I woke this morning feeling out of sorts – flat and weary, with a sore lower back. I began writing simply but honestly in my journal. I asked myself, “how could I feel this way when I had just woken from a full night’s sleep?” I asked how yesterday had been, what had been disturbing me, and what I had done when I had felt disturbed. I wrote down exactly how my body felt physically and more generally, I wrote how I felt. As I wrote I had more clarity on my weariness, and felt beyond the sense of flat, to sadness, to a feeling of being a little bereft. I wrote as honestly as I could about the things that had been happening that triggered those feelings.
And then I got up, dressed, and as I usually do, took my dog for a walk.
As I started out I became aware of how snug, secure and warm my body felt – I was wearing my new thermal tights and vest under my walking clothes. I felt the care and nurturing I had given myself in choosing to wear them. And then I noticed how easy and flowing my walking felt.
I enjoyed that feeling of ease and harmony. I then became aware of the weather: it was what many people would call ‘miserable’. It was damp and misty, and almost raining at times. In my warm thermals, protected from any cold, all I could see was the deep beauty and quiet that came with the weather. The shapes of the trees seemed more pronounced against the mist, and the sounds of the birds seemed more distinct and clear.
I remembered Serge Benhayon talking quite a few years ago about how it shouldn’t matter to us what the weather was like, how in truth it shouldn’t dictate or alter how we felt. At the time I had thought the comment fanciful, something that was lovely in theory, but not achievable in practice, but now I found myself fully appreciating that no day was more beautiful than another: that this ‘miserable’ day was equally beautiful to a bright sunny one.
So, here I was, the person who had woken distinctly out of sorts, now walking along feeling the ease, stillness and quiet, and fully appreciating the beauty of the day. The things that had been bothering me on waking were still there, but they were not dictating or affecting how my day would be. They were not engulfing me like they had when I first woke up.
And what had I done? I had simply committed to feeling what I was feeling, to being as honest as I could be about what I felt, and writing it in a journal. They are very simple practical techniques that have been presented at Universal Medicine events, and which, when I commit to them and put them into practice, help me on a day-to-day basis.
By Catherine, England
The Truth about Serge Benhayon 
Catherine I love the power that writing with honesty and truth brings, it stops all the confusion, all the games that we can play in our head and allows us to grow, evolve and move forward with our life. It helps us make sense of the world by expressing the truth of what is going on. Of course we can also abuse writing and list off lies and “convenient truths”.
This is such a simple practice that I know has supported me on many a morning when I’ve let the previous day’s choices run into my day. Just accepting how I am feeling and reconnecting with myself with out admonishment but an openness of observation I can go for a walk, or drive the car to work and just be with me and come back to feeling a steadiness that I can keep choosing through out my day.
Often I have to say no to the thoughts that want me to give myself a hard time and know their justifying themselves are not valid. So they will say that by giving myself a hard time will mean I will not do it again. It is rather like the angry parent shouting at the child but not understanding why the child did what they did and leaving those reasons intact. So, no matter how hard the punishment, the child repeats their behaviour or subjugates it into something else instead of being supported to heal.
The beauty of this life at this time is that connection is on-tap! By being connected to ourselves and cultivating a deep relationship with our body we do not become victims of the external factors in this world, even the weather.
The simplicity of this blog and its message is profound. Honesty works.
It’s true Catherine, you really benefit continually committing to holding your connection in the sturdiest manner.
Walking, whilst connected with ourselves, feeling our body and appreciating our qualities we bring can really help change our energy to one that feels quite gorgeous no matter our start point.
I find that the levels of honesty in how I have been in the day come to me when I stop for a walk at the end of the day, or during my lunch break. A moment to stop and take stock of how I have been travelling and clocking the choices that I have been making that have either been harming or supporting me throughout the day.
There is nothing more empowering than to discover that we are not our emotions, and that movement, when made in a gesture towards truth, which includes starting with the honesty of what can be felt, is one that re-establishes a connection with a greater flow in life. A beautiful illustration of this thank you Catherine…
To be honest with what we are feeling, to nominate it, changes the energy, a great example Catherine.
By nominating what hurts us, we no longer allow it to own us. Thus, in this state we are free to walk unencumbered by the imposition we had brought upon ourselves that had no place within us and sought to make us feel so burdened and become so dense.
