From the heart

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I would like to share a blog that I posted earlier in the year when View From The Ground was published on a separate blog site. I have been in a reflective mood of Kate and this blog means a lot to me. I hope you enjoy it.

From the heart

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” – Albert Einstein

A quote I love, and something I feel we could all learn from.

I always write from the heart and my hope / desire / mission is to reach out to as many people as possible. As I’ve already talked about in earlier blogs, I am exploring self love and self belief this year and I would love as many people as possible to join me on this mission.

Part of this work though is looking at where I feel we as a collective need to focus effort to help as many as we can. The last blog followed an article I saw about how too many young people are being prescribed anti-depressants. It could be argued that too many people are being prescribed them – full stop! Who benefits? Clearly, the medication numbs the depression of the person. This isn’t an ill informed comment. Having being prescribed anti-depressants 12 years ago, I am fully aware of their effects, have used them for a period of time. I talk about this in more detail in the book, View From The Ground, which continues to take shape.

But, who else benefits? The global pharmaceutical industry of course. I’ll avoid going off on a rant, on this occasion at least.

Of course, there are alternative solutions. But where will the money come from the implement a fully effect, alternative solution? Will a government be brave enough? I’ll let you decide.

Anyway, I’ve been reading, again. I saw an article advising that there have been calls for mindfulness training to be introduced in schools in the UK. In October, a Mindfulness All-Party Parliamentary Group said the practice should be made more widely available and recommended the Department for Education designate three schools to “pioneer mindfulness teaching and disseminate best practice”. Only three? Surely this rather important initiative warrants being ‘pioneered’ in a broader range of schools – a selection of schools spanning the whole of the U.K., and a selection of schools spanning the different socio economic groups + ensuring that it touches the incredible range of our diverse cultures.

Political author and former head of Wellington College Anthony Seldon has called for daily “stillness sessions” in schools.

I’m not sure the name,”stillness sessions” will necessarily grab the attention of the desired audience, but in theory this could be awesome.

The Dalai Lama was absolutely right when he said “If every 8 year old in the world is taught meditation, we will eliminate violence from the world within one generation.”

So can mindfulness meditation really help pupils concentrate amid the distractions of 21st Century living?

In my humble opinion, it absolutely could. If delivered correctly, and with appropriate time being given to the programme (or program to our American friends). We are blessed to have in our midst some friends who are already working with young children on such a concept, but if that could be taken into schools and colleges to older students, it could be incredible.

Now, considering the concerns raised in my last blog – as detailed above – if mindfulness was rolled out, and given the attention that it deserves, this could really help young people clear their heads, even if it is just a bit at a time. Just image the effect. In this crazy world that we have created, with 24/7 news blasting people with negativity – war, debt, death, Trump, Cameron, North Korea, bombs, etc – it’s no wonder people are fed up.

In all honesty, mindfulness to the corporate world would be a massive step forwards. I hear, see, read about so many people struggling with the pressures that they face in life (including when I look in the mirror), if businesses allowed time for employees to attend mindfulness sessions, or meditation groups, the results could be amazing. I know some companies already do this, but with a bit of encouragement from the governments, surely this could be launched on a much bigger scale. I would certainly attend!

These, of course, are just my observations but it feels like we could all benefit from a bit of mindfulness. It could be good for the heart, for the age of the heart.

And talking of the heart, I would like to end this short blog with a story from the weekend.

As is my Saturday routine, I undertake the weekly grocery shop at our local supermarket. Being a creature of habit, I always look to see if my favourite person is working the checkout. She is a beautiful soul, so friendly, and always willing to talk and help me to understand about her Sikh religion. I love learning about other cultures and we are blessed in the UK to have such a diverse population.

I was sad to learn that the lady’s sister had recently passed away, but she talked about how she praises and still talks to her sister. She also told be that her sister had left her the words for several songs, that she now sings so that she feels that her sister is with her.

