FiFeehan.com

Author: Fi Feehan

  • Mindfulness Matters

    Mindfulness Matters

    Dear Fi,

     

    I know you are focusing on changing from more ‘doing’ to ‘being’and you are doing this through the practice of Mindfulness. I also know you are challenged by being more and more in the moment as you are so used to either looking back or considering the future. You know what you have learnt from Mindfulness about being more and more in the now. You have learnt that by being mindful and focusing on the moment and being more aware of your physical feelings and noticing your thoughts, you are creating the space for you to be more aware and have inner space to just ‘be’.

    ‘ Within you there is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time and find yourself.’ Herman Hesse, ‘Siddhartha’.

    Being in the now is something new for you Fi and a way of being that will take time for you to become. Just like being able to run a half marathon, it will take time and practice. I know you find it frustrating as you want to be doing it perfectly. You know that Mindfulness is a process that is to be brought into your life with no judgment and with compassion for yourself. What would you be saying to someone else at this time if they told you why they were so frustrated with the practice of Mindfulness? How much understanding would you offer to them? Well reflect this back to you. This ‘being ‘ more will take time. Be patient with yourself. When you started running you never thought you would run 10 miles- all great journeys are started with a small step. So step forward and allow yourself the space to accept being in the moment and just notice what you notice without judgement.

     

    Yours my friend,

     

    fi x

  • Increasing your happiness

    Increasing your happiness

    Dear Bob,

    Good to hear that you are using some of the strategies from my last correspondence. I do appreciate the hazards with dog poo if you are walking, looking up and counting chimneys.

    I have been been connecting with a fantastic website at the moment. It is called The Freedom Experiment and is the inspiration of Marthe from Norway. Marthe has a wonderful way of looking at quite serious challenges in life. I find her writing a balance of hope and trust with a real understanding that sometimes life can present itself in a challenging way. I am working through a workbook that Marthe produced and is free to download on her website. It is called ‘ Feeling good when life is hard…… The workbook.’ This book will help you with your feelings of anxiety. There is an activity in it that I know you will find uplifting.  This activity is called ‘the love list’ and it is based on the Pareto Principle. The Pareto Principle is a principle of economics. It states that 20% of input usually results in 80% of your output. So for example in business you might focus on 20% of your customers who bring you in 80% of your business. So the question is-

    ‘ What 20% change can you make in your life that will lead to 80% increased life quality?’ That is- what can you do to out balance the negative thoughts?

    What a fantastic thought eh? That by making smal changes that have great impact we can bring more happiness into our lives??

    So the way Marthe suggests to do this is by creating your love list. This is a list of things you love and are attracted to. A list of things that make you happy. You must include everything including what you find visually pleasing, which tastes you adore, what scents you mmmmm at, which textures you love to touch and which sounds fill you with joy, calm and uplift you?

    I now trust you are getting on with your list Bob? Take a few days to produce it and think of it as organic as you make more discoveries on what brings joy into your life.

    When you think that you have enough on your list- say after 2 days- then look at the list and highlight the activities or elements that are simple to do and give you the maximum amount of happiness. Then look at the next day and plan how you will bring these activities and elements in- when you have completed the day increasing your happiness notice what you notice. Then plan for the next day and then the next day and so on until bringing simple changes are making a big difference on the happiness you feel everyday.

    I look forward to hearing about how much impact these changes bring Bob,

    Keep your light burning,

    Fi x

     

     

     

     

  • Sharing Mindfulness With Small Business Owners

    Sharing Mindfulness With Small Business Owners

    Dear Fi,

     

    Wow! What a week you have had. Sharing Mindfulness with the small business owners that you are coaching has had such a marvellous influence on their business building. Quite often small business owners have to overcome a variety of barriers mainly taking the form of limited beliefs. This week through working with individuals you have brought out some deep thoughts that are getting in the way of success for your clients. Taking from Mindfulness the understanding that thoughts are not facts, and in fact are highly subjective, you have played back some limiting thoughts to clients. For example the thought that the client did not deserve to earn money in an easy way as he is working in a field that he loves and using skills that are second nature to him. He had a ‘ work hard’ driver and together you discovered that instead he wanted to have the thought ‘ he was valuable’ as a driver. This would mean that whatever money he earned he deserved it because he was a valued member of the human race. He was delighted to find the thought that was causing so much incongruence within him at this time and discover the thought he wanted to have instead. You worked with him to look at how he might get his head to accept this thought and show that he valued himself. Some wonderful Mindful activities were suggested such as a walking meditation – which you shared with him as an extension of his desire to be outdoors and wanting to bring back some meditation into his life- and also your client choosing to have an apple and not leave the fruit for others in the family. You know your client went off focused on bringing in behaviours to instil the new thought- and belief into his mind.

     

    It it also made you think about how you show you value you.  What will you do this busy week of yours to reflect that you are valuable? Mmmmmmmmmmmm??????

    Think and do Fi x