Simple and sweet really, ” I had simply committed to feeling what I was feeling, to being as honest as I could be about what I felt, and writing it in a journal.” There is something about writing in a journal or recording like this that supports us deeper. I know when I have done this and read back over things as apposed to trying to just remember there is a huge difference. It’s like you remember it one way but when it’s recorded the real goings on are shown. I guess like even writing this comment is a record in the same way, a true record of what I was feeling at this point.
When we are, and feel really comfortable, in our body no outer circumstance can disturb this. And this is something everybody should learn and know.
I have been amazed how much I could recover during the day from waking up tired or (in the past) exhausted. It is as if living in a certain way during the day actually gives you energy.
In connection to our body and from our beingness, it matters not whether it rains or shines.
I moved from England and lived abroad for 3 years citing the bad weather here as one of the reasons. It didn’t take long to realise that with wall to wall sunshine for months on end, I still had the same issues. Now back in England, I rarely moan about the weather and actually love the seasons and even the rain.
This is wonderful to read. I feel that honesty delivers us back to truth, to ourselves, so no matter what energies we’ve taken up we can let them go with this honesty. I also am appreciating how weather isn’t dictating how I am feeling as it once did. Days of non-stop rain I am not a fan of because it’s not so nice for walks but there are always others things like swimming to enjoy.
Yes, lies have difficulty sustaining themselves in the face of honesty. It seems too simple but it is very powerful.
‘I had simply committed to feeling what I was feeling, to being as honest as I could be about what I felt, and writing it in a journal’. – This is so practical and supportive Catherine. There is an honouring that has taken place in these 3 reflective activities and commitment. From the time we are young we live with a constant message that we are not ok and so a foundation is formed that reflects to us everything we feel, and everything we are is wrong. Taking a moment to truly feel, accept and honour our truth is re-connecting to that inner divinity that we truly are and a healing/shift plays out changing our moment/our day/our life.
Sometimes when people talk about writing in a diary or journal it can seem like an indulgence – like it is a way of venting emotions and blaming others/ life/ the weather for their discontent but I love how the way you’ve written here there is none of that – it was just simply being honest with yourself about what you were feeling and being open to seeing what that was reflecting for you…
You choosing to appreciate your own caring and nurturing about your perfect clothing for the day gave you a different focus on how your body and then the weather felt to you. I love the way appreciation works, what it does to the body and the movements it makes, leaving behind a beautiful imprint for everyone to enjoy.
I’ve tried writing journals in the past but have not been committed to a daily practice so have stopped after a few days. One of the reasons for that is I’ve felt a bit silly writing to myself. What I mean by that is that because it was for me and not for anyone else to read (an audience), I found it difficult to understand the point of it. So ingrained in me is that belief that I took on in school that writing is only for others – to be recognised, to achieve something, or to express something to another, that I found it impossible to write without writing for someone else to read it. Why express when its just for me? It’s great to expose this lack of valuing myself as well as the need for a reward for writing or expressing in any other way. I’m going to return to journal writing with a fresh imprint and knowing the value there is in expressing to myself.
This is a great example of what can happen if you choose to put any one of the many support and practical ways of being in life that are presented by Universal Medicine. The Way of the Livingness is that – a way of living that supports you to be fully engaged in life but not knocked around by it.
You say “I had simply committed to feeling what I was feeling, to being as honest as I could be about what I felt, and writing it in a journal” – and this is the thing, we want a technique, a medicine with a fancy name, something to get us out of our predicament, yet here we find healing is actually very simple and rather gorgeous.
love how honesty brings truth, truth brings connection and connection allows us to feel the beauty in all that is around us.
Life becomes so beautiful when we connect to that natural delicate and tender feeling in the body in which we can feel the the love we are from. When we live like this from this livingness, we connect to the outer world in the knowing that we are from the same source and that there is the same beauty in whatever is being presented to us. May it be a lovely summer day or a cold winter day, there is always that connection with the grander whole we are all part of and can connect with.
I loved walking with you today, no matter what the weather is when we walk with ourselves we walk with an easy flow, and I have noticed how easy it is to let go of the things that have bothered me before my walk, how much freer I feel after a walk and how much easier it is to be honest with myself.
Thank you Catherine, I have found great power in simple self care and nurturing techniques, especially when I have felt engulfed by something such as issue or worry etc. I have just recently begun some journal writing as well to help me catch up on some big events in my life, and nurturing myself by sharing honestly how I feel. All this time dedicated to ourselves and our own self care makes for a joyful life.