At that point, whilst helping to pack my bags, she started to sing to me – holding regular eye contact, and it was as if she was in another world. That’s when it sunk in, she probably was. In a serene place where her sister’s spirit exists, whilst also being with me, and the hundreds of others in the supermarket. Incredible, beautiful, magically, inspirational. A lesion in love and true belief. A lesson in having unconditional belief that her sister was in her heart.

As I said, I love to learn.

And, so another short blog draws to an end. A slightly different format but, as always, written from the heart. I hope it resonates. In this messed up world, we all need to feel some love. Apologies for any occasional typos. It makes the blogs real. Not editorial support at this stage.

Take care. Keep the faith, and spread the word.
Jon

Red raw wrist rides again

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Welcome to my view from the ground.

My observation on this occasion has arise from a drive with a friend. As I hollowed at an irritating driver in front of me – or was it behind me – she reminded me of one of my first blogs. Red raw wrists. It was a very polite reminder that I was not practicing what I preached – which was probably 2 years ago. Some of you may remember the blog when it was first published on These Wings Can a Fly blog site. A lot has happened since then – some magnificent, some life changing.

Anyway, I thought I’d share an updated version of the blog. Partly, to reflect a changed view from the ground, and partly as a wake up to me and any other rather vocal drivers. That said, a message to the white van man who drove across me in the car park as I left the office – IT WAS MY RIGHT OF WAY!

Anyway, on with the blog.

Here’s a straight forward question – when is a complaint an observation? I don’t know about you, but my old persona was one of having natural propensity to complain. I would say it was a keen eye for being able to observe the shortcomings of others and to verbalise my views in a manner which would help them to see the righteous path forward. Is that such a bad thing? I accept, sometimes, those who needed that supportive observational assistance could not always hear what I had said, as they were not in the car with me as I established eye contact and commenced delivery of my observations, but surely they understood my helpful use of sign language.

I am sure there will be many who recognise this scenario. The blessed curse of road rage. But my observation skills saw no boundaries in my quest to help others – zig zag / vertical walkers, supermarket trolley pushers, queue jumpers, people in general and, the worse of the worse, trolley bags.

At this point, I need to let off some steam. This is not for my benefit, I promise (well ……………). This is on behalf of all normal commuters who have to practice foot work that would had made Michael Jackson proud in order to dodge people ambling along with their trolley bags. Why, oh why, can these things not be banned. Or, their owners go on a trolley bag proficiency course. I spend a lot of time in London and that has to be the worse place in the world. People come at you pulling 2 of these damned things. Two! One day, when Liv is the Prime Minister in the UK I will ensure she bans them. Now, here’s an update – add to that list any major city anywhere. Trolley suitcases, with trolley brained owners.

Rant over – but my wrist is red raw. Why? Well, that’s the whole purpose of the blog. Please read on. This is where I will bring in an updated version of the original blog because road rage is back and, looking at other drivers, I am not alone.

I’ve been out and a lot this week driving around and being driven round the bend. Driver one – didn’t indicate to pull out. Pillock! Driver 2 – almost touches my bumper he gets that close. Pillock! Driver 3 – clearly doesn’t understand that a green light means GO? P……… You get the idea.

So time to revisit the reading and strategy discovered first time with the blog.

I discovered a new strategy to deal with reducing – dramatically – the number of times I complain – and, in this case, deal with road rage.

Following a mail-shot email from John C Parkin of The F**k It Therapy fame, I picked up on a book he recommended – How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body by Doctor David Hamilton. Gone are the days of always absorbing myself in the latest crime thriller when I go to bed, where the last thing on my mind is murder. Sometimes, I still do that but, it’s good to mix it up with reading about positive thinking and well being.
Anyway, this latest book has a small section on how to stop complaining. This stopped me in my tracks (and stopped me complaining about something irrelevant – again!). Doctor Hamilton made reference to Will Bowen, whose genius idea is to wear a purple bracelet and every time you complain, you switch it to the other wrist. The idea being over a period of 21 days you stop complaining (as much anyway).

I don’t have a purple bracelet but, upon reading this suggestion, I ran out to buy one (4 actually) from the local Fat Face (other quality retailers also sell similar items). Now, as an update, I’ve lost them but am going to wear a replacement.

