Your own tune or that of another?

Whenever we feel the need to take on a new activity, gain inspiration or have confirmation of our decision making it is natural that we look around us for ideas or a supporting hand. Both to see if the new action we would like to undertake would function or even fit the expectations we may have. It could be you do this when you choose the movie you want to see on Saturday night, the new book you feel could give you inspired visions for the future or the outfit you feel should be worn to Uncle Johns 50th Birthday party.  You look towards your family, friends, work colleagues, nature, your sporting team or church group. Wherever it is that you feel both upheld and uplifted.

Does this mean then your caught up in dancing to the music of another´s drum ? Or can you follow the tune of your own creating? Is what you choose really your own decision or just the push, influence from the outside?

I feel that we need to be inspired to reach our own individual greatness. It can come from an impulse to share. A desire to be creative and give. It can be a small flame inside us that wishes only to give light to our own dream to completing something, bringing an action to an end.  Why should we as humans feel less because maybe what we want to do is in someone else's eyes silly or not "out there" for all to see. Often in sharing we ignite what simmers inside us and allow it to begin to glow.

Last night I had an evening out with my staff.  Just a visit to the local Thai restaurant. A few hours together outside of our work environment, sharing what we think about the latest happenings in our lives. I have been doing this with my employees over the last twenty-five years of running my business. It is not something normal for those working in the gastronomy industry to take their "guys and girls" out and share privately what makes them tick. If you have a second job (they all have full time employment elsewhere) to earn extra money this I feel should be valued by me. It is the secret of having my staff work by us for over the past twenty-one years. They are giving up their own personal time to work hours that most would not want to undertake, so I can run my restaurant efficiently. They come to work motivated, jazzy dressed and inspired to provide the best possible evening for our guests. Even after they have put in an eight hour day at their office job!

I share in their dreams. I let them share in mine. Now due to family changes some staff are raising children of their own. They work now only for functions while I have a younger team which is just starting out on their life's path. To see how these young people feel about the society they live in, the values they hold and the dreams they strive to make a part of their reality is inspiring. They are the age I was as I came to Germany to begin my business. The age of my own children. Their drum beats a music of passion and need. What is so humbling for me is that they take time to listen and share. I actually feel we support one another in taking steps into murky waters, unknown lands. We profit from one another. We are not family but I actually am humbled they look towards me for inspiration. I see them taking on new work directions, study programs or travel plans because of what we have discussed during our working time and outside contact. I see in them hope for humanity. Due to their influence I have received inspiration to create for me, an unknown melody outside the known rhythms of my life's music so far.

We all make our own notes for our musical composition but the inspiration can come from a variety of directions. It is your own tune yet the beauty of it is that the notes are a product of layers of contact, sharing and inspiring from all whom you allow into your life. It makes the melody up lifting. It is what makes the beat of your drum so inciting.

Koruswhispers

From where does our "push" come from?

I have been writing and collecting my "scribblings" for as long as I can remember.  Until I began sharing things, through the social media, no one would even have gauged that I like to express my ideas and thoughts through words.  Recently I have began trying to make sense of the various channels, so as to bring a consolidated form to my platforms. The reason being is I would like to see if there would be any interest from a single soul to share my journey of discovery and understanding of whom we are, why we are here and the endless possibilities that are open to us, each and everyone for going further into challenging ourselves.  What a surprise I got today when one soul wrote to me he would buy my work if it was out there for sale! It blew me away with surprise.

I have often asked myself from where does our "push" come from to change, take a step forward along the pathway you desire but find yourself so hesitate to travel.  My husband has always felt I should long be "out there" sharing as he puts it, my talent for expression. My son has encouraged me intensively for the last year to go for it Mum, write.  Me - well I question do we not have too much information already at our finger tips?  Would there be anyone whom wants to travel the bend in the road with me to see things they would have missed had they stayed on the straight path?

I know that I have since a small young´n have found solace, guidance and support in words.  When my nose gets stuck in the pages of a novel (figuratively speaking here)  you have lost me for days.  I find inspiration in ideas shared or words given for thought.  Words do not always have to be wrapped up in lines and lines of chatter.  Or held together in a monstrous volume of work. It can be just a few single letters strung together that help you have an instant knowing or "flash bulb" moment as I like to term it, when you read them.

