CHAPTER 1
Intention
"And when you want something,all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it."
Paulo Coelho
Gnothi Seauton is the Delphic injunction "Knowthyself." It is inscribed in the Temple of Apolloin Delphi. From the Ancient Egyptians to Platoto Ralph Waldo Emerson to The Matrix, this is themaxim. It is essentially the very beginning of the story.How simple it sounds and yet how many of us are stillfiguring it all out. Step by step. Day by day. Getting toknow ourselves. Who are we really ... What makes uscome alive and glow from within?
Abraham Maslow observed "It isn't normal to knowwhat we want. It is a rare and difficult psychologicalachievement." And that is precisely the point when ourjourney may begin. An intention. A moment where weexamine our truth. Our deepest truest heart's desire.What do we really want?
The Ancient Greeks warned against paying too muchattention to the opinions of the multitude. Total freedomis exactly that. Anytime we are feeling somewhat torninside, it is because we have created a gap between whowe are and what it might look like to the outside world.Who we are and what we want are our truth. Theyare the part of us that is linked to universal power.Kahlil Gibran wrote "It is thy desire in us that desireth."Our truest deepest most genuine desire is life's whisper,reminding us that this is the journey we are here toexperience.
So take a moment, a candle-lit moment if you like,and write down what you really really really want. Forgethow impossible it might be. Just acknowledge it. Knowit. Own it. And let's go from there. This is a universe ofinfinite possibilities. Let's tap into miracles!
The desire may change along the way. It will be fine-tunedand perfected from this day forward. The journeytowards it is what our soul came here for. We have toprepare to receive it. In becoming someone who is readyfor this to manifest, many layers may need to be shed. AsRumi discovered, "Your task is not to seek for love, butmerely to seek and find all the barriers within yourselfthat you have built against it."
Life wants us to have everything we want. In fact,life's ideas for us are sometimes so much bigger andbetter than those we have for ourselves. But when wesettle for less than what our heart truly desires, we shutdown our connection to source energy and things feelrough. Anytime it feels tough, there is a lesson involved.It is the universe's way of asking us to raise our game.
We are here to live our most magnificent life. Aninspired and inspiring life. It is in tapping into our truththat we reach the miraculous.
This book offers many steps. I have presented thesein the order they unfolded for me. Since the idea isalways about coming back to our intuitive power, wewill be drawn to the steps in the sequence that is rightfor us. They are all interconnected and the themes willcomplete each other.
Intuition will guide us along and we will tap into ourperfect health, our perfect wealth, our perfect love andour perfect self-expression.
We will know what passion feels like, our creativeselves, and our power to be miracle magnets bringing tous our best most abundant life.
It's a very exciting journey and I am so inspired toshare it with you.
I know this is the beginning of something veryimportant ... Enjoy!
CHAPTER 2
Movement
"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.Live the life you have imagined."
Henry David Thoreau
As adults, we exercise to be fit and healthy.We exercise to feel good and look after ourphysical bodies. Exercise releases endorphins,and we feel exhilarated with vigorous energy. It notonly adds fun and takes our mind off things, it is alsoimportant for the brain. Research is showing thateven developed cases of Alzheimer's show a favourableresponse to exercise being re-introduced. Exercise isimportant for healthy digestion. Exercise is importantfor restful sleep. Exercise and movement are important,no two ways about it.
It is especially so in childhood. Dr. Maria Montessoriobserved that "if a child is prevented from using his powersof movement when they are ready, the child's mentaldevelopment is obstructed." Children are not supposedto sit still for hours on end. It is not age-appropriate.Children need to move, to jump, to twirl for their brainto develop. When parents complain about their kids' nonstopmovement "they don't stop moving" "they're jumpingall the time," it is worth remembering that children comeinto the world as highly intuitive souls. They know whatthey need. And movement is something they need.
Often, when I am working with a child who is deeplyconcentrating, of his own volition, he will get up andmove around and again, on his own, he will come rightback to continue the work where he left off. For mentaldevelopment, children need to physically move. It isa regular occurrence and might happen three or fourtimes before they complete a work. It's good for them.It's more than good for them, it's a necessity for theirhealthy progress.
Physiologically
Physiologically, a child needs to move. His bodyproportion is such that movement is essential for hishealthy growth. Muscles constitute the biggest partof our bodies. A newborn's legs are 32% of his heightwhereas for an adult the lower limbs are about half ourbody. At the age of three, the legs make up about 38%.Such numbers alone should be convincing of a child'snatural desire to move. Standing on their short legs isquite an exercise in balance for children and they usuallyrun to mask the difficult task of walking. Childrentend to rest with their stomach on the floor and theirlower legs turned upwards. They will usually raise theirshoulders and stabilise on the elbows.
Children have a natural urge to coordinate theirmuscles for the movements to flow. This is an energydrive coming from within. We must allow them thatself-discovery and the perfection they are seeking.
Practical Life
Children prefer real work to play. Getting dressed is ahighly complex task for children and one that gathersboth confidence and movement. Zippers, buttons, laces,safety pins—these are all serious business for a kid tomaster. Children are fascinated by precision. They aremotivated by the order of things. Their interest in wherethe soap is placed and the folding of the towel are moregrabbing to them than the actual process of handwashing.So show them how to do tasks with precision,for they will copy every move. And know that if we flipour hair in the midst of a presentation, they will do thattoo!
Children below the age of three are fascinated byorder. The correct placing of furniture in a room is ofutmost importance to them and this, as an activity,encourages much movement.
Discovery
Gyms are a great setting for children to master musclemovements. Climbing, balancing, jumping, running,twirling. All the different movement possibilitiesencourage muscle perfection. The child is also developingspatial...
