Breathe Joy

We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think.
When the mind is pure, a joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.
Buddha



Release the joy inside another and you realease the joy that is inside you.
Neale Donald Walsh



We need joy as we need air. We need love as we need water. We need each other as we need to earth we share
Maya Angelou

This morning, first thing- it was very early. I felt my sweet dog jump on to the bed right next to me. He put his face next to mine as if to gently awaken me. I remained lying there for a moment - allowing myself to feel the amazing joy that was coursing through my body, tingling, sparkling, oscillating and renewing me. All from a short moment of bonding with Bo.

These moments are priceless. Joy is priceless. Whatever we can do to generate a sense of joy is priceless. "We need joy as we need air" We need to breathe joy.

All positive emotions create more positive emotions. That is the law of attraction in action. As I am writing this have put my ipod on shuffle and decided to see what it wants me know..... "I will sing your praises, I will sing your freedom song" - a song celebrating life, "we are eternal". The title of the song is "Inner Flight". I could take this as conincidence- and I know better. The world is constantly reflecting back to us, mirroring us- in every moment. So right now the Ipod is the world reflecting back my own emotions. I am the one who is receiving the information- and creating within myself the overflowing pot of JOY.

It is so easy for us all to forget what it is that brings us Joy. A client recently said to me- that she had not reallized how 'dry' her life had become. What she meant was that in her attempts to "get things under control- take action and not procrastinate" she has totally stifled the joy out of her life. She was not allowing herself to feel joy. There is the key- she was NOT ALLOWING. When we deny ourselves the life force in our beings- when we shut it down in an attempt to "get a handle on things" we also shut down our creativity- we stop breathing. "We need joy as we need air". This is not living!

How do we allow Joy? How do we even realize when we are not allowing Joy? (please note the song now playing - The Miracle of Love!)

Practice #1 - Do you have time for Joy?
Take a deep breath- allow yourself to find a space inside to take a moment. Now take a moment to look at your day. Ask yourself how many times have you missed the chance to feel joy? Perhaps your kid or dog invited you into a playful moment - but you were too 'busy'. Perhaps there was something funny on the radio- but rather than listen you had to 'do" something else. or maybe it was that your friend called to tell you something sweet, but you let it go to voicemail. Busy-ness and the attemtpts to control our lives kills the joy. We have to make time to feel the positive emotions. We have to notice them...and notice the opportunity for them.

Practice #2- Breathe the Joy
Now take a deep breath- let go of whatever it is that you need to do right this moment. All the 100's of things that could pull at your attention. That want you to deal with them. Now take a prescious moment- and bring light to yourself. Allow yourself to feel the energy inj your body, take a moment and look around the room you are in- even if it si your office- look and find something that gives you joy- it could be the way the light is coming through the window, it could be your co-worker who is sweet, silly, annoying- whatever it is find the JOY for a moment. Become an expert at finding the Joy...become a joy receiver- tune yourself to Joy!!! Turn up the light on your Joy....allow it to be radiant. For this moment. And notice what happens inside your body. Joy heals......Joy creates more Joy- this is no mistake- and the positive emotions are regenerative......

Now.....
Notice the Joy card- the kids who are on the front of the card are a profound reminder of the tenacity and prevailing nature of JOY. These kids are living in the most terrfying country in the world- in the midst of war and terror, and yet even they can allow Joy.

I invite you to be JOY to day- to breathe it into your being at every opportunity. To take the time to unlock in another Joy- for the in the act of giving we so deeply receive.

Breathe Joy today.......

Breathe Potential

We are the potential of greatness in every breath.





We all have the extraorinary coded with in us waiting to be released - Jean Houston


Each one of us is truly unique. Like an acorn seed contains within it a blueprint of all the information for the oak tree it will become. Each one of us also contains all the information needed to become ourselves. We are potential unfolding...Anything is possilbe.



Today Hilary Clinton went to visit one of the most dangerous places on the planet Goma in the DRC Congo. I celebrate her courage in doing this. What is the potential for this tortured and ravaged country to heal. Whatever the criticsim of her maybe I do stand up and acknowledge her for actually going to face the situation. she cant fix it - that is for sure- but i do believe that each one of us does have a hand in changing the story.......