I have just had such a flash bulb moment. The lightening up of the fact, that what is shared through me in the form of words, could be for another a help. Thank you so much for giving me the needed push Universe, through a dear soul and his comment... it is time to drive in and take a bath in unknown waters.

Koruswhispers

Circle of life

Circle of life


Embracing that which is below

Soaring to that which is above

Earth, sea, air


Bear, dolphin, eagle

Plant. ... Man ...


Leaving our footprints and hand impressions

Without a care


Only keeps us outside the circle of life


Into which the mystical spirits soar.


Koruswhispers

At times I can feel so drained with just having to live.

At times I can feel just so drained with having to live.  Sound familiar. Especially when you have loads of inner wants and desires and outwardly required obligations to be completed.  This can make you at times feel very worn out by just even considering the fact. That is exactly how it was for me this morning while out in motion taking my slow pleasure jog with Poks.

Business is very slow at the moment by us as Spring finally kicks in, in our area of Europe and everyone has to reacquaint themselves with the idea of sunshine, being outdoors and "breathing" fresh air once again. Therefore I have more extra time on my hands than normal. What it gives me during this quite time is reflection space.

Not just the space in which you wonder what to reflect on. Rather the space in which to decide how you might handle a situation you have been dancing around. Why you might need to take up a certain activity to achieve what you desire. Or let go of something in order to be able to develop what you need or want.

This type of reflection is not a day dreaming of candy floss solutions but more the nitty gritty reality of: "so this happened, I was shocked and sad, I am now both mad and frustrated yet I want to move beyond all of this to taking a stand" resolution reflection.

To reflect is to look back in hind sight and finding the solutions within what happened.  It is to check that, whatever you did in the past, is not about to recapture the present moment by raising its ugly head again because you are caught out unaware of its approach.  It could be repeating the same old routine answer of "yes of course I can help..." or "It would be no bother". To a more harder resultant of thinking "if he hits me one more time I will walk away" or "just another glass can´t change the situation to dramatically, I can still manage the drivers wheel" which both you know are hopeless cases of holding on to a sinking ship without any life jackets!

This type of reflecting is draining.  It seeps into your bones, your physic, your every movement and spoken word.  It is the deep soul searching that often is the re-birth of a piece of you that has laid hidden or tucked away from the world and most of all yourself for a very long time.  It is a a pull on the essence of life and when it reaches a peak of clarity it can bring you to a stand still, so abruptly, that it takes your breath away.

Amongst the still landscape of the forest with only the sounds of the vibrating Spring around me this morning that is just what it did. Stopped me running out of the blue. Pulled me up with such a start I called out. Poks was back by my side in a shot from his searching for a bunnies trail.

Tears streaming down my face I forgot totally where I was.  I just breathed deep and long. I had had so many thoughts and solutions racing for space in my head but one had got through.  One that I have had at very important turning points before.  One I could trust. It was my solid rock.

I am never alone. I am always protected and my maori protector "guide rangi" is with me overseeing whatever happens.  Allowing me to take the path I am destined to. The highest Universal power of love never lets us alone to struggle with more than we can take on, even if we in our simple human skins often think this is not the case. We are given protection and guidance. I had suddenly remembered this after feeling so alone. It is good to remember I am loved!

To live is to be loved, to feel the pain when that is betrayed but to never let go of the fact that it gives you the strength to forgive and go further with this process we call life.

That is why on Anzac Day when we remember the men and woman whom have given up their lives in past conflicts of war to achieve the freedom we have today; we should reflect on the fact that their doing so teaches us to find another solution to that of war.

Koruswhispers

Meditation in motion.

I take to the trails when I need to work out not only the body but clear the mind of all those chattering creatures that take residence within and block me from hearing the small voice within.  Running is for me "meditation in motion".  It is my pole to keeping my body healthy, keeping my system functioning on what I hope is a normal level as well as not letting the joints get rusty as old age creeps along. While on the other side it lets me order my day, clear my head of any junk I have picked up through others and focus on where I am at the moment.

It is something I have down since my childhood in New Zealand with my Dad along the sand dunes of Christchurch's beaches. While I struggled with an eating disorder. While I tried to grasp why I was sent to boarding school at such an early age. Over the snake riddled hills of Canberra in Australia.  As I looked at where I wanted to go with my life. Challenging my background and daring to see how I would take on my own past into the future I wanted.  Over the outback flats of Dubbo as I realized my family were a crazy bunch from which I held genes but not necessarily their ways.  As I made the decision to take on another continent, language and life style at the tip of the Southern Black forest in Germany.

