ChChChCh-Changes

This past week saw a change of month and also seasons.
I noticed how different my neighbourhood is looking from even just a few weeks ago.
Trees that were so bright and vibrantly coloured only recently are looking bare and stark,
whilst being contrasted against camellias, native hibiscus and other shrubs now in full flower.
It's been a great reminder to myself to roll with change and to create it when necessary.

Here are the top three things that have made a difference in my week.
They might also be useful for you, or not.

1) A retreat I attended...

Vipassana Retreat

This weekend just gone I attended a one day silent Vipassana Meditation retreat. I have sat a number of 10-day silent retreats over the years and these one day courses are the perfect way to reconnect and reinvigorate your own personal practice. The first part of the day is dedicated to observing in ever increasing detail the movement of the breath, below the nose and above the upper lip, in order to build concentration before moving into the practice of vipassana itself. Vipassana, which means insight, directs you into a very deep and immediate experience of constant change and impermanence within yourself both at a physical and mental level. The teacher will literally repeat the words "changing, changing" again and again throughout the meditation sessions. The day left me with a sense of deep peace and appreciation, and a connection to the changing nature of the world around me, my own being and breath. Speaking of the breath, this leads me to my second thing this week, a fantastic book I've been reading.

2) Book I've been reading...

Breath - James Nestor

This week I’ve been reading Breath by James Nestor. Breath is literally a book about breathing, it details, the hidden, yet often overlooked power of breath, its affects on health, well-being, and even bone structure. The book is meticulously researched, with an abundance of practical tips and techniques, some of which I have already begun to implement as part of my morning routine and ritual. Breathing is a powerful tool, which can help us cope with change, stress and challenging situations. It can also be harnessed as a way to create change within ourselves, in our mental and emotional states and physiology. Absolutely worth reading, if you’re interested but not quite ready to dive in yet, the Author has quite a few interviews and podcasts available on YouTube and other platforms to start you off.

3) A documentary I watched...

Moonage Daydream - David Bowie

I watched the David Bowie documentary Moonage Daydream on Netflix. Whether Bowie is your cup of tea musically (I'm a huge David Bowie fan and actually saw this documentary at the cinema when it came out) you have to admire his commitment and contribution to modern music and culture. The film highlights beautifully his chameleon-like nature as an artist and his inability to rest on his laurels and past glory. Constantly seeking out new ideas and ways of living to feed his insatiable creative spark we could do a lot worse than to look to David Bowie as an inspiration of how to live and act creatively. Definitely worth a watch, visually stunning and definitely not your run of the mill “Rockumentary” .

Change is inevitable and constant, sometimes it’s not welcome or wanted, other times it opens the door to new possibilities, opportunities and ability to see the world and yourself in a different way.

I wish you all the best on your journey, make a ritual of looking for the gold in your life, it is there, you just got to look.

P.s. The quote of the week is...

"The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new." - Socrates

I would love your feedback on what had an impact on you and the lesson in it, the moral of the story, or the learning you would share.

Have a ripper finish to your week.