To me, there were three very self-empowering things you did in your morning Catherine. One – you acknowledged in full, all the signs and signals your body was feeding back to you (however uncomfortable). Two – you reflected upon what these signs and pains meant for you, without having to have all the ‘answers’ then and there.You were willing to feel more deeply… And three – you moved and walked in connection with the essence of who you are.
All the moreso since you wrote this blog, Serge Benhayon has presented many times on the power of the quality of our movement – it is a great key to ‘bring us back’ to ourselves. The simplicity with which you’ve brought this here, and the amazing way in which your body responded, is very powerful, thank-you.
As you share the weather should be no indicator of how we feel, rather we carry the way we feel whether the sun shines or not. It is a great place to get to within that every day is seen for the beauty it brings.
Feeling the glory of the Sun shining ‘despite’ the weather, as you went on your walk Catherine… A beautiful sharing, thank-you.
Catherine you offer us a great reminder of the power of honesty to bring us back when we are feeling out of sorts and the beautiful way we can re-connect back to ourselves with journal writing and a simple walk that can be vey healing on many levels.
It is beautiful how empowered we really are when we take these simple steps to be honest and be willing to see truthfully what is going on for us.
Great sharing Catherine, when we allow ourselves to peel back the layers of honesty we can start to clearly see why we feel the way we do, or do the things we do.
A lovely supportive and insightful article about something tangibly practical that is simple for us all to do. I use a diary to wrap the day up to support my sleep. It’s not what you could call a traditional ‘dear diary’ but it’s a record or a wrap of the day, the things that went well and the result and the things that went not so well and the result. I take time out also to appreciate the day or more importantly the people in it, including me. As the article is saying the beauty of the day isn’t something to link to sun or rain but more to appreciate ourselves wherever we are. A diary or journal is a great way to track life as sometimes it can feel like everyday is rolled into one and you are just going around and around in circles. In other words you can feel like life is out of control. It’s not a about controlling but more about bringing yourself back to a truely strong centre or foundation to deal with everything that is there for you, a living support of yourself.
Thank you Catherine, I too have found that writing is powerfully healing. Sometimes I feel as though I am wiser when I write and when I read my words back it feels as though I gain new insight into myself.
If we can’t be honest with ourselves who can we be honest with? And what better way than to get it down in a journal? I too love being out in all weathers walking the dog if I am wearing the right gear as the beauty that is there to observe is endless.
Gorgeous Catherine – and that is how simple it is. We need simply name the energy that is not love that has a hold of us in order to arrest the hold it has over us. Your journal writing is a great example of how simple and transformative this can be.
Catherine what you share is simple yet very powerful when we apply these practical tools to our everyday life. Life just gets more amazing the more you live the principles as taught by Universal Medicine – they are absolute gold and deeply healing for humanity on many levels.
I love writing in my Our Cycles app, which provides space to write about each day and log your moods, feelings and symptoms – for me, the chance to write my day down and honestly reflect on situations or feelings is so supportive, especially at the end of the day, working through it all and letting it all go before bed.
I’ve never used it to track my hunger but that’s a great idea, I have used it to track different pains or things going on in my body and it’s super interesting to see a.) what triggers it and what’s going on at the time and b.) how long we can allow something to go on without truly addressing it. The app really helps me not ignore stuff and to keep looking at what’s going on and why.
I am seeing the benefits of being open to everything I’m feeling, not screening and only giving attention to the ones I’ve judged as ‘good.’ Being honest and open with ourselves is a wonderful starting point for us to examine the effects of our daily choices. You can’t change or deal with something you don’t even admit to.
This is the difference. If we actually practice what we know we can then experience something different as a consequence. So often we are happy with knowledge but do not live it. I love this Catherine.
When I am being honest and open about how I am feeling, the heavy weight of feeling flat and out of sorts gets lifted and it allows me to feel/be more myself. With honesty and openness we are able to learn and grow.
I love what you have expressed here Catherine, such a beautiful example of taking responsibility and making self loving choices;
“I had simply committed to feeling what I was feeling, to being as honest as I could be about what I felt, and writing it in a journal”.
This is interesting, hey?! What have you really done? “I had simply committed to feeling what I was feeling, to being as honest as I could be about what I felt” – and your feelings, even your body changed!
I had a similar experience when I did a workshop and in the break by heating up some food got a burning on my hand. I wanted to cool it and ‘make the bad feeling go away’, but also did realize that this could be a learning. With the support of the trainer I did feel into my body, the hurt on the hand and it started a little journey through my body. I felt an hardness in my lower back and than in my upper back/neck. Always the ‘bad energy’ or hardness/contraction did shift after I had felt it in full, did allowed the feeling, brought awareness to it, not wanted it to go away. And after a while it did come to an end. No hardness/contraction anymore in my body and the hurt on the hand was gone.