Twenty-five years now of rolling my feet soles over this area that has its own history soaked story to tell.  I often wonder why I feel in love with my Swiss man and ended up setting down my roots here. What I do know is that I run not away from something but always towards a opening clarity of the situation I find myself in.  Running gives me an understanding of my own limitations as well as hidden possibilities.  I run at my own tempo taking pathways that are often hard hurdles in themselves.  They demand concentration that I do not fly over logs or brambles.  These paths challenge my belief in safety, protection and stability.

Have you heard the saying that we are all angels with one wing living here on earth but only when we embrace do we have the possibility to fly because we then have a pair!?  When I heard this the first time I felt so moved because I was living in a foreign land, struggling with a new language, strange customs, dislike from my father-in-law, building up a new business and raising two little children.  I had a few special souls whom at the time embraced me firmly and together I really felt I was able to rise above anything.  Yet the feeling of really being given a second wing comes when I run!

When I ran the "Swiss Alpine Marathon K42" (Europe's highest marathon)  alpine jewel in the fantastic area of Davos over 42,2km and at its peak reaching a height 2606m at the Scalettapass I knew that my second wing doesn´t come from another human. Nope. It comes from the high I get when I am out running amongst this world´s unbelievable natural beauty. The God given mountains, rivers, meadows, fields and trails lead me to knowing my way.  Discovering my answers. When I am challenged with life's ups and downs here I find my salvation.

I used to run with a watch. Timing, checking.  Training in a group, pushing each other to drive harder.  Supporting when goals were not reached. I ran my collection of fun runs, 10k´s, half marathons, marathons and mountain marathons.  I have a lot of great memories stored away in my minds eye. A knee injury while running the Ultra marathon Swiss Alpine K78 put a stop to competitive running.

The pull is often there to see how I would go with a longer distance as I am now stronger than I was then.  My Qigong Yangsheng training, mental stand and knowledge of healing is to thank for this. Realism though wins at the end of the day as I want to still be running when I am 102 just you wait and see!!!

For me to run is to live.  It is to wonder at the beauty of this world. It is to be thankful for my life and to the creator whom made it. It helps me deal with my next hurdle - to handle the realization you can be gone within a split second at the hands of someone you trusted. It is my meditation in motion.

Koruswhispers

You are an unique art work!

I

If you get yourself all tied up in knots, reflect for a moment why you even allowed yourself to get in such a state in the first place! There are always many layers that build up over time creating tension. 

Look at how wood struggles through wind, rain and drought to grow and we when moulding from its substance a fine art work, need to reflect upon this. Still from such trials the wood, creates within its layers, a beauty to be admired. So to do you create from all your steps in life, whether up a stony pathway or along golden sands, a picture of human beauty in your form. 

For me looking at you, your an unique art work to be treasured!

Koruswhispers

Boston Marathon 2013 my love is sent to you...

As a marathon runner myself it has taken me apart to think that during a healthy, vibrate and active bodily movement of pleasure: running; there is someone or something that needs to rip it apart and make it "nasty". When the ground below you is dark and solid; look up towards the light that penetrates within the gathering clouds. 

Remember why you run...

For health.

For movement forwards.

For tolerance of another's chosen pathway.

For hope.

For development within the medical world.

For freedom for every woman, man and child.

For the joy of being alive.

For the peace of all nations, nationalities and peoples.

May the healing grace of the Universal power of love reach out to comfort and support those in need from this brutal attack on a ancient pleasure: running!


Your Korus

Exercise...

Never force yourself ... rather ask yourself is today a great day to move those limbs? If yes then go for it. If maybe be weary why you feel so (too much activity the day before) and if NO then it is your inner protector saying a pamper day is good. What ever is on the march will have no chance of taking hold and putting you back maybe several days or weeks with a flu or aches and pains. We often forget to ask ourselves "should we" and go more for "we must" just because of outside pressure.

Koruswhispers

Your own splash of colour...

To be balanced within yourself you should know what your "splash of color" is that vibrates within you; that holds all of who you are together.  It is the spark of energy from which you are nourished and guided in moments of understanding yourself deeper. That is what our inner "splash of color" allows us to achieve.