So, I ask friends and colleagues who see me resplendent this is not part of a wider mid-life crisis. It is intended to make me think every time I complain.

Will I stopped complaining? Of course not. But, it will dramatically reduce my complaining / road rage and I am committed to working on this and to encourage others to do likewise. Life is too short to be looking at things negatively. As I said, I am focussing on this recently highlighted sudden return of the propensity to highlight the deficiencies of other drivers. But, as I said earlier, I also have issues to overcome in supermarkets, in queues and at train stations – to name just a few places.

Why have I reposted / reworked an old blog. Well, the friendly reminder from a friend was a wake up call. Practice what you preached. And that stretches out to everything I discuss in the blogs – be that about loving yourself and loving others, mindfulness, being positive, and helping to protect our planet.

Right, to close this latest view from the ground, I want to share one of the daily thoughts for the day that I receive from the marvellous Richard Denny: –

“Writing down transforms wishes into wants, can’ts into can’s, dreams into plans and plans into reality.”

Don’t allow your wrists to become red raw.

Jon

Mum’s the word

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View from the ground

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“I’m gonna make a change, for once in my life. It’s gonna feel real good. Gonna make a difference. Gonna make it right.” – Man In The Mirror by Michael Jackson.

Words are good, but unless they are accompanied by actions they can, at times, be worthless. There is a lot of talk on social media about the need for people to make a change and I am not short of desire to change my path. But are we doing it?

Across the globe there are significant decisions that people need to make this year – as a collective. A couple of examples are the presidential election in the USA and the referendum in the UK as to whether to stay in the European Union or whether to go it only and return to being little islanders. The outcome of these events could result in significant change. Maybe, just maybe, sometimes change might not always be a good thing.

So, welcome to the latest view from the ground. It’s taken a bit of time to put this blog together. I started a few weeks ago but it’s not being easy. I’m not sure why as, like a lot of my thinking, the core theme is mindfulness. What? Again! Yes, indeed. There are 2 reasons. 1) It’s a subject I have a true passion for; and 2) The more people I talk to; people who are really struggling with where they are at the moment; the more I truly believe mindfulness is an answer to a lot. Perhaps, it could be said, it is THE answer.

As usual, I’ve been looking at various definitions of mindfulness. Here’s the latest one: –

“Mindfulness is the practice of bringing one’s attention to the internal and external experiences occurring in the present moment, which can be developed through the practice of meditation. The term “mindfulness” is a translation of the Pali-term sati, which is a significant element of some Buddhist traditions.”

Interesting, in that this definition suggests mindfulness can be developed through meditation. I can see that and meditation is a wonderful practice and something I enjoy. However, is it essential in order to achieve a state of mindfulness? Could the thought of meditation – certainly in the first stages of achieving mindfulness – be something that could prevent those who truly NEED to find a state of mindfulness?

I talk to so many people these days who are stressed / anxious / depressed and who struggle to achieve that place of being able to live in the moment, because of events from yesterday or worries about tomorrow. There is no one group of people – it could be men or women who are under considerable and, it could be argued, unreasonable pressure at work, it could be teenagers under considerable and, there’s no argument about this, unreasonable pressure to achieve at school or college. There are a whole range of situations that cause us to struggle with what life throws at us.

This all got me thinking. Think back to your childhood. Who would you turn to when you were struggling, or upset about something. Mum! Those of us lucky enough to have a loving, caring mum always knew she was there. Mum’s definitely the word.

And then, that got my thinking about linking our reliance on mum when we were young, or maybe not so young, and on achieving that state of mindfulness – on achieving a state of living in the present. On always having a trigger, when we are feeling low or vulnerable.

Make Use (of) Mindfulness – MUM.

To be fair, this started out as being called My Understanding (of) Mindfulness. As I’ve talked about above, I’ve looked at a lot of definitions of mindfulness. Ultimately, they are other people’s definitions. This should be about what mindfulness means to you and how you can use it to help you. How you can live for today, to live in the present moment without feeling the pressures of what happened yesterday and without worrying about what you think might happen tomorrow.

