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    Monday, August 11, 2008

    Respect Life & Life Will Respect You

    This weekend was another one of those discovery weekends - Thanks to Katia from Nature's Secret Whisper. Katia challenged her readers to plan a day to have an adventure. So that is exactly what I set off to do this past weekend - Unfortunately, It rained most of Saturday. I did have good intentions to get out, but was home bound due to the thunder storms in the Toronto area.

    Saturday I spent reading and drawing. I put my artistic abilities to the challenge. If I may say so myself, I produced two very interesting pieces. For someone that thought they didn't have a creative bone in their body, I surprised myself.

    Sunday was a special day - two life coaching clients decided to cancel their sessions, which freed my entire Sunday to do as I pleased - Sunday's weather forecast was part rain and sun, with chances of thunderstorm for the Toronto and surrounding area. The heck with the rain... I took a chance anyway and headed to High Park.

    I parked my car on Bloor Street, just west of Keele Street. Took a walk to Starbucks - I ordered a Venti Non-Fat Latte, bottle of water and a Strawberry Cheery Coffee cake. All ready for my day in the park--Notebook, paper pad, pastels, and Harry Potter.

    I decided to walk through the bushes and trees on the nature path instead of the sidewalk through the park. I instantly had a thought of Life as I walked through the nature path. And then it started...

    All life requires respect - All living things, plants, creatures, animals and humans. I started thinking about the environment. Look at how badly we've treated the environment, as a result we are dealing with global warming, change in climates globally. Then I started to wonder about plants and trees. This year is the first time in a very long time I noticed how beautiful weeds are when they are fully grown. Who ever said weeds need to be removed by chemicals? Hmm, I wonder what the side effects will be for using chemicals, did we disrespect life by doing so. I wonder if the increase in cancer cases has anything to do with pesticides?

    It started to rain, I took shelter underneath an outhouse with a substantial roof to protect me from the falling rain. I was inspired by the nature that stood all around me, In every direction I turned all I could see were weeds, trees, flowers, grass, bushes, and of course people running for cover. All life forms right before my eyes, even animals not too far in the distance... And than it hit me. Respect Life and Life will respect you.

    I learned yesterday that I too am a living, breathing, life form. Just as all living things require respect, we as human also require respect, self-respect When we stop or forget to respect ourselves, we also act like the environment.

    I spent the next three hours journaling, respecting my true thoughts.
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    6 comments:

    Wonderful World of Weiners said...

    Point taken Bruno. NOt sure I've stopped to think about the world around me lately and how I fit in. Next non-rainy day (Maine is drowning!) I plan to sit outside and respect what I see...

    Hallie

    KatiaYoga said...

    Bruno, I'm so glad that I was able to inspire you to 'go with the flow' and see where life leads. :o) Sounds like your day was inspiring and even the thought seems beautiful. I can just picture you standing there, sheltered from the rain, slowing down and meditating about life while everywhere around you people are running for cover. I love the image! It's very poetic. Just the image inspires me to get outside and do some Nature-watching (and I also include people-watching in that same category). You've also inspired me to visit High Park again (a favourite spot of mine in Toronto). I think we've created a circle here. I inspired you and you inspired me. Let's see who else will join in!

    I love the drawings you created and I'm sure they were quite uplifting to create and look at on a rainy Saturday afternoon. The second drawing reminds me of colourful popcorn and makes me smile. :o) It also looks like there's a blue dog in the middle of all the popcorn. Then again, it also reminds me of looking at clouds as a child and trying to make out interesting shapes. I love all the colours.

    Have a beautiful, colourful day!

    Katia

    Laura ~Peach~ said...

    so true! I love time like that!
    i am greedy with my time... I will work ever so hard when i am supposed to but when it is MY time Give me a book or a senic area and I am HAPPY!
    hugs Laura

    田园树 said...

    maybe Bush is unbelievable,but his visit to China gave Chinese government some pressure on human rights and religious freedom.

    I like your blog,you share your life,that is very good.

    Mona said...

    great post bruno, thank you for sharing that powerful thought...

    i particularly like the second drawing you posted...looks like colorful little popcorn (:

    Anonymous said...

    The harder you struggle to find what you think you want, the longer it will take you to discover that this does not matter. If you search for Hogwort's school of magic, then you miss that it is in a parallel dimension and visible when you are ready to experience it.