That brought me to the question, how life would be if we would allow ourselves to feel what is going on and would take the responsibility of it. My life changed a lot with this. But it is a great reminder to read your words again today, as it is a realization that can easily be ignored again.
Choosing to commit to listening and expressing what is happening in our body can be as simple as you have shared Catherine. When we express and honour our body, we allow room for what is true be there and more love to enter.
It’s like we want to stay one step ahead of the ‘troubles’ so they can’t get us….so if something is troubling us, if we just keep a bit busy, or a bit numb, or just do that one more thing, we can almost pretend that the the trouble is not there. I can also do that when I am tired and busy, I know the tiredness is there but keep pushing and doing ‘jobs’, almost to stay ahead of the tiredness, as to not to feel it. But this is so tiring of its own, and the drive to be ahead feels pretty yuck in my body.
And I have found, like you share here, that if you take the moment to actually ‘sit in your body’ and feel what is going on, be open and honest, and acknowledge it, you can get some clarity around the ‘troubles’ or see that you are tired and make a decision from there – say to rest, or to keep going but to do so ‘with you’ not ‘ahead of you’ and say build in little rests along the way.
But often I fight that moment, conditioned with the notion that feeling stuff is onerous, or going to ‘hurt’ me. This is just ill-held beliefs because when I do get honest, it is quite simple and then I move on – often to see the joy that was always there but unable to see it due to what I was in.
An interesting sharing Catherine that would be great for all of us to follow in similar circumstances. Sometimes to just put a voice to the way we feel can lift us out of the doldrums and put a different slant on how we look at our lives or the world at large.
I used to think the weather made me miserable. It was actually one reason that made me decide to move to a warmer climate. Of course after the settling in period I found that even with bright warm sunshine everyday, I could still be miserable. Now that I am back in the UK I actually love the seasons. I simply have to dress appropriately and I’m good to go. I enjoyed reading about how warm and snugly you were in your thermal clothes.
Catherine I am with you on the journal writing. Sometimes I sit to write and don’t know whats going to end up on the page, but I find it a very connecting tool and its something I have done since I was 12 and got one as a birthday present. Its like having a chat to myself, but there is also the ritual side of it; the feeling of the pen gliding on the paper, choosing a nice pen to write with; making sure I’m comfortable and warm before I start writing.
This is gorgeous. I love how you have the shared of the power of honesty. I have come to realise, not in any perfection, that when we are willing to be honest we are willing to know the truth, and from here we can discover that the truth of who we are is love. Such a joyful confirmation of how living our lightness is possible wherever we are, when we choose to embrace honesty – thank you Catherine.
“I had simply committed to feeling what I was feeling, to being as honest as I could be about what I felt” Catherine I love this, its not about feeling a certain way or trying to get somewhere that we crave most but allowing ourselves the honesty with how we feel in each moment. Thanks for sharing as it can be easy to try and run for a feeling that is not so great rather than be honest with it and in that feel more of who we are.
Honesty is where self-love begins.
I love the power of what you have shared for it shows how it is possible to connect to and appreciate the beauty in life and in ourselves even if there are things that need to be addressed… for it is up to us in any moment to determine whether we allow ourselves to move with them and thus allow them to dictate our life or affect our day, or not.
I can relate to what you shared about the weather. I find there can be great beauty in all types of weather – it is probably most influenced by how I feel in myself.
When we go to bed at night we take with us all that we have lived that day and if unresolved, also the days prior. We always have the choice to decide if we want our past to continue to weigh heavy on us or if we want to let go and heal it.
There are many things that when Serge Benhayon newly introduces them my experience, and therefore reality, is not there yet… as you say; “something that was lovely in theory, but not achievable in practice”. Yet they are things that have become a daily reality since choosing to live to my best ability according to the true way my body naturally knows. The Way of The Livingness allows me to feel me, and not be dictated to by the weather, the time of day or beliefs – here as a few examples of those outer influences you touch on Catherine.
“And what had I done? I had simply committed to feeling what I was feeling, to being as honest as I could be about what I felt, and writing it in a journal.” I love this Catherine. When we are honest with ourselves – and nominate in whatever way we feel to – it is amazing how things transform and heal. Just being who we truly are.
