Welcome to the blog on this cold and rainy Friday morning,

Today I want to share with you a topic that I have been delving into quite deeply over the past few months – and that topic is ” why”.

Why do I do the things I do?

And why you do the things you do?

In short, I have really ramped up my investigations into the human condition, in a quest to understand my own successes and failings, and the motivations of not only myself, but all those who I connect with on a regular basis.

In the past I have had people say to me: ” Why do you give so much thought to why people do things and why things happen? It is such a waste of time.  Why do you analyse every little thing you do?Just get on with life and you will be much happier”.

Well that may be true in the short term. But as for the long term – I am not so sure.

Now of course – I believe that everyone has the right to live their life in accordance with their own values and ideas, and if you are someone who prefers to “let sleeping dogs lie” and just get on with it – then that is your choice. But what I would like to offer here today is another option. An option that I call thoughtful living, as I have found massive benefits in digging deeper and going further.

It can be painful at times and certainly takes a level of determination and courage to look deeply within yourself. But as it is with all things in life – nothing comes for free and this self examination leads to self determination of a very different type. An informed sense of self that speaks the truth of who you really are. And this allows for the greatest sense of freedom I have ever known.

And I am only just getting started.

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Well hello again and welcome back to the ABTY Blog,

Today’s post is short and sweet and inspired by two things:

1. A great quote I read recently

2. My own enquiries into affecting change

But first to the quote:

It’s not that some people have will power and some don’t

It’s that some people are ready to change and others are not

James Gordon

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Well hello again and welcome to Friday’s blog,

Today I want to discuss something with you, that I have become quite intrigued with for the past 6 months or so, as I have negotiated some health challenges in my life. And that is the question of food versus thought.

These are both things that enter our bodies in some fashion: food for the body and thoughts for the mind you could say. And once they have arrived at their various destinations – the primary destination being You – they mill about inside for quite some time prior to making an exit.

Food takes a seat in your body and thoughts take a seat at the buffet that is your mind.

So the question is: is what you are putting into your body and mind toxic or is it easily digestible?

And why is it that we tend to give so little consideration to the thoughts we thrust upon our unsuspecting minds, whilst we often give great consideration to what we put into our mouths?

Food for thought you could say ha ha!!

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Well hello there and welcome to Tuesday,

Today I want to tackle a really difficult topic and that is one of addiction.

No doubt most of you are reading this and thinking somewhat smuggly – ” well that counts me out, I don’t have any addictions. I am all good thanks. Nothing to see here.”

……..but what if you do?

And what if these addictions are affecting your life in ways you are not even aware of?

What if you have certain compulsive behaviours that you can not really explain?

What if there are things you do that you can not seem to stop?

What if you do have an addiction after all?

Well – what I can tell you for sure, is that from my understanding at this time, most of us  have an addiction of some sort or other. It is that simple.

And whilst some people’s addictions are considered more harshly than others by our society, rest assured that we all have some sort of addiction. It is simply part of our human DNA.

A coping mechanism. An avoidance mechanism. A “let’s not look at that” mechanism.

So –  does your addiction matter if it is doing you no harm?

That’s for you to decide.

And – that’s what I want to touch upon today –  as perhaps the damage is where you least expect it?

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A wonderfully cheerful Friday greeting to you all,

I recently attended a wonderful seminar by The Wake Up Project in Sydney entitled “Women Leading Change” and was lucky enough to spend the day listening to a host of fabulous female speakers, including Tara Moss, Clare Bowditch, Tami Simon, Lucy Perry, Seane Corn, Petrea King and Sarah Wilson.

The day covered a great range of topics and with it came mini revelations of sorts for me that really resonated. And it is one of these that I wish to share with you today.

This particular pearl of wisdom came from the amazing Petrea King.

So first – a little about Petrea King herself.

Petrea King is CEO of the Quest for Life Foundation which she established in 1989. She is a well-known author, inspirational keynote speaker, teacher and facilitator. She is also qualified as a naturopath, herbalist, clinical hypnotherapist, yoga and meditation teacher. 

