Your Happiness Factor

The piece below is from Années de pèlerinag; Suisse by Liszt. It is played by Lazar Berman. Années de pèlerinage (Years of Pilgrimage)  is a set of three suites for piano. The title Années de pèlerinage refers to Goethe's famous novel of self-realization, Wilhelm Meister's Journeyman Years. The original title for that was Wilhelm Meisters Wanderjahre which meant Years of Wandering or Years of Pilgrimage. Here are Liszt's words on these suites "Having recently travelled to many new countries, through different settings and places consecrated by history and poetry; having felt that the phenomena of nature and their attendant sights did not pass before my eyes as pointless images but stirred deep emotions in my soul, and that between us a vague but immediate relationship had established itself, an undefined but real rapport, an inexplicable but undeniable communication, I have tried to portray in music a few of my strongest sensations and most lively impressions.&

The Resilient Mindset – don’t let a fixed mindset defeat you How to thrive in times of change This is a challenging time for all of us. For many times are hard and the world has become a frightening place. So can you survive mentally intact and thrive? How do you develop a resilient mindset? Well accepting that we all have core values that we want to carry through life, most other parts of our thinking can changed. And a mind that is prepared to change and take on the requirements of new circumstances has most chance of staying intact. It is time to learn to challenge your own thinking. A fixed mindset will chatter away in your head, if you let it.  It will tell you all the reasons why you shouldn't change. It is also likely to fill your head with negativity. It will tell you why you are not up tot he task of change. An, slowly it will erode your confidence. The nasty fixed mindset will tell you that even if you wanted to change, you couldn’t do it! It might whispe

Getting to know people and making assumptions Most of us encounter lots of other people all the time in our everyday life.  We pass them in the street. We sit in the same cinema, or  work in the same building. And some among them, we actually start to acknowledge and get to know. We begin to recognise their faces, the shapes of their bodies and how they move. We start to make assumptions about them, usually based on our very first encounter with them. In fact most of us make up our minds in the first few seconds of the encounter. Based on the clothes they are wearing on that particular day and the expression of their face, we decide. Is this someone I am likely to trust and want to know better? And we act on what we think are the answers to those questions, based on our assumptions. What we are doing, of course, is taking a few stray facts and fitting them into our own patterns of belief. We base those beliefs; on what we were told by our parents and others when we are

Is your tiredness due to dehydration? A recent survey found that one in five people suffering from fatigue were actually dehydrated. Usually this was because they were not drinking enough. When you don't get enough fluids, the amount of blood in your blood vessels drops and your heart has to pump extra hard to pump blood round your body.  Remember we are made up of 70% water and all parts of your body, including essential organs like your brain, depend upon it. So drinking plenty of fluid is important. But keep in mind that coffee and alcohol are diuretics and they actually dehydrate the body, So you need to balance them by drinking lots of good, fresh, water. When you are dehydrated, you may feel weak and your urine is likely to be dark instead of pale yellow.  Eating five portions of fruit and vegetables each day will help because they contain water. You should also drink 2 litres of water every day - spread it through the day by drinking 200ml every

Wash away that negativity! Many religions incorporate ritual washing in water as an act of purification. Some use water specially prepared for the purpose but at the end of the day it is water that is being used. Water is so important to human survival that in many parts of the world springs and wells are places of special significance and often regarded as holy. In the Japanese religion of Shinto waterfalls are held sacred and standing under them is believed to purify. We know that water cleanses as well as sustaining us. So why not use water in a new way in your own life. When you feel negative or angry, use your own water ritual to change how you feel. Find somewhere to wash your hands in cool, clean, running, water. As you do so, feel the freshness flowing to you and the negativity flowing away. If you can be out in the open air and do this in stream that is wonderful. If you can’t even get to a tap, then how about using a bottle of water poured slowly over your h

Your Emotions – When You Feel Hurt! When you feel hurt you are usually responding to what you see as an injustice. Usually you feel hurt when you feel something isn’t fair - someone has let you down or treated you in a way you feel is not right. Often, when you feel hurt you will withdraw from the person who has hurt you and stop all communication with them. Others might see this as resentment or aloofness and some see you as sulking. Please don't Sulk! Sulking can be silent sulking or it might be angry, noisy sulking with the slamming of doors and much huffing and puffing. Sometimes you just snipe at someone close to you without saying why.  "Surely, if he loved me enough He would know why!" Often behavior like this is about getting even or punishing – at the very least you want an apology. But sulking rarely achieves the outcome that you want. It can make you more miserable than the person you believe has transgressed. Overcom

Nadi Shodhana (Alternate Nostril Breathing); the alternative to that extra cup of coffee! Nadi Shodhana is a powerful breathing practice you can use to refresh or simply to settle your mind. Nadi is a Sanskrit word meaning 'channel' or 'flow' and shodhana means 'purification.' The technique is said to bring calm and balance. It can certainly help you feel more awake. It takes a lot less toll on your body than caffeine! Alternate nostril breathingis particularly helpful when you need to ease racing thoughts if you are experiencing anxiety or stress. You can use it whenever you need to focus or energize. Please don't use it just before bed time! There is a video below explaining the technique but here is a simple guide. Start by sitting in a comfortable upright position. Close your eyes and take a deep breath in and out through your nose. Hold your right thumb over your right nostril to close it and inhale deeply and slowly through your le