Now, those who know me will look with some scepticism about me talking about not getting wound up about what happened yesterday and not worrying about what might happen tomorrow. However, I would question whether those same people actually know me. Whether they know the battle that I am winning in my personal plight to use mindfulness in its full glory to focus on living for today. That is why I write these blogs, to share my experiences and to hopefully help others realise that they are not on their own.

It’s now 11 1/2 years since I accepted that my state of stress and anxiety was an illness and needed to be fixed. I have spent too long worrying about events from years previous and how they could be repeated in future. Basically, not living in the moment. I will talk about this in more, candid, depth in the View From The Ground book. The book now has a name ‘Round The Bend Or Turning The Corner’. The book has 64,000 words. I just need my balcony in Spain to create the final version of the magic.

Ultimately, we all need to decide on how mindfulness works best for us on an individual level and then to share that learning with others.

But, when we are struggling with yesterday or worrying about tomorrow – we should Make Use (of) Mindfulness. Mum’s the word.

To close, as with the start, in the words of Michael Jackson, “Stand Up and lift yourself, now! ………………. Make that change”.

I hope this blog has helped. I dedicate it to all of those people who have just found things a little tough, a little overwhelming. When you struggle, it’s not because you are weak, it’s because something needs fixing. Keep strong, keep believing, and focus in living in the glorious moment of right now.

Take care. If you want to share your thoughts, please contact me through jonlduke@icloud.com.
Jon

A view from the ground look at mindfulness

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“Be happy in the moment, that’s enough. Each moment is all we need, not more.” ― Mother Teresa.

At this moment, as I sit revving up for another great day ahead, I’m happy. Why? I woke up; it’s the weekend; we had a great time with friends last night; and I’m drinking a smoothie consisting of kale, 6 different fruits, almonds and goji berries – rather than a bacon and black pudding sandwich. Clearly, I chose the correct option for breakfast. To be fair, the decision was easy. I love smoothies and we don’t have any bacon or black pudding. But I still feel happy.

Welcome to a new blog. Welcome to a new day. Welcome to the moment.

Anyone who has read the last blog – Live for the moment ……….. but please throw my mouse – will already know that I working hard on living in the moment; the present. I’ve spent too much time worrying, worrying, worrying.

Worrying about yesterday. What could I have done better?

Worrying about tomorrow. What’s going to happen? Is it going to be good? What’s going to go wrong?

Worrying about what people think of me, of my blogs, of my personal development. Why have some people suddenly become invisible? Is it because I / we openly express our views, which may not be the same as others?

But, I’ve realised this has to stop. I’m understanding the importance of enjoying ‘the now’. And since I’ve start to enjoy the now, the yesterday and the tomorrow have started to fade. Of course, I still reflect on what has gone before but nothing like as much. I know I am at the early stages of my path towards purely focussing on living in the present but I’m enjoying it so far.

So – mindfulness. A subject that has been at the core of my thinking for a long time now. It’s a word that is becoming more common in every day language.

Mindfulness – “the quality or state of being conscious or aware of something.”

Or, putting it another way, mindfulness – “a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.” Now we’re talking.

I read any article that the wonderful Jean Garrod shared on Facebook recently, called ‘A Mindful Day At Work, by Dr. Takesha Cox.

Dr. Cox is a school social worker at a high school in Washington DC. Many of the students at the school deal with neighbourhood violence, grief and loss, poverty, below average reading and math skills, abuse and neglect from their families, abandonment, teen pregnancy and parenting, and the lack of resources that they need to be successful socially, emotionally, and academically.

Dr. Cox is a mindfulness practitioner and she has delivered a lesson called “Heartfulness” to great effect.

There was another article recently about some Canadian police meditating.

Just thinking about all of this gave me real hope. Mindfulness, heartfulness, meditation – basically all practices that work towards a “a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations”.

