Weekly Food for Thought - Of Bathing and Laundering

‘The wound is the place where the Light enters you.’ ~ Rumi

Dear Friends,

It has been an interesting month. A challenging month. A month of holidaying, working, learning and being tested.

A month that has flown by, and a month where I've met some wonderful people, a soul mate, and a month where I learnt that even my mum, a Super Woman, couldn't escape Mr. Cancer!

It came, crept in, unannounced and decided to give her a little warning...A reminder, if you like, that life is to be sampled like the most delicious and scrumptious delicacy, and not something that is there to be rushed!

My mum rushed. Everywhere. Never late for anything. Always prepared and ready. She ran before the wind...And while she was running, she couldn't run away from cancer. It caught up with her.

The worst is over, she is out of the hospital, and at home enjoying wheatgrass, green drinks, reading, and enjoying life. Appreciating it and seeing it through different eyes. She has become a little selfish, and I like that. Before she says 'yes' she stops, checks with herself and her 'internal team' and then proceeds. She is giving herself back to herself. She is loving herself again...

I delighted in witnessing this change in her. A change that was 'forced' upon her, a change she didn't resist. She embraced it, found a higher purpose, learnt to slow down, enjoy every minute of every day...

And while all this was going on, I couldn't help noticing, that instead of bathing ourselves in the fragrant and healing bath that life is, we very often choose to just laundry ourselves; forgetting that we really only have one shot at life!

With this in mind, I invite you to explore areas of your life where instead of choosing to bathe yourself you choose laundering! Stop, consider it and choose wisely!

I wish you a wonderful week and send you an ocean of love,
Lidija

© Momentum Strategies 2012

Weekly Food for Thought - Of Labyrinths and Obstacles

'The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.' ~ Moliere

Dear Friends,

A conversation I had with a dear friend, about self imposed obstacles, self-sabotage, the need to listen to our inner voice, that's not always supportive and encouraging, let alone kind and loving, made me think that it is actually us that are complicating our lives, and not some kind of external forces, over which we have no choice.

We create labyrinths, out of which we'd rather not come out;-)!

When something untoward happens, we are inclined to go back to a tried and tested victim state, then move onto 'this always happens to me' phrase, only to fall back into the classic mode of blaming some external force:-)!

What fascinates me and begs a question is how come we, more often than not, go for the usual, predictable patterns of behavior, those that may have had their use in the past, and are no longer needed? Often times, we know fully well that they are in need of a total overhaul, and yet, we cling onto them.

It is those predictable patterns that create labyrinths in our lives that we find difficult to get out of. And those self-made labyrinths are a cause for concern, as self-sabotage feeds on them.

So yesterday, in that conversation with a friend, I had a major breakthrough with regards to the labyrinths that I created:-)!

Frankly, I was fed up with going round in circles, without seeing a way out! I decided to transform labyrinths into obstacles, as they (obstacles), are fun to overcome and work with, they get my creative juices flowing, I become more resourceful and they help me grow!

And the most important thing is, that this simple, yet powerful decision, helped me move from being at the effect to getting at cause, in a heartbeat:-)!

Are there any labyrinths in your life that need turning into fun obstacles:-)?

I wish you a wonderful week, and sending you oceans of love,

Lidija
©Momentum Strategies 2012

Weekly Food for Thought - Jung & Pay It Forward

Dear Friends,

You will, have, no doubt, heard and said many times before, a phrase: ‘There are no coincidences’. At times, this phrase can sound a bit empty, meaningless even. These coincidences, on the surface have no real origin. They are spiritual in nature, possibly driven by cause and effect, and are omnipresent. We just need to be open and let them happen. And when they appear, that is what we call authentic Jungian coincidence.

Alongside this type of coincidences, there are bizarre, everyday ones, those that happen to all of us; and it is becoming increasingly ‘fashionable’ to announce them as events of a ‘higher’ nature?. And you will agree that, there’s no real criterion to differentiate Jungian synchronicity from everyday coincidences, in an academic, theoretical way, at least.

I believe that authentic Jungian synchronicity is the one that links our unconscious intention and creates possibilities for new and unexpected events. These events, albeit unexpected appear to be linked by an invisible thread?.

And this very kind of magical synchronicity started happening to me last week, and reached its highest point over the weekend!