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    Ten Powerful Self-Coaching Tips

    By Bruno LoGreco

    Are you living the life of creativity and happiness that you've always dreamed of, or are you allowing your fears or other outside factors to influence you?

    Following the path that your heart's desires requires courage and might require a shift in attitude. There are several methods you can use to act as your own life coach and start working toward the life you dream of.

    Ideas for self-improvement

    You don't need to change every aspect of your life at once in order to improve your attitude and outlook on life. Self-improvement can feel daunting if you try to change everything at once.

    A good way to embark on your journey of self-coaching is to make one change and see what kind of impact it has upon your life. The following tips are designed to help you improve your life and become your own life coach. Try out one of the following tips at a time to positively impact your attitude and daily life.

    1. Find some ‘you' time. Everyone needs time alone to meditate and recharge. You may think you don't have extra time in your day. Start with 10-20 minutes to use for meditation or silent reflection.

    2. Ask yourself what you truly want in life. Are you living your life according to your true dreams and desires? You may be unaware of your desires that lie hidden beneath your surface needs and wants, so take the time to find out.

    3. Write everything down. Even if your thought seems silly, write it down! You may be surprised by the inspiration and ideas you can come up with.

    4. Journal daily, but with a twist. Instead of just writing about today, try writing about yesterday.

    5. Keep track of the "happy moments." Each day has potential for many small moments that bring joy and happiness. If you don't make a special note of them, you may not even recognize the small joys in your day.

    6. Choose one task each night to complete the next day. This way, you have focus, and you accomplish at least one task. Tasking and taxing yourself with effort is important in reaching goals.

    7. Smile when you wake up. Smiling is contagious. By smiling you improve your mood and can potentially improve someone else's day as well.

    8. Give thanks each night. Gratitude will improve your outlook on life and help you see all the good and wonderful moments of your day.

    9. Try something new. A new experience fuels creativity and your enjoyment of the day.

    10. Create at least one memorable moment each day. Make each day unforgettable, even if in a small way!

    Taking the next step with a life coach

    Self-coaching tips are great ideas for helping you improve your life. However, you can take your life to the next level with a life coach and mentor. A professional life coach can help you set goals and help you move forward with your dreams. If you're looking for the right path toward happiness, a life coach can help you discover the path your heart truly desires.

    Want to learn more about self-improvement? Bruno LoGreco is a Life Coach Toronto and mentor. Visit BrunoLoGreco.com and find out how to unleash your potential for success and happiness.

    The Success Indicators on Your Life Path

    Many people seek out a particular goal in their life path and are content when they achieve it. The chance to broaden their horizons or learn new things within an existent structure is not as appealing to them as it is to some others. This is an issue that arises in many individuals because they mistakenly think they have achieved what they wanted to in their lives. The plethora of environmental noise around them begins to infringe upon their goals and forces them to lose sight of what they truly wanted.

    A good way to think of this problem is to envision a large square box. This is not just any box though. Rather, in this case, your box has been divided into three separate, but equally shaped rectangular boxes, all stacked on top of one another. Each of these rectangular boxes is a highly important expression of your life goals -- individual levels of success. Within each of these levels of success is an indicator that tells you how close you are to becoming successful in this area of your life.

    Every area of your life that you identify as a potential path for success can be further divided, containing the many different events and obstacles you will encounter as you strive to reach your goals. Think of each sector of your life as being divided even further, with three new sections within one of the three stacked boxes (sectors). Within each stacked box are three separate sections, divided by dotted lines that make up the life path you will follow. These dotted lines are not the same as the solid lines dividing the sectors -- they are a path that you have envisioned since childhood -- a series of goals and pathways to success that you want to follow.

    As young people, these life paths may not be fully formed. Or they might be crystal clear in our minds--long, straight life paths from the early days of college and adult living to the ultimate goal of success that you have always strived for. You can see exactly what you need to do to reach each success indicator and achieve what you have set out to accomplish. And you probably did just this. After all, your goals as a youth were to be successful in the same way that you saw thousands of others live their lives. You wanted to reach your success indicators and experience the measure of success by which you would measure you life for decades to come.

    However, nothing is ever as simple as we envision it during youth. There are countless factors that interfere with your ability to clearly see those success indicators and life paths to success. These factors, or "Environmental Noise," can be detrimental to even the most focused of individuals. Think of what would happen if you dumped the contents of downtown New York into your box and tried to maintain your focus on those goals. Would you even be able to see your life path anymore?

