improve

Broken to Joy: Mind Games

(video) Sometimes we’ve just got to go for it and let our heart speak.
Here is my heart speaking to yours about a topic we all love: how we’re becoming better people through spirituality, through working with our lovely minds… And how that gets in our way sometimes.
This is the second video where I challenged myself to let my heart speak with out mental preparation and to drop back into heart whenever I noticed my mind talking… the mind to heart pauses can be annoying if you want a fast pace!
You are welcome, for your own sanity, to use the pauses to sink deeper into your own heart.
I’d love to know how this experiment goes for you!
Enjoy!,
Elena
theJoyLab.net

Broken to Joy: Moving from Head to Heart?

(video) This video was a personal challenge… to be in my heart!

First, to speak from the heart with no preparation other than to have the intention to talk about something useful that we can all relate to. Second, whenever I start talking from my mind to pause… and drop back into heart space.

So, the pauses in this video are just that: me moving from head to heart. This is the first time I’ve done this on video so it is a slow process…
This could be annoying to watch!

Maybe if you take the challenge yourself, and every time I get quiet you drop as deeply into yourself as you can, then it might be as fun to watch as it was to make! Who knows?!

It would be really cool to hear how this experiment went for you!

Enjoy!,
Elena
theJoyLab.net

Broken to Joy: How to Recognize Resistance & Make Friends With It

(video) Resistance can be tricky to recognize… if it is working properly it is designed to distract you from the pain underneath it. How can you recognize resistance and how can you deal with it once you do? This video shows you one way that I’ve found works well.

What’s your experience with resistance and making friends with it?

Enjoy,
Elena
theJoyLab.net

Broken to Joy: How to Let Go, Part 2

(video) Once we’re ready to quit the cycle of denial and reliving our pain, we can acknowledge it and let it go… Oh happy day!
Here’s one technique that I use with clients for acknowledging pain – without denying or reliving.

What’s your experience?

Enjoy,
Elena
theJoyLab.net

Broken to Joy: How to Let Go, Part 1

(video) We tend to do a mixture of two things when we’re faced with something that we don’t like: we deny it and we relive it in our heads over and over. Neither of these are terribly helpful for letting go of the pain.

What’s your experience with these things?

Enjoy,
Elena
theJoyLab.net

Broken to Joy: How Patience Speeds Healing

(video) Patience helps lighten the load. You feel safer and more confident making change easier.
Frustration adds another layer of ick to work through.

What’s your experience with these two?

Enjoy,
Elena
theJoyLab.net

Broken to Joy: Stepping Out of Turmoil – Practicing During Turmoil (3 of 3)

(video) Caught up in a storm? How to stop the thunder and lightening?

The third step, after remembering that your thoughts aren’t you (you have thoughts like you have a shirt) and practicing remembering that enough that it is easy to do… you can finally remember in the middle of chaos!

Stepping out of turmoil is but a practice away…

Enjoy,
Elena
theJoyLab.net

Broken to Joy: Stepping Out of Turmoil – Practicing Perspective (2 of 3)

(video) Stopping all that noise in your head?
First, remember that you are not your thoughts and feelings. Remember that you HAVE thoughts and feelings, like you have a book or a pen. This creates some breathing space in the middle of chaos when your thoughts and feelings seem to be your whole world.

Then, since most of us have a strong habit of thinking as if we are our thoughts and feelings – that our thoughts are all that exist – it’s important to practice this “new” perspective… Changing that habit takes practice, so doing something on a regular basis that reminds us is useful!

There are lots of things you can do to remind yourself… pick one and do it!

What’s your experience?

Enjoy,
Elena
theJoyLab.net

Broken to Joy Series: Stepping Out of Turmoil – Getting Perspective (1 of 3)

(video) A juicy bit… How do we stop the thoughts and emotions that are causing us so much pain and turmoil?

The bad news is we can’t.
The good news is we can create a way to not be overwhelmed by them, a way to step out of them and back into ourselves. We can stop thinking and feeling that our thoughts and emotions are our whole world by remembering that actually we are much bigger than they are… we are not our thoughts and feelings, we are having thoughts and feelings.

Simple. Profound. Effective.

Try it for yourself and see & feel the difference.

And feel free to share your experiences so that we can grow and learn together, from each other.

Enjoy,
Elena
theJoyLab.net

Broken to Joy Series: How to Be Present Using Body Sensations

(video) The body is an amazing tool for awareness. Eckhart Tolle calls the body a portal to presence and many, many, many traditions use body based practices, because the body, unlike the mind, is always operating in the present moment.

Ground into the body, ground into the present.

Why?

Because a body movement only happens right now. A moment ago was a different movement and the next will change again. Yes, sometimes these changes are quite small and with sufficient attention even they can be noticed. Physical sensations change every moment, too. (Check it out for yourself!)

And, so it becomes a game, getting curious about the body… What is my body doing and feeling right now? How is this moment different? And this one? And this? And as the mind gets intrigued about the dance, the dance of walking, of typing, of running, of driving… the dance of living.

It’s so much fun!
What body awareness practices do you do?

Enjoy,
Elena
theJoyLab.net