A lot of us want to achieve this basic awareness on the present moment, but we spend too much time working about yesterday and / or fretting about what might happen tomorrow. As I write this I am facing a battle to stop thinking about what tomorrow might bright. However, the great thing with writing is that it helps me to concentrate on the exact thing I am talking about – living in the now.

Here’s a broad statement. There’s too much anger in the world. In fact, there’s just too much anger – full stop. We spend too much time angry. When I say ‘we’, I am just speaking broadly. That anger comes out of worrying about yesterday and how that might develop into tomorrow. But, what about today? Today? If we could just grasp the concept of dealing with today – with a smile, a laugh, a dance, and a lot of gratitude, sure when tomorrow becomes today we can do the same all over again?

Am I simplifying things? I hope not. I’m just seeking a state of mind for me, and everyone else who wants to join me, where we just enjoy the now. And by practicing mindfulness, we can take a massive step towards that state of mind.

Of course, we could move on to talking about meditation. I’ve covered that in earlier blogs and do intend to re-explore the joy of meditation because I still love just zoning out and just disappearing into my peaceful place. That place when even living in the now feels a bit too much. I’ll leave it there for now, but am happy to discuss my views on meditation with anyone and everyone.

And that’s where I’ll close. A quick quote – “Life is a dance. Mindfulness is witnessing that dance.”
― Amit Ray,

Enjoy the dance.

Jon

Ps – sorry for the typos. I need a proof reader!

 

 

A new beginning

Posted on by View from the ground

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Welcome to the first View From The Ground blog on the new View From The Ground blog site. It’s a first and very new! Have I already said that?

It’s definitely a new beginning and I hope that you will join me on my continued development. I’m not going to call it a journey. That’s Corporate, 20th century speak. So, we’ll call it a development. It’s a development in self belief, self love, continued focus on gratitude, and overall mindfulness.

Anyway – welcome.

For the last 20 months I’ve been publishing blogs on the These Wings Can Fly blog site. All have been published as View From The Ground, and you may want to take a peek – http://www.thesewingscanfly.wordpress.com.

To be honest, this is a test blog to see how it works but what I would love to do is share one of my favourite blogs from the past. So, please read on – I’ve copied it below. I hope you enjoy it and I hope you will join me on this path of development. It will be fun – honest.

So, here we go, word for word – including links to previous blogs: –

1. 5.10. Make it count – A view from the ground

A View from the Ground – The Journal from Jon

After a recent View From The Ground blog – ‘My life purpose. Revealed’ – I was flattered and touched by some truly incredible feedback. It’s been wonderful to see how many people have taken time to read my blogs, as I do really enjoy writing them. When I say ‘writing’, it is more a case of having an inspired moment and then I let my fingers do the work. I won’t continue on that theme, to avoid going in an entirely inappropriate direction.

On the basis that my life purpose has been published, along with the transcript from Viv’s shamanic meditation, I am pretty much an open book. Those that know me will understand how (on the face of it) uncomfortable that makes me feel. I have already stated that I am a private person, and yet now I have revealed that I am the Interpreter for Healing and Humanity. Perhaps I should get a tee-shirt with that on. Over the coming weeks, I expect the actual depth of this role will become more apparent. I look forward to finding out more and will share my learnings on future blogs.

I have thought further about being told in the meditation that I should loosen my tie. Well, I’ve taken this by the neck (get the anatomical humour!) and in the last week I have had 2 days in the office week without a tie on. I was worried that I might get told off. No!!! There I go worrying again (you need to read the above mentioned blog to understand that reference).

In reality, the loosen the tie reference is an instruction for me to relax, be less formal and, I guess, open my mind a little more. Whilst I have been on this journey with Viv there is no doubt that I have become more open minded. However, I do sometimes have momentary lapses of bloody-mindedness. Where I have an opinion and that is it. However, to fulfil the role as the Interpreter for Healing and Humanity, I need to open my mind to everything.