Thanks again Catherine, on the reminder that it is the commitment that really does resonate through our bodies, and can be the fulcrum of change within us.
So beautiful Catherine, really describing that we do not have to be a slave to our thoughts, that using a tool, like your journal, to bring clarity and acceptance to what you were feeling. I feel that this is so big, we can often let our thoughts run away with us, soiling the day, for the rest of the day, purely because we didn’t or couldn’t let some thoughts go. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Writing a journal and reflecting on our day and how it went is a very helpful tool and we can find out a lot about ourselves by doing so, if we are honest with ourselves.
I love the simplicity of this blog, Catherine. When we attribute how we feel to outside factors such as the weather we are avoiding responsibility for what we may have taken on earlier on the day or on the previous day. I am learning that there is beauty in whatever nature is presenting to us.
I have for a long time felt how awesome it would be to journal and record how I feel. Yet it is something I continually avoid. This in itself is something important, to be honest about. For the resistance that is there to simple self-loving task, shows that there is a force at play we may like to be aware of. A force that feeds us thoughts that aren’t altogether true, one that makes us feel small but is not the real you. So now I see the more I commit to these essential tasks that I know in my body support me, the more I celebrate and support the real me to be free. Thank you Catherine for jotting this down.
Something extremely relevant for all Catherine, honesty and expression support our expansion beyond what most can fathom
I’ve been keeping a diary for about 4 years now based on how I feel at that particular time and with an app called ‘Our Cycles’ this daily logging has been supercharged by how simple it is to support this self-reflection. It gets it out of my body and out of my head where if I hold onto it things can escalate and spiral out of control. If I don’t release it it builds to a pressure cooker state where it can’t but be released.
Honesty – such a simple but powerful tool in life.
Beautiful Catherine. “I found myself fully appreciating that no day was more beautiful than another: that this ‘miserable’ day was equally beautiful to a bright sunny one.” So when we are shining on the inside it dispels the mist and the gloom.
Honesty really does have a way of unraveling complexity.
I agree – giving expression to what I am feeling is very supportive for me to get clarity, and come out of indulgence.
In committing to feeling what we are truly feeling and being honest about it we offer a great healing to our body. By you spending the time with you and acknowledging what was going on for you you gave yourself space to work it out and heal. This is a great inspirational blog in a world where we to often push away and hide what is really there.
That is very powerful Catherine. Being honest with ourselves means more ease on our body and I have found that ease means it is easier to be more open with others too.
Catherine this is a great reminder of the support that journalling can be for us. We are sharing on paper and this is another supportive way to express our truth.
I love the simplicity you bring here Catherine – about simply feeling what we’re feeling and being honest with ourself about what’s going on inside of us and around us. No need to mentally analyse or try and numb what’s there but to observe it and feel where to from there…
I love the simplicity shared in this blog Catherine and how allowing ourselves to be truly honest with ourselves we can change the way we are feeling anytime anywhere with this deeper connection.
I woke up this morning with a split second feeling of heaviness. When I allowed myself to feel it and connect to my body, I was able to feel the warmth of my body and how lovely I felt from simply reconnecting to my body. I know how I was the day before affects how I feel the next day, it is a blessing in every new day I have the opportunity to make choices that supports me to wake up feeling joyful, vital and energised. When I don’t feel this way, it is a opportunity for me to reflect and learn.
This is great to read, and feel the true power of honesty. And I can attest to the power of a walk, it is a great way to return to ourselves and feel the beauty in us, and our surroundings.
The simplicity and power of being honest about what we are feeling and how by acknowledging it we are able to move on with our day and appreciate the beauty of going for a walk whatever the weather. Thank you for sharing and reminding me that I do not have to be consumed by my feelings, I can choose to feel them and let them go and appreciate whatever I am doing in that moment.
I can get carried away with the thoughts in my head about not being or doing enough, making a mistake etc, but then I observe the foundation I have set in my life and how I care for myself, the way I move now and how I am and travel through my day. There is so much to appreciate. This is the key where those thoughts can be busy and persuasive and what goes on around us can push us in those directions. But it’s all created to throw us off feeling who is within. We are so much grander that we could ever imagine, we will never know this through thinking our way there.
Thank you for your sharing Catherine. A simple and effective reminder that all we need at times is to be listened to. The power of the pen and the honesty of what the body presents.
