July 2017 – Karen Chaston

Changing The Perspective Lens

31 July, 2017/in 10x Your Life /by Karen Chaston

The more I venture into self-discovery the more I realise that most people, events and things are not how they first appear and I begin to feel that maybe life is just an optical illusion.

This statement reminds me of the many pictures (like the chalice above) that you can gaze at forever and see only one thing. Then when you relax your eyes for just a moment, another picture magically appears (a man and a woman staring at each other).

The funny thing with that kind of visual trick is that it’s really hard to go back to seeing the original picture once you’ve seen the new one.

One thing I know for sure is that most people have a different perspective on other people, events and things. I guess this totally makes sense when you start to reflect that who you are today stems from lifelong, personal experiences and lessons learned. No wonder we all see things differently.

From this perspective, we begin to realise that nothing is really wrong or right it is just different. We can listen to a point of view, to understand, step in their shoes to see as they do, without judgement or trying to justify the opposite or another viewpoint.

By living a life of seeking to understand, you create an easier, stress less way to live your own life. You also get to meet all sorts of people as you move beyond preconceived ideas.

Imagine if we all lived this way, relaxing our eyes so magically another picture appears.

Are you ready to see things from a different perspective? Then reach out.

Until next time…..

Be well and remember to make each day meaningful, memorable and magical………..and never, ever, ever stop dancing!

With Love & Gratitude
Karen Chaston.

There is Always a Blessing in All Your Life’s Lessons

10 July, 2017/in 10x Your Life /by Karen Chaston

Today is the 6th Anniversary of Dan’s (one of my amazing sons) passing. As much as I miss him being here physically, I am eternally grateful for everything he has taught me from the other side.

Dan, shows me signs every day that he is travelling with me. Constantly guiding me to create different things. I say guiding, as I have free will, as to whether I want to create the things. Though I have to say, that once I take the action and create whatever it is, I am always grateful, as the creation is perfect and comes so easily.
Thank you Dan, I’m so grateful for everything. For my newfound awareness, the many ideas, books, gratitude journals, courses both the ones, I’ve taken and the ones I’ve created. For the many people you have brought into my life. Thank you for being my biggest fan and for always being by my side.
For giving my life a purpose, a way I can give to others.

When Dan passed 6 years ago, I was a CFO of a publicly listed company. I perceived myself to be very successful and important, therefore I had no time to be a grieving mother, so I went straight back to work after his funeral. I worked even more, drank even more and ate even more.
This of course was not good, as the Universe had a different plan for me, as Dan’s passing was meant to be my wake up call.
Thankfully, about 15 months later, I was made redundant (laid-off).

I say thankfully, because, my perception about my life and how to live it successfully was all wrong.
Yep, I bought into the myth that the only way to get ahead was to work hard, to keep reaching for the holy grail (a joyous happy life) and it will be yours and the sacrifices will all be rewarded.
And thankfully over the past four years I have been on a successful quest, travelling through life’s university, recognising that the challenges and disappointments were given to me to serve me, so I could examine my life, accept its imperfections, and learn from them.
I have moved beyond my worst nightmare, all so, I could create (with Dan’s guidance) a better way, a smarter way, a happier way, a less stressful way and a more higher achieving way, to do life.
I now know that my unconsciously incompetent life, happened so I could share my newfound awareness with others.
So I could stand here and say, I have lived your crazy mixed up life and it does not work, it may for a while, though eventually it will all come tumbling down, either the career, the relationships and/or your health.Could be one of these, a couple or all of these.
Great news is that, I’d love to show you how easy and fun it is to create your dream life, through adopting my strategies, where we balance all areas of your life.
There is no quick fix, but there are strategies you can use to achieve everything you desire whilst managing your entire “life” more effectively, more happily all whilst improving every relationship in your life, especially the one with yourself.

Don’t be the person who works hard to get to the top of the ladder to then realise that you’re on the wrong ladder or even worse that it’s been at the cost of your health, relationships and general well-being.

It’s time for you to become consciously competent in all that you do – The STAR of YOUR LIFE!!

If you’re ready to reconnect to your passion, purpose, creativity and joy, in other words to get your wings now, then let’s chat.

Until next time…..

Be well and remember to make each day meaningful, memorable and magical………..and never, ever, ever stop dancing!

With Love & Gratitude
Karen Chaston.

Meditate not Medicate

3 July, 2017/in 10x Your Life /by Karen Chaston

“You yourself, as much as anyone in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” ~ Buddha

So many times, we turn to alcohol and drugs (prescription and illegal) in order to make us feel better or to numb ourselves. Meditation is another great daily ritual that you may like to consider performing either before or after your daily Gratitude practice.

Through meditation we can feel more connected to ourselves, others and the Universe. Always remember that we’re “spiritual beings having an earthly experience” and as we are the only person we spend 24/7 and our entire life with, it’s important to connect to ourselves as well as looking after our needs first.

Here are some health benefits of meditation:

Better Focus: When we meditate, we focus and this assists us to focus on things when we’re not meditating.
Less Anxiety: Meditation helps us look at things more rationally, therefore creating less anxiety.
More Creativity: During meditation, we quiet our mind, which allows the creative juices to flow.
More Compassion: Empathy and compassion are higher in people who meditate.
Better Memory: Rapid memory recall is linked to meditation.
Less Stress: Meditating lessens stress and can build up our brains and guard against information overload.
More Grey Matter: People who mediate have more grey matter in their brains, which can lead to more positive emotions, longer-lasting emotional stability and heightened focus during daily life.

It’s good to understand that meditation you can meditate anywhere and that it isn’t about stopping our thoughts or trying to empty our mind – both approaches only create stress and noisier internal chatter. We can’t stop or control our thoughts, but we can decide how much attention to give them.

Although we can’t impose quiet on our mind, through meditation we can find the quiet that already exists in the space between our thoughts. Sometimes referred to as “the gap,” this space between thoughts is pure consciousness, pure silence, and pure peace.

When we meditate, we use an object of attention, such as our breath, an image, or a mantra, which allows our mind to relax into this silent stream of awareness. When thoughts arise, as they inevitably will, we don’t need to judge them or try to push them away. Instead, we gently return our attention to our object of attention. In every meditation, there are moments, even if only microseconds, when the mind dips into the gap and experiences the refreshment of pure awareness.

As you meditate on a regular basis, you will spend increasingly more time in this state of expanded awareness and silence.

Be assured that even if it feels like you have been thinking throughout your entire meditation, you are still receiving the benefits of your practice. You haven’t failed or wasted your time.
Starting to feel that meditating will be beneficial for you, though not sure where to start?

Then check out some of the free resources on this website.

Until next time…..

Be well and remember to make each day meaningful, memorable and magical………..and never, ever, ever stop dancing!

With Love & Gratitude
Karen Chaston.

Changing The Perspective Lens

There is Always a Blessing in All Your Life’s Lessons

Meditate not Medicate

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