Now, as I type this, sitting home alone on a Sunday afternoon – glass of red wine in front of me; bracelet on a different wrist due to having a minor bout of road rage earlier (see the blog Red Raw Wrist) – this was justifiable as some Muppet didn’t realise a green traffic light signals time to move; Niall playing on the IPod (check him out at www.niallmusic.co.uk and on Twitter – @worldmusicniall. He has an excellent new CD – Total Serenity); I feel the need for a meditation, so will be back soon.

20 minutes later – wow! Very relaxed, having used one of the tracks from Niall’s new CD. At risk of repeating myself from earlier blogs, if someone had told me I would meditate most days 2 years ago I would have laughed out loud.

I find meditation an incredible practice and one at which I am very much a learner. It is becoming apparent that a lot more people meditate than I realised. I read a great Dalai Lama quote “If every 8 year old in the world is taught to meditate, we will eliminate violence from the world within one generation”. I find this amazing. Just think. Is it really that difficult to imagine teaching every 8 year old to meditate?

This brings me onto the title for this blog – ‘1 5 10’. It kind of goes hand in hand with the Dalai Lama quote but I guess I am thinking of starting on a small scale. My thinking is what difference could we make to the community / the world by starting with a 1 percent shift in how we think; how we behave; how we treat each other.

Think about it. If tomorrow, you smiled at everyone you see. Accepting that there will be a small group of people who will think you are weird (definition – very strange and unusual, unexpected, or not natural. See my previous blog for more on this subject), but the majority of people will walk away feeling a little bit happier. They in turn may then smile at people they see and, within minutes your act of happiness spreads throughout your community. That one act by you may cause a one percent shift in your community.

It’s all about taking progressive steps – start at a one percent shift, move to five percent (accepting that is a 500% increase in effort), and then step up to a ten percent short (and that is only a 200% increase).

I look back on my personal journey and would like to think that by sharing what I have learned – mainly through Viv – can help others step forward and start improving their own lives, through positive thinking, through being grateful for life, and through feeling love.

That moves me, seamlessly, onto a learning from my shamanic meditation. I was told I am to “Love everyone as you love Vivienne, Benjamin and Livia. Think of all your thoughts and feelings for Vivienne, Benjamin and Livia. Spread this out to humanity.”

Those who know me know I am a very private person, not in the slightest tactile, and am overall limited in how I show my affection. So, to be told my role is to love everyone as I do my nearest and dearest placed me in a bit of a dither.

However, this part of the role also links to a wider definition to ‘loosen the tie’. As I have said before, I always thought my life purpose was to protect Viv, Ben, and Liv. However, the meditation has told me to loosen that tie and love everyone, to protect everyone.

It was a big eye opener and I take the message as one of taking the care and kindness that I show to Viv, Ben and Liv out into the wider community. Ultimately, if we all cared for each other just ten percent more, imagine what a positive effect that would have. So, if my role is to take the baton and start the race towards a more caring, loving society – bring it on (but, my only request is for some leniency on Mondays).

It is an interesting aspect of my personal role and something that has caused me further reflection. In reality, I am a naturally caring person – but perhaps I have limited the caring to my family and friends. I would like to think I am caring within the work environment, but some may argue that point. I now see that I must open my eye, loosen the tie, and be aware of the wider need to love everyone. Updates will follow on how this progresses.

So, there it is. As I said in the ‘My life purpose. Revealed’ blog, I accept the role I have been granted, and promise that I will do all within my power to succeed. I will tackle it in sensible stages – and will make a one percent difference; five percent difference; and ten percent difference. My challenge to everyone who reads this – do the same. Please join me on this quest, this journey. I would love to hear about what you are doing.

And – look at that, this is the first blog that I have managed to complete without a single plug for the magnificent, 5 star rated, book – These Wings Can Fly. On the basis of my success, you might like to celebrate with me by going to Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com and having a look at how you can obtain a copy of the book. Whilst you are there, I would strongly recommend that you continue celebrating by having a look at Vivienne Duke’s second book,  Awaken Your Inner Hero.

Love life; it’s yours to enjoy. Help your neighbours, you never know just how grateful they may be. Laugh a lot, you may just cheers someone up who is feeling a little sad.

Love and peace to all.

Jon