~~ tools ~ ~ meditation ~ ~daily practice ~ ~ visualisation ~ ~ affirmations ~~

Living in love means loving and cherishing myself too
The joy of living this way is that I create or attract a different set of circumstances to my life than if I chose to live in fear. I'm aware that every choice and decision I make affects everything and everyone else, at every moment. I remind myself that my choice to improve my way of being, of how I show up in life, supports all of life because in truth, there is no one else. I, you, me, them, we are all all there is, there is no separateness.

Tools
Hopefully this site will lead you to explore the many ways that can lead you to live in love. Living in love is a decision that once made will transform your life. It could
all happen in an instant, yet for most it's a journey.

Each journey is different, though in essence alike. Our so-called challenges may differ, yet the answer is always the same. See life as the gift it is, after all you are a spiritual being having a physical experience, not the other way around. When you live in love you laugh more too, whatever your circumstances, especially when you remember the seriousness with which you used to take life and yourself most days. We are here to give, not get, and to love, not be loved. Yet it is by giving that we receive and in loving that we are loved. And even as I write this I know that on some level you already know this too.

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Meditation
Meditation can be described as finding the silence of the mind. And like so many practices, once you make a habit of meditation, you won't want to stop. Meditation impacts positively on your wellbeing as you become more peaceful within yourself. You notice that you're unaffected by people and things that once bothered you and you gain a new appreciation for life. There are many forms including Japa, Transcendental Meditation, Primordial Sound Meditation and moving and chanting meditations. I suggest you find a qualified instructor as it's acknowledged that this way you have a better chance of staying with meditation.

Contact Paul Darby for details of his UK meditation workshops.

Yet a simple form of meditation can be to sit quietly and concentrate fully on your breathing. As thoughts come into your mind, acknowledge them and let them go. Meditation gets easier the more you do and over time I'll offer different suggestions on ways to meditate. If you're just starting out one of the simplest and delightful books available is Meditation is Easy by Greer Allica. Don't put off meditating, start today and after time you may notice, as I have, that meditation becomes a contemplative way of being, rather than something I do.

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Daily Practice
In a recent interview I was asked how much of my day is devoted to spiritual practice and the answer surprised me. Because I saw there is no part of my day that is not. My life is this. Living in love isn't something I practice for an hour a day and for the rest of the time I get on with my normal everyday life. There are no seams between work, home, family, friends and leisure - this is it. Life is a whole thing. I realised that visualisation, journaling and meditation are interwoven into all my life. I can meditate, however briefly, amid the chaos of an airport departure lounge, visualise for a few minutes sat in my car, write in my journal before I breakfast, send loving thoughts to friends as I bathe, relax after lunch when possible and listen to inspirational CDs as I drive.

Whatever you want to improve whether it's your game of tennis, driving or writing, you need to practice. It means saying goodbye to old habits and embracing new life-enhancing ones. So it is with your spiritual practice. Above all, it's about putting love in action whenever you have an opportunity and being kind to yourself on those occasions you don't get it right.

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Visualisation
This is a great way of helping you think differently. You can use visualisation to heal parts of your body, become more optimistic and trusting, to set up positive patterns in your life and to give and receive love. A simple start could be to sit or lay down with your eyes closed and visualise your day being the way you'd love it to be. Really buy into the thoughts and engage all your senses - what are the smells, sounds and tastes? What do you see and feel?

I use visualisation myself and with clients. If I'm about to embark on a challenging day I envisage the day going well. I don't always place too much emphasis on the details of the outcome, I simply imagine myself happy, relaxed and with a warm glow inside from having such a great day. I use it to aid healing and many clients report their astonishment at the power visualisation has for them.

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Affirmations
An affirmation is a helpful way of expressing a statement about yourself or any aspect of your life. And it's proven to be a fast, easy way to make a positive difference to your life. There are several ways you can use affirmations, such as thinking or saying them, yet writing them down proves particularly powerful. Affirmations are more than simple feel good statements; they are a way of programming your mind to think in a more positive, helpful way.

When making up affirmations remember the three 'P's

• Present - put in the present tense, for example - I am a successful person not I will be a successful person
• Personalise - write about yourself - for example - I have a solution to every challenge not there is a solution to every challenge
• Positive language - don't write I am not an angry person, instead write I am a calm person

Select affirmations that feel right for you at a given time and that will help you out-talk your negativity. Display them in prominent places to remind you to repeat them, such as on the bathroom mirror, your computer screen, car dashboard or in your wallet. They can be repeated while you're showering, driving to work or walking the dog.

Some examples

• I trust life to deliver all I need
• All my relationships are harmonious
• My world is filled with abundance
• I have a healthy, radiant body
• I am filled with peace and joy

A free daily affirmation can be found at Susan Jeffers web-site

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