I am beginning to understand how we create complications and secondary issues all because we are resisting dealing with a primary issue that feels too much to deal with – so there are a myriad of complications we can create – dramas and arguments with people, eating junk food, binge drinking alcohol, drugs – which then bring their own issues, violence, obesity, destroyed liver or lungs etc. – so everything gets more complex and layered – and we think that that is our ‘issue’ but in fact it started with something else much earlier. Thanks to Universal Medicine presenting a way to simply reconnect to what is true within, and be open to seeing clearly and understanding what is the root of the issue, and to clear that, brings everything back to simplicity, awareness and connection – and from that place we can see issues in their true perspective and can allow them to be let go. Journalling and allowing that awareness is a huge step forward.
I agree Catherine, every day is as beautiful and magnificent as any other day. I used to feel miserable when the weather was not so good and I was blaming how I felt on the weather. I can laugh at this now because it was so ridiculous to blame how I was feeling on the weather, it was like blaming God for my miserable state. I wasn’t willing to take responsibility for my choices and didn’t like feeling the result of them so blaming someone or something was a way of avoiding taking responsibility. Now, I no longer do this but allow myself to feel my every choice and I am willing to take full responsibility for all my choices and how I feel. This is hugely supportive, not only for myself but also for people around me.
The power to fully and wholesomely express in a written expression is nearly unmeasurable to the good that it does.
I don’t feel that as a society obsessed with the weather, we truly appreciate just how much of a reflection it is for all of us. We all have a choice to see or not see the truth in everything. The difference between each choice is the difference between how we feel every single day.
It’s interesting how many times I have wanted to commit to writing down my feelings and then how quickly I save it for another day when I have more ‘time’. Reading this blog has reminded me of this. Again recently I have been considering this process, and just now re-reading the line ‘ As I wrote I had more clarity on my weariness, and felt beyond the sense of flat, to sadness, to a feeling of being a little bereft.’, I thought to myself ” how amazing would it be if I wrote down what was going on for me this morning and noted all the aches and pains I’m feeling, perhaps that would really help unlock it all for me” and then within seconds I heard myself say “I’ll do it later when I’ve got time”. Talk about delay and sabotage!
I used to believe I suffered from SADs, Seasonal Affective Disorder. and perhaps to a degree I did. What I realise now is how much I allowed myself to be owned by the weather, Litterally obsessed with it I was, checking it several times a day and allowing myself to feel depressed if it was grey or cold. Winter was hard work and into a cave I went. These days, I realise that the more love I bring to my body the less affected I am by my surroundings. Like you Catherine, when I am wrapped up all warm and cosy and outside walking, the weather doesn’t bother me. It’s an enormous shift for me. That’s not to say I fully embrace a grey sky, because that’s not true…yet. And I absolutely do feel affected by the weather at times still, but when I think about it, it’s always because of something else I have going on that’s bothering me, and then I use the weather as an excuse to drag me down further.
Catherine, this was the most perfect blog post for me to read this morning. Clearly no surprise given I randomly selected a date from the side bar and up popped this gem. I’ve been pondering starting a daily journal, and here lies the next prompt to begin one.
Thank you.
Bringing such presence and focus allows the space to feel how we are truly feeling and to allow the deeper layers that bog us down be brought to the surface to be released.. In that space we can bring true perspective to our issues, and reconnect to the part of us that knows we are so much more.
When we are willing to be honest with ourselves and allow ourselves to feel all there is to be felt we can appreciate all life has to offer. When we shut down to aspects we may find unpleasant like sadness we also shut down our connection to love.
It feels expansive to journal what we are feeling and allows us to recognise what we are hanging on to. We don’t have to hang on to feelings if we choose not to, and process what we are holding on to – the tighter we hold on the more we compound the discomfort. Thank Catherine for allowing me to feel again the power in journalling.
I love to walk every day and I always feel different having done so. Having a dog is a great reflection of the joy of getting out in nature, whatever the weather – they don’t seem to mind. Sometimes it is great to be out in the rain – with the proper attire of course. It feels cleansing and refreshing and when it rains after being dry for a while, there is a sense of all the plants and trees relishing the ‘offering from the sky’ new smells and invigorated colours abounding. Perhaps we all need ‘watering’ every now and then!
I have always loved to write and keep a journal. Somehow, expressing in this way is very healing, building self-awareness, transforming old patterns and emotions. Through working with Chris James and Serge Benhayon I have come to see how incredibly important our expression is and how much responsibility we have to choose love in expression – for our expression directly affects our life experience. Many, many times have I felt very different after writing – more expanded, more fully myself. It is miraculous in truth.