The only way forward is for the world to join together in changing the realilty - and create a new story for Congo. This a grand vision- and yet I know from my own experience of being in the DRC that the potential for healing is there- In each child-in each woman. We need to Breathe the Potential of healing into our world. We need to be agents who are willing to release into the world our own potential in service of - Global Wellness....



In every moment we are unfolding- each thought that we have, word that we speak, action that we take, is in essence an opportunity for us to release our innate potential. We choose this. We create this.


Potential is in each one of us- We may all have certain family histoires, genetic histories- and yet science, and intuition show us that we are not bound by our culture, our family, or our biology. We are not fixed beings- we are not closed systems. We are open, fluid and ever changing. We are in every breath filled with possiblity for something magnificent and unprecedented to take shape.



How many times do you catch yourself telling yourself a story based on the past? Based on who you were? Today I worked with a client who is still living out the story of beinig a kid who had to fight his Dad because it was the only way he could survive in a hostile abusive childhood home. This story happened 20 years ago. But it might as well still be happening now- it is still his story. In re-creating this story over and over agian- my client is remaining trapped inside of it- and can only live according to this truth. At this point he is struggling to overcome this and to step into the reality of who he is today- His true potential as a fine, loving and compasionate human being.




Practice #1 - Hear the Story's you are telling yourself....
Right now take a BREATH and slow down- allow yourself to stop and to find a place inside yourself which is like a viewing platform where you can just take in the landscape- as if you are about to take a photo.

Now allow there to be a picture, a memory, a story to come into your view- its one of the most popular stories you retell yourself about yourslef. It is an archive of a point in history. Start to see this story playing out- and notice what happens to you- are you attached to this story- what does the story give you?


One client told me of seeing herself as a kid in a home where her mum was sick and where there was chaos and no structure- everything felt crazy. As an adult she retold this story often to herself, she made this mean that she could not tolerate stress. She used the story to justify this in herself. To back it up! It was the reason that even today she would start to feel anxious and out of control if her world got disordered. What she did to stop this feeling? She held her breath and tried to control everything. The result was - that she did not allow herslef to do things that she wanted becasue they were "too scary".


Notice your favorite oldies----look at them with affection like old movies- and now with a BREATH decide which one is actually limiting you now in your potential- in the person that you are inside.


Breathe Potential now- you contain all the information to be yourself- it is simply that you are needing to release this. Letting go of an old story about who you used to be is like clearing out the closet. You can try on the old clothing- remember when you wore it- even feel sentimental about it- but if it doesnt fit who you are today then you dont need to keep trying it on.....Its ok to let it go and start to tell a new story about yourself.


I invite you to clear out the closet today- find one old story and try it - notice who you in the story and then find anew story to tell- its a style make over at the soul level.....

For more Breathe Potential Practices please look out for the BREATHE HARMONY 90 DAY PROGRAM.......it will be available very soon as an ebook!

Blessings to you all.....

Breathe Emptiness Presence

Breathe Empty Presence

If a cup is already full then there is no room for any more to poured into it- Only through emptying the cup can we be open to receiving more.

If all you did was breath in eventually you would explode!!!!!

Only through emptying out can we truly find the peace......the pause after the out breath has been let go - before we breath in again- this is the empty space..........and inside the empty space we can find presence.

More more more more more more more more more more more more more more more more more more more more more more more more.................................this is the scream of our world...we all want, desire and demand....MORE.

Every where we look there is still more- more stuff to buy, more things to experience, more foods to taste more experience to have, more information to know. There is nothing wrong with more- only when it gets the point of making us sick. We all have had the experience of eating too much cake, drinking too much wine, (taking too many drugs) - there comes a point where even the most enjoyable experience can become too much.

We are adverse to being Empty- we are always seeing to fill ourselves with something- On a recent trip to South Korea I was wondering around Seoul- taking in the delights of the city. It is an exemplary Asian city- full of well oiled consumerism everywhere- you are being enticed to buy buy buy. Huge bill boards with fast moving videos mesmerize you as you walk down the streets. here you can buy everything - 24 hours a day....In the midst of my walking I stumbled into an oasis- it was a central office of the Korean Zen Buddhist temple stay program. This is a program that gives Westerners a chance to go and stay in Korean temples to receive the Dharma (teachings). Imagine being in a techno charged city and suddenly being enveloped with quiet. Space.

Despite all the busy-nessand non stop-ness there is also SPACE. in fact it is something that I have noticed many times in the days that i travelled in japan and Korea- they know how to leave space- big big expansive areas of open space. Where there is nothing to clutter they eye- the mind- where there is SPACE to breathe......