Anyways, the end of a busy working week, has lead me to Montenegro, where I decided to spend the weekend exploring the beauty of the Adriatic coast. All senses, all receptors, my Unconscious were open and at the ready?! And then, the magic started to unfold…

A simple event, put in motion another event, and paved the way for yet another, and another, and then a whole series of synchronicities! At one point I began to feel as Jung has decided to spend the weekend with me?!

To an uneducated eye, a series of events that was unfolding before my very eyes, would’ve been ‘nothing’ special…I however could see the point behind these events?!

You see, when a plethora of Jungian events starts to dance the most enchanting dance right in front of you, you feel, with every atom of your being, that there’s something higher, something that carries a real meaning, going on. This is not an event that will satisfy a profane and by default comment that  ‘There are no coincidences’!

So here’s this weekend’s example: when, on your walk by the beach, (engaged in thoughts of random acts of kindness and planning a Pay It Forward schedule for Eastern Europe), a shadow of a late French doctor of Serbian descent, appears, the very doctor, who did so many random kind acts of kindness, both in Serbia, Montenegro, France, and later in Africa, in Mali; the man who was practically living his life along the principles of Pay It Forward, (long before Pay It Forward movement was born), and in steps a ghost of an African Princess Kadi, the late doctor’s wife, in a place called Kindness (Dobrota in Montenegrin), you begin to appreciate all that Jung is doing for you?! To top the whole experience off, after the most magical weekend, I got and an invite for a drink with one of the prominent art collectors who supports and promotes young and up and coming artists…All this and, in a weirdly wonderful way, I get to be involved in these beautiful Jungian synchronicites?!

I send you oceans of love and I wish you a week of wonderful synchronicites!

Lidija

©Momentum Strategies 2012

Weekly Food for Thought - Peace and Play Brother

Dear Friends,

It is exactly a week since I had one of the most amazing weekends in Serbia?!

It was a Flashmob for Peace weekend, organized globally by a super star Elliot Kay, in which Serbia participated!

Please forgive me if I sound like a miss World contestant?, however, peace on Earth, peaceful co-existence between countries, peace of mind, body and soul, are issues close to my heart, and I wanted to contribute by getting my country involved in this amazing initiative!

So, a group of totally awesome people gathered last Saturday and made the event possible. What was interesting, was that each and everyone of us came out and brought our inner child to play?!

It is our inner child, after all, that wants peace, calm, cooperation and collaboration. Children have no need for wars, fights, disagreements... All they want is to play and have fun!

We sang Lennon’s ‘Give peace a chance’, we ‘directed’ a mini ‘Give peace a chance’ recital, flew white Peace balloons, and rounded the whole thing off by jumping and throwing shapes on a giant trampoline… Amount of fun we had, would’ve been too much to measure even for the latest and most sophisticated version of fun-O-meter ?!

Say the word ‘Peace’ and trust the Unconscious to do the job?!

With this in mind, I invite you to take a moment and ask yourself when was the last time you took your inner child to play??! If you haven’t recently done so, decide to use this last weekend in August to make it memorable and do just that…play?!

I wish you a wonderful weekend and sending you oceans of love,

Lidija

© Momentum Strategies 2012

Weekly Food for Thought - Coach Coach Where Art Thou :-)

Dear Friends,

I'd love to start this note, by saying how much I love exercising:-)!

Some days more than others...permission to be human, please;-)!

And as with many things in my life, when I do something for a while, unless I take it up a notch, or unless I introduce a dose of variety, I get bored:-)! The same happened with my gym routine:-)! I got bored by getting the same results, and decided to hire a personal trainer! I searched and I found:-).

Great guy, a professional athlete, and someone who knows his stuff! A real coach - he spurs me on even when I am beat and gasping for air:-)!

And while happily exercising and learning about the muscles I didn't know existed;-), I started thinking about the advantages and maybe disadvantages of having a coach or mentor!

Because, most times, we 'think' we know how to do stuff, and in so doing, we can create more damage to ourselves than good! When I train alone, a couple of millimeters in posture/standing/weights can make all the difference.

Being coached how to do things right is priceless, however long it takes to get it right! A word of warning though - we must monitor our progress carefully, and make sure that our relationship with exercise and a coach doesn't become addictive. If that happens, spontaneity out of exercising can be taken away, and a fun activity can turn into a chore!

