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Gratitude is a Super Power!

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I am grateful to be looking at gratitude yet again this blog!
Gratitude is an awesome superpower. I read recently that one of the most powerful statements you can make, feel or think is ‘thank you’. Thank you to others and yourself too.
 
It is so helpful to remember to be thankful to all those people in our lives who have been motherly, kind and caring toward us, including of course our own maternal mothers, to whom we owe so much, including our lives. Remembering to be thankful to friends, family and strangers too for the kindness they show us in all sorts of ways is powerful to promote our happiness and peace of mind. We'll talk more about gratitude for mothering kindness next blog, as it will be Mother's Day weekend. I'll be on board travelling from Canberra to Sydney!
 
It is also great to be thankful to others who give us the opportunity to be kind to them. This includes, friends, family, pets, strangers and of course our children or anyone we care for.

It's great to remember to tune into our wise selves to be kind and thankful to ourselves too. Seeing ourselves be a positive force in the world, being kind and grateful creates a happy perception. We can reinforce this goodness by being thankful to ourselves. We can be grateful to ourselves for doing our best to be a kind, positive force in the world. Remembering also to forgive ourselves and others for all those so called ‘mistakes’, more helpfully known as learning opportunities. 
 
The opportunities to extend kindness do not always come in the ways we expect and sometimes these kind acts are received without thanks. I find it helpful to thank myself, especially during those times like when I have spent a lot of time and effort doing something like making a family meal which is received with 'I don't like this!' Resting in my intention to have prepared a healthy meal and thanking myself helps to prevent resentment. A space I  have known very well. 

Sometimes extending kindness, especially as parents, can be in the form of a strong boundary like ‘please, don’t speak to me like that’, or ‘no, you can’t do that’. Such Kindness always has the intention to protect others from harm.

I can remember the need for such a strong kind boundary many years ago when I needed to enforce the ‘no sleeping with phone rule’ with my then thirteen-year-old. As I was saying goodnight to them, I discovered the phone under their bedclothes. I removed the phone and there was much subsequent protesting.  I needed to check in with my wise self to remember that my intention was to prevent harm and for them to get a good night’s sleep. I was then able to thank myself for being courageously kind, as the protests continued.  
 
More about gratitude and its awesome benefits next blog.
With love, appreciation and very best well wishes to us all 


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Sharing Birthday Joy and Creatively Expressing Love!

3/1/2021

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I am continuing to enjoy CREATING more peace, fun, simplicity and love in my life. Recently I had the joy in sharing the February birthday celebrations at the Womens' Development Shelter in Sri Lanka via a video call! Tenzin Lekdron in Bendigo, Tikiri and the women in Sri Lanka and myself and Ian by the side of the road en route to Dimboola!

You can see the girls together with their January and February Birthday cakes above (it is the same recipe my friend Vicky gave me over 30 years ago now - it is her Aunt Roz's recipe!) Tenzin Lekdron and I started this tradition at the shelter a few years ago now! Roz's chocolate cake is made by the 'birthday club cooks' and all that month's birthdays are celebrated. And this year I was so happy to be a part of the celebrations. I did not expect my phone to work as were between towns in the Wimmera, but magically it all worked. It was so wonderful to connect with these amazing women. My husband was keen to show them the Australian bush and a kangaroo.  When we could not find one, he did an excellent impersonation, much to everyone's amusement. The girls asked me to express my thanks to you all for your wonderful support of their education, training and counselling.

If you need any pressies remember our POM products shop here on the website. Please email us if you would like to order some and we will put them in the post. 
Apologies for a non-functioning POM email address of late and for not responding to emails sent here. It is working now :)


Let's continue to CREATE peace, love and joy in the world!
Take care of yourselves and others.
Much thanks and love to you all
 
Maree and Sue xx 
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Creatively Expressing LOVE

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I am looking forward to more 'CREATING' fun, this fortnight. My wise inner guide and I (my indivisible truly wise and truly human selves) have been focusing on creating more JOY. We have had lots of fun in Dimboola kayaking, swimming, dancing the Nutbush at the pub, doing zoom yoga at the camp ground and taking a slow jog by the river!  How outrageous! I feel so GRATEFUL for my wise internal guide, myself, my amazing life and all those in it, including those I don't even know who make it possible. Thank you all!
 
