we need to become very mindful, as shared in the previous edition of this newspaper, because we are constantly creating our lives without even realising it. That’s a bit scary isn’t it? When we watch a movie, read a book etcetera, we may well be creating future scenarios, literally, if we do not consciously tell our unconscious mind that it is made up, a story, and not real.

Unless we learn to think differently, we feel like a victim, that everything is happening to us, we are out of control of our lives, which is of course real but not true. But what we do not realise is that by our very unconscious way of living on automatic pilot, from our learnt patterning and conditioning, we are manifesting our lives all the time, creating things that we do not want to happen, without even realising it.

I apologise if it seems a bit complicated, it is what has come to me to share and I am not underestimating your ability to read and process what has been shared. We need to be the master of our own ship. This can be done by having firstly, the intention of living more awake, aware and conscious than ever before, practicing mindfulness, mindful meditation, walking meditation and developing a good relationship with ourselves, living and loving earth life, joyfully. Whatever feels right for us to do, to follow the breadcrumbs, the feelings, inspiration to do this or that, go here, or there. Have hobbies, love what we do, get and stay involved.

If you feel to come to the laughter club, you will find yourself energised, uplifted, mentally clearer, and be in the company of other likeminded, caring people. Attending a laughter yoga and meditation session at a local library will enhance your experience, as there is time at the conclusion of the laughter to practice mindful meditation.

Lots of Love and Laughter. Lynette Mitchell.

We meet as follows each month:

Ferntree Gully Laughter Club  11am 2nd & 4th Sunday
Boronia Library  11am 1st Saturday
Rowville Library  11am 3rd Saturday
Ferntree Gully Library  2pm 4th Tuesday

First timers, please contact Lynette to confirm, in case of a meeting change.

Phone:          0425 799 258

Email:            lynette@laughterforliving.com.au

Website:       www.laughterforliving.com.au

How Does Mindfulness Compliment Laughter Club Activities?

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Hello Everyone

What two wonderful topics, Mindfulness and Laughter Yoga! Today I will share about mindfulness, which is a huge topic. Essentially, when you attend a laughter club session, you are way more present and, in the moment, practicing mindfulness without even knowing it! When we laugh, we have eye contact and simultaneously, have heart connections with each other. It is very uplifting and energising. There are huge health and social benefits that come naturally when we laugh together.

You will very likely agree that our lives are richer when we are conscious, feeling ourselves present, fully connected with life and our activities. The alternative to this is racing ahead or living in the past, going unconscious, operating our bodies on auto pilot. Our minds may be racing and our emotions in upheaval, as we live stressful, busy lives.

When our awareness of the present moment is lessened, problems arise through our unconscious and automatic programming, that is when we are not consciously choosing what we are up to in our lives. Problems may increase if we aren’t aware of them, which is like going down a slippery slope, as they increase and become larger problems. We may lose self-confidence and doubt ourselves, others and the purpose of life and do not embrace living our life to its utmost fullness.

I believe a lot of what we do is to learn to live our life in a mindful way, without even realising it. It is about being in the present, learning to live with less anxiety, being aware of our surroundings, meditation, breathing. In fact, many things we do are about working to improve our quality of life in a holistic way. I do not mean to be free to indulge our egos in eating, drinking, entertainment, although that all does have a place within reason. It is not meant to be our driving force.

There are several aspects of mindfulness, which you can practice anywhere, at any time, making it a promising habit. This roots you more strongly into the present moment, which gives a grounded connection into Mother Earth. The alternative to mindfulness is forgetfulness, when our mind is caught up in worry, fear, anger, and regrets. It is definitely not helpful to be reliving the past, as it is unwise to be living out of the present moment or imagining the future. This creates anxiety, depression, fear of survival and ill health.