Back at the zen center I am greeted calmly, gently , kindly by Sally the information worker- and we take tea together. In the midst of our connection we find ourselves talking about depression- the merits of western and eastern medicine practices. She told me that the only answer for her has been to empty out her heart and to allow it to fill with joy. "i can only do this from a place of emptiness.. other wise there is no room for the joy to come in- i have to make space for it first"

As we were talking we were both performing the ritual of tea drinking. If there is one thing that can give me the greatest pleasure it is tea...drinking it, preparing it, looking for it- i am die hard tea lover.....so bear with me( I even once did a stint working as a tea tasting assistant back in the day...seriously!) First you pour hot water into the tea pot- allow the tea to steep. Then pour a certain amount into your cup. then pour the rest into a bowl. Put more hot water into the tea pot. Sip from the cup - empty it out- our tea from the bowl into the cup. And repeat. Are you getting the picture and significance of this ritual??? Its the constantly filling up and emptying out- I am taken by this symbol of one the great teachings. In this moment i am so deeply in tune with the apparent contradiction and paradox of emptiness being fullness....... in order to be full you have to empty-

When we are in discomfort, when we are feeling bored, in pain, distressed the first thing most of us do is to reach for something to take the "bad' experience away. Most of us stop Breathing - that much is for sure- this is one way of avoiding having to feel anything at all.....

For years I have specialized in working with addictions (to everything). I have been fascinated by our apparent need to crave, desire and yearn for good feelings and to abhor, reject, and go into aversion for "bad" feelings. what most of avoid is simply being with the feeling- or sitting and allowing ourselves to become empty. As Sally said it is only through getting quiet and letting go of my mind and opening my heart that i can empty out all the sadness and be ready to have there be joy instead.

Practice #1: The Experience of Breathing Fullness

I know- its sounds strange- but I have found in my work with clients that it is easier to start with the full feeling- So in whatever way you want let yourself feel yourself as full- So take a moment to imagine a time when you felt so satiated and full - could have been a good meal, a beautiful view, a great talk with a friend, a wonderful love making session with your partner- whatever it was that had you feel full- and alive. Let yourself recall this experience fully- feel your body and notice what happens in your fullness.

Now as you breathe let your attention go to your out breath- as you breath out imagine being able to empty out. Place your hand on your belly and let the breath move out from your belly, then release it from your diaphragm, and then your chest. As you do this hold the image in your mind of emptying out- like water pouring out of a cup.... let your self feel the emptying out. repeat this for the next few breaths. allowing your mind to become still.

Breathing Empty presence is an invitation to make space for not knowing- in the space where we are empty we are able to to not know. The gift of not knowing is that it opens up the possibility of the unexpected to happen.

Practice Breathing Empty Presence today- allow there to be a few moments of emptying out......

The top secret to Beauty from the inside out....

Breathe Beauty......

"Beauty is not in the face, it is a light in the heart." Kahil Gibran

"Beauty is in the heart of the beholder" Al Bernstein

We are as a culture obsessed with beauty- we are constantly seeking to make ourselves more beautiful. Beauty is a multi billion dollar industry. I am not impervious, I am a happy consumer of beauty- I am happy to play in the realm of make-up, clothing. style, image- but that is not all there is.....I love to play with as an expression of an inner beauty, as an expression of beauty not as a way to hide what other wise I might deem to be unattractive or ugly.

I have worked for many years with women and men on issues of attractiveness, body image, eating disorders, and other compulsive addictions aimed at trying to manipulate their bodies to be more "beautiful". More often than not- the procedures, the excessive weight loss, attempts to mask that which we don't like, results not in more happiness- but in more dis-ease. We are plagued with the compulsion and desire to change yet another aspect of our bodies to comply with the "idea" of what is deemed beautiful. And yet my experience, over the years, is that the obsession with the external 'beauty" or "perfection" is more truthfully connected to feeling ugly,unlovable , self loathing or self hatred on the inside. The obsession with trying to focus attention on making the outside look a certain way is simply a mask for the inside that does not feel well.... Not feeling beauty inside is the issue.......and being beauty is an inside job!