Taking this CREATING approach to life requires me to check in with my wise self or internal guide often to ask what simple or outrageous things I can do to create more of what my heart truly desires! - both for myself and others. So going into the heart and asking those questions again and again!

In addition to creating JOY my focus this coming fortnight is on opening my heart and creatively expressing LOVE more freely. I have had the opportunity to do this with a tricky person in my life, who appears to me to be behaving in a hurtful and angry way!

Fortunately I know I have a choice regarding how I respond to this tricky person. I can choose to to react from fear creating more anger and hurt or I can choose to respond from love and create compassion, empathy, joy and courage. I need to remember to accept and work kindly with my own feelings of sadness and anger too!  When I can love and have compassion and empathy for both myself and my so called tricky person or enemy, they are no longer an enemy. As Lama Marut would say disappear your enemies by loving them.

It is sometimes difficult to open our hearts to respond with love when someone is behaving in a destructive way. Often others are in such a difficult spot themselves that they cannot access their own love for themselves and others and hence behave in these harmful ways. I find it useful to remember what Thich Nhat Hanh says 'When another person makes you suffer, it is because he suffers deeply within himself, and his suffering is spilling over. He does not need punishment; he needs help'. And our compassion and love!

So, I doing my best to love my tricky person. I am accepting the anger and sadness they are triggering in me and I am checking in with my wise self and doing simple and outrageous things to bring  love and compassion to us both. 

So, checking in with our wise selves to ask those 2 helpful questions....... 
 
1.  What do I TRULY want to create? Peace, simplicity, freedom, joy and LOVE (my top pick this fortnight)

2.  What simple or outrageous thing can I do today (or in this or any moment) to create and express LOVE? 

Another thing I find it helpful to remember is - to not taking their behaviour personally and not give myself a hard time or them either! And Instead tell myself  'I have done nothing wrong, and I am loved' (& they have not done anything wrong either - they are suffering and it is spilling over!).

So often I make other's behaviour about me, when most often it has got nothing to do with me. I was reminded of this as I said 'good morning' to someone this morning and was met with an eye roll. Who knows what their  behaviour is about? (maybe more suffering spilling over). Our quote last week reminds me to keep living, loving, being truthful and fair (and smiling and saying good morning) despite what is happening around me!

Not every day is a good day
Live anyway 
Not all you love will (or can) love you back
Love anyway

Not everyone will tell you the truth 
Be honest anyway
Not all deals are fair
Play fair anyway 

Anon

It is a very powerful practice. Some simple and outrageous things I have been doing to LOVE ANYWAY include....... 
  • Verbally or textually expressing my love and thanks 
  • Doing Tong Len (sending them love with my mind) Sometimes my verbal expression of love appears to distress this particular loved one, so I am doing more subtle mind practices like Tong Len and sending them love, compassion and joy with my mind 
  • Listening with an understanding, empathetic ear 
  • Sending small gifts, like a pot plant, favourite foods etc.
  • GRATITUDE - expressing it often! LOTS of THANK YOU's
  • Taking them on drives and outings 
  • Sending them postcards and letters! 
  • Give compliments 
  • Be the change I want to see - A positive, kind force in the world
I am also remembering to include myself in this practice - allowing and accepting my feelings without judgment and tuning into that wise kind, encouraging and loving voice - the wise self for guidance. It has been telling me that 'I am Loved, Appreciated and Worthy!' It's the truth and the LAW!

Wishing you all much happiness, love and joy. Have fun creating what you truly desire 
With love, appreciation and very best well wishes to us all 
Maree xx
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