I love your appreciation of the outwardly not so pleasant weather and “the deep beauty and quiet that came with the weather”. I have also found that the stillness and beauty all around can be just about palpable when the weather is, what we would call, ‘bad’.
Trying to ignore how bad we are feeling, or numb it down with food doesn’t make the issue or hurt go away, just leaves it buried below the surface, awaiting to arise another time – but which is meantime having an effect on everything we are doing, in all of our relating to others, and to ourselves. So it is worth being honest and seeing what is truly going on. Letting something go which is not of us, is another step towards true freedom.
The sun never stops shining, no matter the weather.
Some time ago it was revealed to me that we can honour our feeling and appreciate it as amazing, no matter how we actually feel. This has stayed with me ever since and I see it as the key to the beautiful experience shared here and what self nurturing actually means. It is not about feeling great all the time but appreciating all our experiences, with honesty.
I have always loved writing and the space that it allows me to be really open and honest no matter what is going on. It is interesting to re read things at a later date and see what was coming up for me and how I reacted. This way I am able to see any patterns of behaviours that are happening over and over. I really love the Our Cycles app that Natalie Benhayon created for this as it so simple to use.
Thank you for the inspiration to look beyond what is being presented and taking what is presented as normal (as I imagine many people around the world wake up flat, weary, with a sore lower back). And then using many of the simple yet practical steps on offer from Universal Medicine to bring you back to you and feel the joy that is there to be felt – in amongst what is going on in your life.
We have the light shining inside us, no matter what the weather is like. So what is inside determines how we experience the outside and yet I lived it the other way around for a long time.
When I feel out of sort I can feel how this influences everything and everybody around me. So important to stop, take a step back and go to the root cause of what changed me feeling amazing to being out of my connection to divinity. To what step in evolution have I said no to? Backtracking the root cause supports me in coming back to myself and change the movement I was in.
The things that Serge present in his workshops, presentations, courses and retreats are very practical and helpful for day-to-day living.
“The things that had been bothering me on waking were still there, but they were not dictating or affecting how my day would be.” Feeling what is there to feel both physical and emotional, acknowledge it and then change the movements makes all the difference.
It is so important to be honest about how we feel, and see how we can evolve trough learning from what we chose.
This blog shows me how easy it is to simply not feel or not be aware of what is going on under the surface of physical weariness or tension. And how, just with a few simple words, it is possible to identify that there may be an underlying current of emotion or stress, or maybe just to name the tension, and how this can bring so much more tenderness to ourselves.
Feeling “flat and weary, with a sore lower back” – could easily pass as just that, but what touches me here is your choice to take a moment to feel into that, and that allowing whatever is going on in our body to share what it has to say feels so very nurturing. Sometimes I feel like I am not even on a speaking term with certain parts of my body, but just accepting their hardness or rigidness as what they are, and not really connect deep enough to allow their truth come to surface. Our body has so much to offer when it is allowed to express.
I loved re-visiting this blog. It’s just beautiful to feel the simplicity in what you share, Catherine. Just a simple observation of what is, leading a way to acceptance then appreciation. Why do I ever choose to go down the route of complexity by judgment and protection?
I love what you share here. I had a similar experience where I was feeling great and then something happened and I got caught in emotions and felt quite down. It was night time though and I had already gotten int bed and instead of staying in it, I actually got up, re made my bed and got back into bed being really aware of how I was moving and what thoughts I was having. I decided not to stay in the yukky emotional mindset that was trying to take over. I decided to give it my all and see if I could change it and I did. It really was simple. A bit of movement and a choice to do things differently. Eh voila! Worth a try as how I felt after was totally different and therefore I had a good sleep and woke up on the right side of my bed!
I love tucking myself into bed at night and writing in my journal. I write about my day and how I felt, it brings a great clarity to the end of my day and I really enjoy the space to simply be with me. Allowing ourselves the space to enjoy our expression, brings a real joy to life .
within the simplicity that has been tried and tested a foundation to move mountains can be formed.
within the simplicity that has been tried and tested a foundation to more mountains can be formed.
The power of observation and nomination is an amazing thing indeed. We can swim in our problems, or observe the learning they present and nominate the choices to generate the problem…simple to say but as you express, a gift once practised.
‘I found myself fully appreciating that no day was more beautiful than another: that this ‘miserable’ day was equally beautiful to a bright sunny one.’ It is so simple once we make the choice to connect it is all the same day, a day to learn to become who we truly are.
