Keeping up Momentum with Food for the Soul…

Welcome to today’s post.

“The mind, with its emotions, is composed of ideas and impressions, and it is healthy and vital when it is continually replenished with inspiration, confidence, hope, wisdom, and understanding. No man lives long without food of the spirit.” Ervin Seale – Take Off From Within

We eat every day, and wouldn’t live long without food. We’d quickly become lethargic and fatigued, our energy would seep away, our bodies weaken – we would starve.

It’s not just your physical body that requires nourishment. So does your mind – and your soul – the essence of who you are; your spirit, intuition, intelligence, connectedness, thoughts, memories and the seat of all your feelings and emotions. The soul is the intangible part of a human being that science cannot ‘classify’ or explain, yet which is undoubtedly there.

Just like the physical body, if the spirit is not fed, it too will become weak. Thankfully, the soul doesn’t die from starvation, so no matter what state it reaches, it can be nurtured back to full strength!

How?

By immersing yourself in inspiration or ‘in-spirit-ation’ as I like to call it. People receive inspiration from many different sources. For some it is drawn from time spent reading book, articles – or blogs like this. Creative writing, journaling and meditating work for others, whilst time spent with loved ones, being outside in touch with nature and simply soaking in the miracle that is your life with a sense of love and gratitude can all serve to inspire and feed your heart, mind and soul.

“The possession of material riches, without inner peace, is like dying of thirst while bathing in a lake.” Yogananda

TASK

• What do you do to feed your soul?
• What is it that inspires and enlivens you?
• What makes you happy?
• What makes you feel creative?
• When are you at your happiest and most emotionally and spiritually fulfilled?

Make notes in your Journal, and over the next few weeks, look out for moments, people and things that inspire you – things that could lead you to create something new in your life, or simply prompt a moment of satisfying thought and reflection.

…And Food for the Mind.

“An intelligent mind is an inquiring mind, a mind that is watching, learning, studying.” Krishnamurti

Continual learning is good development, keeping us moving towards our goals and desires. Whilst it is important to smell the flowers along the way, when you are actively changing old habits for new, momentum is essential.

It’s a sad fact that our linear, target-driven education system puts some people off of the idea of learning as it carries memories of being taught by rote and facing the wrath of the teacher if they ‘fail’! Please, if any old ‘school’ nightmares rear up for you when you think about ‘learning’ it’s important that you know that there is no testing, no exam, no failure. It’s just you, seeking out information that touch, moves, and inspires you, as well as increasing your understanding and knowledge.

“Good habits are hard to develop but easy to live with; bad habits are easy to develop but hard to live with. The habits you have and the habits that have you will determine almost everything you achieve or fail to achieve.” Brian Tracy

By taking part in this Blog, you are opening your mind to new ideas and perhaps allowing new concepts of thought – that is ‘personal development’. We strengthen our body muscles with food and exercise, and we can do the same with our mind by nurturing it with healthy information and thoughts.

“You are a dynamic whole greater than the sum of your parts. By integrating your body, mind, and emotions through training, you reshape your life.” Dan Millman – Body Mind Mastery

If any of the Boot Camp quotes have resonated with you, look up the name of the person on the internet – what books, cd’s or downloads are available? There is plenty of wonderful, material available, much of it for free, on the internet – try iTunes for audio podcasts, and YouTube has some fantastic resources. You will see that where I have taken a theme or a great quote from a particular author, I have included the name of the book that the inspiration came from and a link to where you can buy the book if the quotes really speak to you!

If you have limited time for reading, look out for audio sources. One of my favourite personal / spiritual development times is when I am driving – I plug in the iPod, or put on a CD and away I go! It’s a fantastic time for listening and learning, it makes traffic jams and queues a joy!

“Just as iron rusts from disuse, and stagnant water putrefies, or when cold turns to ice, so our intellect wastes unless it is kept in use.” Leonardo da Vinci

Some material is great in book form – by using a brightly coloured pen you can highlight phrases, sentences and quotes that inspire you. This is also a great creative time where you can really get into the subject and begin visualising how, where, what, who etc., you want to be. It can be a very peaceful and fulfilling activity to complement your increasingly healthy lifestyle!

If you have children in your family, it’s a fantastic way of leading by example. There are many children’s ‘holistic’ developmental materials out there too; one good example is ‘Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul’ by Jack Clanfield, well-known author of ‘Chicken Soup for the Soul’.

“Great minds ask great questions. The questions that ‘engage our thought’ on a daily basis reflect our life purpose and influence the quality of our lives. By cultivating a Da Vinci-like open, questing frame of mind, we broaden our universe and improve our ability to travel through it.” Michael Gelb – How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci

TASK

• Spend some time exploring what and who appeals to you in the personal / spiritual development arena.
• Consider how and when you will fit it into your daily routine.
• Find something that appeals to you to either read and/or listen to, and stretch your imagination and understanding – your learning.

And remember – libraries are free! It’s always worth asking the local library if they can get hold of a copy of a book or cd you’re interested in.

“Man can either buy his wisdom or borrow it. By buying it, he pays full price in personal time and treasure. But by borrowing it, he capitalizes on the lessons learned from the failures of others.” Benjamin Franklin

Wishing you an abundance of in-spirit-ation

Dawn

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