Mindful Meditation

There are many ways that you can practice mindfulness. There is mindful meditation, which involves focusing on your breath so as to become calm and slow your whole body down to be nice and still. This relaxes the mind and emotions, releasing stress and worry about things that may never happen. It allows you to be proactive in your life, to be solution focused, taking steps to resolve things, which is empowering. Many of us are fearful of making the wrong decision. I encourage you to make one and experience the consequences, when you are stuck to the point which is harmful to your wellbeing and future.

To do a mindful meditation, here are two slightly different methods. One way is to say to yourself ‘I am breathing in, I am breathing out’ and let go of thoughts as they arise, keep bringing your mind back to the awareness of the breath. A second way is to breathe in to a count of what is comfortable, say between 4 to 8, pause for a count of 2, then breathe out for the same length of the in breath, followed by a slight pause. You may find the count becoming longer as you become more relaxed. If you prefer you may breathe out through the mouth, which gives you a different, nice experience.

Walking Meditation

Another way of practicing mindfulness is walking meditation, to walk being totally aware of your body. To do so, find a quiet space where you can be focused and undisturbed. Choose a comfortable distance or time that you will do it, say between 4 metres and 10 metres, or for 5 or 10 minutes. Walk slowly, focusing on the experience of walking, being aware of every step, the way your foot connects to the ground, all of the sensations in your body, your breath, expanding your awareness further out, feeling your body to be connected to earth, life and nature. After you practice it for the allotted time, continue walking, still holding the awareness of walking with awareness of your bodily sensations. It is a radically different experience to what we tend to do, which is also not appreciating every moment that we have available to us.

Body Scan

Another recognised way to be mindful is to sit or lay down and do a full body scan. Become aware of all of your body, focusing slowly and deliberately on every part of your body, from toe to head or head to toe. You may become aware of emotions or feelings associated with various parts or organs of the body. At the end you may like to allow yourself to experience savasana, the yogic corpse pose, for a deep relaxation. I find it highly beneficial to do this before hopping into bed and have done so for most of my life, as it helps to unwind and allows me to sleep deeper. It is simple, from feet to the crown, as you think of each part of the body, which may also be on the in breath, say or feel to yourself as you draw your attention to each part of the body ‘relax the toes, relax the toes’ etc.

Just Breathe

I am gradually reprogramming myself to live each day mindfully, becoming more aware and in the present moment. I will share the simplest tip which I do, which is to say to myself ‘just breathe’. This is simply to be still, like in between moments, or waiting for an appointment or other thing, and focus on your breath. If you are anything like me, an alternative is to fill up your day with activities, with no time or space between them. Once it seemed to be a waste of time not to be busy doing something. Now I enjoy space in between activities which allows me to be in the moment, aware of my body and what is around me. Such as nature, the breeze, especially sunsets, clouds and trees. Mindfulness is such a simple exercise which allows us to appreciate life and all that it brings to us.

How Laughter Yoga becomes a Mindful Exercise

My husband John jointly leads the laughter club sessions, and he often says to new people, “You get out of it what you put into it”. This is one way what we do becomes a mindful exercise, people come together and although at times may be distracted, the accepted intention is to throw themselves wholeheartedly into every session. That means being right there in the moment, going along with all the silly antics that we do, thrown in with a lot of deep breathing and singing. The breathing is inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth. Laughing is a wholehearted way of embracing life, bringing oneself to life and the living!

Get in Touch?

Cheerio for now from John and myself and we look forward to meeting with you soon. If you wish to receive an email to receive my newsletter or a reminder when we are laughing, then let me know.
Daily Mindfulness Tips
If you would like me to you a document Daily Mindfulness Tips, then get in touch with me by email or phone and I will send it out to you. There are many things we can do to continually bring ourselves into being fully present, aware and feeling connected with life. Ideally aim to live this way and never, ever, ever give up! Thank you.
Lots of Love and Laughter. Lynette Mitchell.

We meet as follows each month:

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

Boronia Library  11am 1st Saturday

Rowville Library  11am 3rd Saturday

Ferntree Gully Library  2pm 4th Tuesday

First timers, please contact Lynette to confirm, in case of a meeting change.

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.