In 1983 Petrea was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia and was not expected to live. Meditation and the integration of past traumatic experiences, including the recent suicide of her brother Brenden, became paramount in her recovery, much of which was spent in a monastery near Assisi in Italy. 

Petrea has counselled individually or through residential programs tens of thousands of people living with cancer and other life-challenging illnesses, grief, loss, trauma and tragedy. She is at the forefront of wellness education and is a frequent lecturer at medical and other conferences. Petrea sees crisis as a catalyst for personal growth and understanding and as an opportunity for healing and peace.

So now you have a background on Petrea King this is what she said that really grabbed my attention.

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Welcome back everyone to another Tuesday blog.

Today I want to share with you someone-else’s writing. A piece of writing that really struck me to the core and provided me with some real calm and thought provoking insights into an interesting topic.

A topic that effects us all at some stage in our lives.

A topic that is somewhat inescapable.

For now, I do not wish to expand upon what the piece of writing is about though, as I feel that doing so may rob you of the full experience of reading it.

But trust me when I tell you that it is a piece of writing that will most likely touch the hearts of many of you. And you – like me – may feel the compulsion to share it, just as I have been doing with all my family and friends. The reaction is always the same. A deep and abiding connection to the words on the page, that somehow come alive and truly reach in and touch the deepest part of your soul.

But all you need to know, for now, is that the piece was written based on the stimulus of two dogs  - two puppies – playing in a garden in the sunshine.

Needless to say it is a wonderful, textured, layered and thought provoking composition.

So – without further ado – here it is. An amazing piece that I can say most proudly was written by my nephew, Mackenzie, at the grand old age of 13:

FINALITY – by MACKENZIE CALLAN 2015 Read More

Well hello everyone and welcome back to A Bridge To You,

Today I want to share with you the incredible benefits of de-cluttering your life.

Yep – that’s it. De-clutter. De – stress. De -brief.

And just what has brought me to write this particular blog?

Well the truth is, that after a long and lovely lunch with a dear friend a few days ago, I came home and found myself with this incredible urge to clean out my apartment. And I mean really clean it out. And after 5 hours of crawling up ladders and investigating the depths of my kitchen cupboards and wardrobes, I found myself with an entire car load of items to donate to St Vinnies. [ that's an Australian Charity shop ]

“Now that is nothing overly exciting” – I hear you say to yourselves

” Is that really blog worthy?” – I hear you ask

Well – indeed it is……and here is why. Read More

Well hello there and welcome to Tuesday.

Today I am simply going to share with you one of my favourite quotes of all time and one that I think speaks volumes in terms of living a wonderful life. Sometimes I wonder what health benefits people would experience if this was the prescription they got when visiting a doctor?

If our focus changed to our inner world and satisfaction with life – how would that then impact upon our outer worlds, health and life experience?

If living a good and happy life was seen as prescriptive to a physically healthy life too?

So this little quote really speaks to my heart – and it goes like this. Read More

Hello again to my fellow travellers on life’s sweet journey,

Last week I was back in ‘tap dance teacher mode’ and I had a real awakening.

As I spent an entire 8 hour day on my feet tap dancing, and sharing my JOY of this artform with three amazing students, I realised that whilst I had been searching for who I was for 25 years –  I had actually been “being” who I was for those 25 years ha ha ha. It finally dawned on me that I was given a gift and passion for tap dance and the ability to pass on that passion of expression to other little souls. The proverbial penny dropped in a big way and I felt truly overwhelmed with gratitude.

A gratitude that has been, in all honesty, a very, very long time coming. Read More

Having been back in work mode for a week or so now, it struck me as I lay awake in bed this morning, pondering life, that compassion may be just the key we all need to make real strides in our lives as we head into 2015 and beyond.

And I am not talking only about compassion towards others……….. but also about compassion towards oneself. Cutting ourselves a little slack now and then too. Fully accepting and understanding that we are doing the best we can – and that is it. End of story.

No ifs.

No buts.

No what ifs.

We are all giving it a red hot go –  and that is all we can ask of ourselves.

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