    Everyone must travel their life path with environmental noise inundating them from all sides. It begins to become cloudy. The dotted lines, our life paths, begin to look like the straight lines and the success indicators start to be confused with any number of different distractions.

    And then something will happen and you will realize that you are in fact nowhere near the original success indicators you set for yourself. Everything has changed and yet you are stuck in a way. You are deep within the center of the middle rectangular box and you have no idea which way to go or how to get back on track. The noise only grows louder and you grow dizzy trying to regain your focus.

    It is in this instant that you must clear the noise and return to the basic, almost instinctive mode of thought you experienced as a child. What did you want from life? Where did you want to go? What do you need to get to that point? What was my life path? All of these questions must be asked without the distractions of the world around you muddying up your thought process. When you can revert to a very simple perspective of the world and only spend time thinking of what you want from life, you can be that much more successful.

    You can succeed in life despite the environmental noise, cruising down your life paths and moving through your rectangles with ease, but oftentimes you need a helping hand to clear away the noise and look at life with fresh eyes. There is nothing wrong with asking for help to weed out these distractions and remove the clutter from your life sectors with a professional life coach.

    Is your life path inundated with environmental noise? Learn how you can lift the noise and begin reestablishing your success indicators today. Visit www.brunologreco.com a Life Coach Toronto today.

    Chapters.ca

    Top 10 Benefits to Journaling

    By Bruno Logreco

    There are countless reasons to maintaining a journal. The top ten benefits of journaling may differ from person to person. However, there seems to be general themes that are attractive in the collective unconscious. Many people are looking to daily entries of their personal experiences to reap some of the following rewards.

    Maintaining a journal is a natural way to exercise the brain. People who make regular entries are taking time to develop writing and communication skills that are very valuable in everyday interactions. This mental exercise also helps to allow your thoughts to flow freely.

    Creativity is a second benefit to consider. This is an important aspect of journaling. The right hemisphere of the brain is associated with visual, imaginative and intuitive facets of thought. When you take time to write, you free the right hemisphere. The ideal entry will be one that puts the inner editor on hold. Thoughts and ideas should flow freely and naturally.

    The uninhibited nature of this form of writing serves a third benefit of developing self awareness. People often create different faces to meet various circumstances. We tend to recreate in distinct situations including the work environment, the community and even when at home.

    The process of keeping a journal helps you recognize the various aspects of your unique personality. The growing self awareness is a powerful force that can lead to even greater benefits in the future. Gaining insight into the self is among the most important aspects to maintaining a journal.

    The fourth benefit is the ability to set priorities. Once you get a grasp on the thoughts and emotions that are filtered through your personal experience, you begin to gain control of them. The process eventually leads to a greater understanding of what is and what is not important.

    The ability to re-see the past is another great benefit of keeping a journal. The pages can be revisited with a fresh perspective. It can be very surprising how much your understanding of an event changes over a relatively short period of time. Some writers find great moments of epiphany when rethinking and rereading entries.

    Journaling is a fantastic problem-solving resource. The approach of using entries to come up with various solutions to troubles is a little different than approaches for self awareness and growth. Many people choose temporary brainstorming techniques that serve to give viable solutions to problems.

    The seventh benefit of journaling is variety. You can choose what kind of entries you want to make. Common choices include brainstorming sessions, automatic writing and reflective notes. Personal journal entries can be made upon inspiration, when you first wake or right before you fall asleep. Some choose to do a combination of these.

    Purging is the eighth benefit to this practice. Many people find it helpful to place negative thoughts and feelings down on paper. Once the negative energy is placed on the page, they are free to let it go. This practice also works well when dealing with anger towards another individual. Purge the negativity and work towards a constructive approach.

    The ability to communicate with others is another benefit of keeping a journal. Those who work with life coaches can find a wealth of resources for sessions. Journaling can help you tap into your fears and dreams, helping your coach gain insight through entries that you choose to share.

    The tenth benefit is improvement in your overall health. Journaling reduces stress. It provides time for you to meditate. The process helps to make the positive forces in your life surface and it helps to bring the harmful elements into light. The result of personal journaling is a new perspective on how you can take control of many aspects of your life.

    Want to learn how online journaling can help you reach goals and problem solve? Learn more about life coach Toronto at brunologreco.com and journaling at iijournal.

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