I had a young woman client, Stella,who was obsessed with the size of her breasts- so much so that she hated her body- would not date, let alone have sex, her "happiness' revolved around not feeling beautiful. Stella ended up, after much thought, having a breast implant surgery. After an incredibly painful recovery- she still was not happy. They were not big enough- they did not change how she really felt about herself....Stella still didn't feel beautiful.....

Real beauty is indeed a quest...and one that we are told is something that we can acquire- Certainly the right hair, make-up, clothing can all add to the visual image of beauty. I am all for a make-over and do not shun the fashion world-In fact i love it for its inventiveness, art and expression...However, I would much rather work with clients from the inside out. Beauty starts on the inside- breathing beauty means cultivating a place of beauty within.

So how do we really "feel beautiful"? For when we feel the beauty, we exude the beauty, we see beauty, we breathe beauty, WE BECOME BEAUTY.....

Whats the Biggest Beauty Secret of ALL?

One thing has become so very clear to me- the biggest beauty secret that any of us could ever wish to practice is the nurturing and cultivation of a peaceful, open heart. if most of use puts as much focus on the beauty of inner world as we do on appearing beautiful to the outer world the balance would shine from us. You know when you see the beautiful glow of a pregnant woman- as she walks around growing new life in her body- this glow certainly comes from the hormones that are being released in her body- but more than that it is also often times her inner state of loving her baby who is growing inside her that is creating an inner sense of beauty that is radiating out through her body. Thankfully this is not the exclusive right of only pregnant women- we can all choose to feel beauty inside...and to create the optimal inner universe which can be a fertile place for beauty to grow.....

We can create inner beauty- through choosing to Breathe Beauty- as we consciously choose to feel beauty inside by creating a state of peace and harmony, we quite literally are in the active process of renewing, revitalizing, relaxing and rejuvenating our energetic systems. The inner spa is one that of course comes shining through in our hair, nails, skin, eyes, and general health- Beauty is holistic- it is a state of being not a state of doing......

So how do we walk the beauty way?

There is a Navajo prayer:

Always walk in Beauty

ahead of me....

Always walk in Beauty

behind me....

Always walk in Beauty

above me....

Always walk in Beauty

below me...

And All around me...

Always walk in Beauty

I have added one stanza to this.....

Always walk in Beauty

within me.......

Practice #1 Feel the Beauty

Part of accessing a sense of beauty is to utilize all of our sense- Our five sense are what relay to us all the information about the world around us- they are what give us our experience of the world. Part of experiencing internal beauty is to be able to drink in beauty- This act of nourishing ourselves with the beauty of the world around us is one way to activate and cultivate a feeling sense of beauty. Once we have this sense we can start to practice looking through the heart of beauty at the world....

So......

Find a flower- could be your favorite flower - even if you think you don't much care for flowers find one anyway...and be open to the experience....

Take the flower- and first really look at it- the color, the shading, the way the petals curl or lay, the stem, the inside of the flower, see everything about this flower and let yourself really be moved by the vision of beauty..let yourself become intimate ( yes i did say that!) as Rumi would say allow yourself to be loved by the flower.....

Now- touch the flower, feel the texture of the petals on your fingers, go ahead and let your hands really feel the sensuality of the flower, the delicacy, the smoothness..whatever the sensation is enjoy it..revel in it and notice how you feel......

Move the flower close to your face--allow yourself to begin to notice the fragrance...how does it make you feel, what do you notice inside your body. Breathe in the beauty of this flower in its scent no matter how delicate or strong..allow it to inform you of beauty..it is telling you a secret of beauty that it wants you to have.....remember we are practicing the beauty way here....

You could also do this with the other two sense of taste and hearing- have you ever listen to a flower- may sound bizarre - but once again i invite you to really allow for the incredible to happen the unexpected.....many composers have written music about flowers, trees, clouds, beaches, oceans, stars , planets the list goes on- the natural world is resplendent and abundant with ways for us to feel beauty....inside out.....

This is but one of many practices that we can do in order to become beauty....For more please go to http://www.planetbreathe.com/

"Beauty is in the heart of the beholder". That which we see with the eyes of beauty becomes beautiful....and that starts with ourselves. Breathe Beauty from the inside out today and notice how this can change how you feel....

I am available for "Beauty-Inside-Out Make Overs" Where we focus on matching the outside with the inside...and dressing for an expression of authentic true beauty within...- please feel free to contact me with your interest:

elayne_doughty@hotmail.com