I noticed this pattern developing in me. I noticed how, after a while,  I went and did the training even tough  I didn't feel like it! I noticed that other activities, especially tennis, were put on the back burner, there was no variety and what's interesting, is that I stopped enjoying going to the gym:-)!

So, I decided to break this pattern, and exercise with my coach a couple of times a week, and the rest of the week, I get to be my own coach:-)!

And boy, did I become creative:-)! And the results didn't stop because I stopped training with my coach 6 days a week! It was a great example of turning from being at the effect, in a way, to being at cause:-)! And the feeling is amazing!

So with this in mind, may I invite you to think about stuff in your life that you may be doing by default, where you are at the effect, and where you could easily turn it to be at cause:-)!

Wishing you a wonderful weekend, and sending you oceans of love!

Lidija

© Momentum Strategies 2012

Weekly Food for Thought - Forgive and Keep Paying It Forward

‘Always remember the three powerful resources you always have available to you: love, prayer, and forgiveness.’?~ H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Dear Friends,

It took a little over a week for the feeling of anger and helplessness, that nested within moi, to disappear, or to turn from its original form into a different one:-)!

Anyways, ten days ago I was robbed and found myself in the middle of a relatively familiar ground, with no money, no credit cards, no ID, no driving license...What I had though was a company of lovely people, understanding policeman, and a choice of states, courtesy of many years spent learning from the best and with the best.

When I realised that my purse was no longer inhabiting my handbag, a sense of fear, anger, helplessness, took over. It didn't last long though! I called the banks, cancelled the cards, went into the nearest police station and reported a theft, and everything went smoothly.

I learnt a lot from that situation, and paradoxically, I learnt a lot about myself:-)! This event showed me that I had resources within me, that I wasn't even aware existed!

With hindsight, I see it as a test from the Universe. To see if all the years spent investing in myself were not in vain:-)! And you know what?! I feel like I passed the test...with flying colours!

I understood, forgave, learnt, and moved on...very very fast. Within hours of my purse being stolen, I got a phone call saying that my purse was found:-)!  With all my documents and, by this stage, totally useless credit cards, as they were all blocked. So with a recovered and slightly impoverished purse:-), a series of beautiful events started to unfold.

I was at a receiving end of Pay It Forward, as my beautiful and caring friends stepped in and were my 'sponsors' for the rest of the day. Suddenly everyone that I met after the event had the most amazing smile and came from the heart! A policeman who helped me, found a long lost colleague of his, when he had to dial a number and find out an information with regards to my documents...How beautiful is that?! He also gave me his phone number to call him if I needed help with anything else! The amount of kindness I experienced on that day was unbelievable!!! So the theft served its purpose:-)!

Even my insurance agent was amazing and super efficient! So everything is restored, money, cards, documents, and my faith in humanity and the principles of Paying it Forward have reached an all time high:-)!

Pay It Forward people and know that 'bad' things happen so that we can experience tons of amazingly good stuff!

Learn, love and forgive!

Sending you oceans of love,
Lidija

© Momentum Strategies 2012

Weekly Food for Thought - Keep on Searching, Baby :-)

'Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.' ~ Rumi

Dear Friends,

Whenever you feel there's something missing in your life, stop for a moment, and get an insight into your current situation, and decide to turn things into your favor!

The feeling that something is missing, can easily be flipped and turned into conscious awareness, and it is an expression of a strong inner desire to achieve that which you miss the most.

Think of it as a sign, a valuable and healing message that your unconscious is sending you. Nothing is missing, nothing is lost - everything exists within the realm of now… It is just that our potential should be awaken!

And in that awaken, moving and dynamic state the sense of fulfillment is being achieved, and the process of continuously pushing the barriers and raising the bar starts to bring results.

As a rule, that which we seek the most is already present in our lives…It’s just that it’s in the form that we don’t yet recognize. The moment we stop to so intensely look for it on the outside, we’ll find it on the inside, within ourselves.

With this in mind, may I invite you to continue the search for that gold key within you. At times it can be easily find, and at times the search may take longer… However, the important thing is to keep searching and to never give up!

I wish you a wonderful week and send you oceans of love,

Lidija

© Momentum Strategies 2012