To help you find your own splash of color look towards the flowers that bloom with such vibrancy outside at the moment. Their splash of colour is clear to see. It gives a focal point and unity to the flowers form.  A composition of being perfectly within its "being".  It is always within the centre of the flower.  The whole composition of the flower radiates from the inner to outer space it occupies.


To become aware of what your own personal splash of colour is you need to know that it requires a loving handling of yourself first and foremost.  You are the most important being within the space you occupy.  Not your family, work colleagues or animals that relay on your care.  If you disregard yourself when living through the days of your life you are only an empty shell doing the motions.  Not living.  Not expanding your possibilities.  Not supporting and helping yourself and others reach higher and better levels beyond your/their wildest dreams.




A qigong yangsheng practice I do with my students, to find their colour, is as follows:

Make "space" for yourself in taking time out to go bare foot outside into the nature and connect with the Mother Earth underneath the soles of your feet.  Become grounded to where you stand.  Feel the weight of whom you are resting upon your feet.  As you take steps forward note the pain that shoots upwards from underneath your feet when walking on stony or uneven ground.  Or feel the softness of the grass or perhaps sand between your toes, if you are at the beach.  Acknowledge these sensations and then release them from your mind, to float by as clouds drifting in a breeze over the blue sky. Now stand very still.  


Inhale deeply from your lungs into your feet soles.  Follow with your imagination the ribbon of air as it swirls downwards.  Allow it to find the ground beneath your feet, pooling into a circle underneath you, then allow this circle of air to surge upwards again, in a spiral form filling you with light.  Watch were this light travels within you and enjoy the softness of its touch.  No controlling.  No wanting.  No giving directions. A style I call "lazy, sun drenched" viewing.  Take note of what it feels like.  What this feeling looks like. This feeling or sensation you have is your very own "splash of color" revealing itself to you right now.  

By noticing what you feel you are able to add a "shade" to it for example; blue = cool, apricot = warm, yellow = calm or green = refreshed. This "coloured feeling" can then be recalled in moments of stress or pressure that throw you out of balance.  Just by thinking on the color you recall the clear sightedness and calmness from its vibrancy from the past exercise and re-act to the need outside of you with a centered stand.  Keeping you true to whom you are and what you want to be, so as to handle all outside influences from a loving, caring space for the highest good of all concerned.

Your own splash of colour is what makes you whom you are.

Koruswhispers

Put it in a box or two...

Often I was told when small to "hold onto that thought" or "box it for another time".  Sadly even by some people I was told to "box it" as in "be quite" because I asked continuously by just about everything the nerving question of "why".  This type of repetitive teaching, as in when you hear the same reply to your question over and over, can have some interesting results.

By me it installed a conditioning in the action that I loved literally "boxing" items.  If I was given a valentines card, received a letter containing some important information concerning me or obtained a certificate for something I had achieved I would "box it".  This procedure meant that I have built up quite a collection over the years. My boxing would begin by the wonderful hunting down of the right box.  It had to grab me by the heartstrings or give me a tingle to my stomach.  A "gut hug" I would term it.  Then with my found box I would walk home visualizing all the wonderful odds and ends that would soon find a safe and treasured haven within the four walls of my new treasure chest.  Such as when my children where born the plastic armband from the hospital ward came in one angel box.  Followed by their first lock of hair when it was cut.  Then  a special art piece that I would receive with love from their kindergarten days.  Or photo that showed for me how I had been given such a special gift in being chosen as their parent would later be added.

Some of my boxes contain unusual items that without a tag stating its meaning would be of no use to anyone else in uncovering the depths of my life and what I have lived. Such as the likes of the lava stone my father picked up from the National Park area of New Zealand where I was born.  The pencil sharpener I was given from another exchange student when I spent a year in Racine experiencing another way of life.  My very worn copy of the script for the play "Taming of the Shrew" from my college theatre days when I was fiery Kate in our yearly drama production.

Yet each and every item is for me a reminder at the diversity and wonder of the life I have lived so far.  It allows me to see my steps of evolving into the person I am today.  These bits and pieces give me pleasure at recalling what I have experienced and hope for the dreams I have for tomorrow.  My "boxing" is a way of documenting that, which has formed me and inspired me so far.  The items held within their forms are my puzzle pieces of me - of whom I was, whom I am and who I dream to be.

It never boxes me in this form of collecting.  Inside it reminds me of the possibility of building blocks upon one another to create a new box form, that has an open space within to store my life's story.

Koruswhispers