The past few months I have been experimenting with the effect of food and exercise on the ability to be present and connected. It has been one of the most revealing processes of my life so far and the extra benefits, such as a trimmer, healthier figure and better sleep are beyond anything I could’ve imagined. So much so, that I have begun incorporating parts of what I have done into the sessions I am doing with my clients so they too can experience the ‘fast track’ effect it has on your journey of remembering your CoreTruth, or in other words, who you really are.
As part of this food and exercise process, I have been supported by some pretty amazing individuals. My exercise and fitness guru, Alana Mann, director of Inspire-Fitness, who has managed to explain working out in a way that inspires me and makes sense to me. As part of the eating plan, I have also been supported by a Naturopath, Anthia Koullouros from Ovvio in Paddington who has guided me on a detox cleanse, the effect of which have also been extraordinary.
One thing that came from Anthia’s session was a great analogy around treating your gut, your physical body, like you would preparing a garden bed. First weeding out the unhealthy eating habits and the bacteria that flourishes in that environment to then seeding the body with new high quality, packed with energy whole foods topped up with beneficial bacteria to ensure maximum gut efficiency.
This is true too if we look at our minds as a garden bed. In the beginning, taking stock of what we are working with by looking at what we are experiencing and how we feel about that is much like surveying the ground and checking the quality of the soil, taking stock. Becoming conscious of what is working for us and what isn’t any longer.
Then we start to look at beliefs and patterns and ideas we have about ourselves, others and the world in general and see which ones are old and limited and which ones are still bringing us joy and then those that we are unaware were causing us drama, much like sorting through the existing plants and flowers from the weeds and becoming aware of what our vision is moving forward so we know which ones we want and which to pull out and let go of. This can be a challenging stage because we may have become very used to some of the weeds and their roots may be deep which means that they need to be pulled out regularly to be free of them. Some rigour and discipline is required at this stage!
Much like reading a new book with new philosophies on life, attending a course or having sessions is like adding new soil and adding fertilizer if the ground is not fertile and rich enough to give you the vision of what you’d like your garden/life to look like. This means you can now add some new plants and start to seed now. Generally your enthusiasm kicks in as you are able to see some of your effort and struggle pay off and still you need to be mindful and present to tend to the new plants and water the seeds. Also the occasional weed sprouts through and threatens the survival of the newly seeded plants. Old patterns and beliefs die hard too don’t they?!
As you step back in your life to acknowledge the shifts and changes which have occurred due to your weeding and seeding, you can appreciate the struggle and challenge from this stage. You can enjoy the scent of the roses! The occasional weed that pops up in your garden doesn’t stress you any longer. Your continued, focused love and attention pays of as you see new opportunities, much like new buds and shoots offering new experiences, fresh energy. You can feel into the contentment of where you are at as the gardener/surveyor/ designer of your life and know that whatever you are experiencing is because you chose it, consciously (and sometimes unconsciously!) and that you showed up and did the work, did what was required to give you this result.
Then, much like nature, the cycle starts again. The job is never done, in our human-ness, not until we leave for the compost heap! So until that point, there are endless choices to make and potential challenges and struggle and yet if we remind ourselves of the weeding and seeding process of life, we can continue to grow and design our gardens of life in exactly the ways we would LOVE to.
I love the analogy and thankyou Anthia for introducing it to me. I trust it will resonate for some of you reading this too. I wonder what you are placing your focus on right now, in this very moment. Is it a weed, a limited idea or belief? or is it on the unlimited vision of a garden beyond the imagination of Capability Brown! You experiencing a life connected to who you truly are. Magnificent, enchanting and perfect just as you are.
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