Oh Adam – your comment reached a deep place within my heart, and to re-play your words “Life eagerly pulses from within us, yet we choose to ignore its heartbeat for the smaller offerings placed before us on our doorstepl Look inward I say, for there awaits the glory of our own heart. There, the fire that never sleeps awaits us, even when the sun itself is hidden behind the clouds.” Tears of joy came to my eyes as I read your expression.
If you stop a friend in a morning they might say they are ‘ok’, or feeling ‘normal’ like they do. Yet my experience marries with your’s Catherine, that if we just ask ourselves openly and regularly, we find there is a great deal that we feel. The super gorgeous thing you reveal here is we don’t need to solve or remove these things like a riddle. Just expressing them is allowing and embracing the facts of reality. Real and honest is all we ever need to be.
It’s great to return to this blog and be reminded of the simple practical techniques such as honestly recording how we feel are always available to us. The most important thing was you didn’t just continue on your day feeling not great, you stopped and explored what was going on.
Catherine, your blog got me thinking about the power of rituals in our lives. I have found that having rituals, such as walking and regularly writing in my journal, helps me enormously to stay steady. When I do go off track, I have something to help me sort things out and re-balance myself again. Thanks for such a lovely example demonstrating how we can all help ourselves and also the way that our external environment is there to support us as we go about this process.
Thank you Catherine, I may just start a journal of my own,walking is something I do each day first thing and I am able to appreciate in all weather and I have some great gear to deal with the elements but keeping a journal is such a goof idea as I often wake up feeling a little out of sorts without really going into why. I’ve lived with pain for too long and its time to get to the bottom of it.
What an honest and beautiful blog Catherine! I feel inspired to write more about how I am feeling and what my body reveals to me each day. There is so much that I don’t know about my body, even though I have lived with it for almost 70 years, so its time to listen and learn! And I agree that every day has its own special beauty.
When we allow ourselves to truly acknowledge how we’re feeling – not wallowing in it but just honouring the feeling or the pain, there’s something about doing this that allows the beginning of a process of healing in the body. It’s as though you’ve said, ‘OK, I’m really listening’ and the body clocks that you’ve got it. A journal can be great for making that connection with our feelings and for finding a way to express them.
I have found that taking the time to use a journal helps me a lot. It helps me to confirm and appreciate myself when I am feeling wonderful and it also helps me to sort through what is happening when things are not going so well. It makes a big difference to how the rest of my day flows when I give myself those moments to connect, reflect and acknowledge what is really going on for me.
I wrote this comment a long time ago. Nowadays, these amazing blog sites often replace my daily journal. An amazing support for me to daily express and connect to the truths of our lives. My deepest appreciation to every single person who has written or commented on this site.
Catherine, this is such a simple and profound sharing and as today I woke out of sorts and feeling my recent lack of honesty, it’s very supportive to be reminded that we don’t need to let those out of sorts feelings dictate how we are now – it’s a choice to continue them and honesty without judgement or expectations offers us the opportunity to stop and choose differently.
I love what you discovered here about how our day does not have to be affected by anything outside of ourselves. It does not even have to be affected by anything going on within us either if we just choose to be honest with ourselves and then make a different choice. This makes life so much simpler.
Yes, so super-practical and simple. These are the things I find hugely supportive – just other folks sharing how they support themselves in real and practical ways is so deeply inspiring.
Hello Lucy, with a world setup to be everything but “super-practical and simple” it is great to keep bringing it back to that in these conversations. It’s a reminder for me as well to use this as a marker in my everyday, my every moment, “super-practical and simple”.
Honesty is a key word for me here – I know all to well how to keep myself busy so I don’t have to deal with what is going on – when really this brings such a healing. I know inside out the difference in my body when I avoid things vs when I confront them – and I know that before I talk the walk, I need to be honest with myself first and foremost – which is something i am building on each day.
Thank you, Catherine, for showing how absolutely gorgeous it is when honesty becomes a part of self-love, instead of self-critique and judgement.
Thank you Catherine for a simply beautiful blog, I loved how you didn’t let how you were feeling when you woke up, affect your day, but honestly shared it with yourself by writing. There are times when I am in this situation I can go into the fixing mode before I know it and this amplifies everything, instead of feeling it and then letting it go.
What I’m reminded of in reading this is that not only is honesty the way back to connection with ourselves, but how much movement (such as a gentle walk) and nature can also support us in feeling this connection.
This has been my experience and truth Adele. When we have the courage to feel something that on the outset feels overwhelming or devastating, and go there and feel it, we ignite this inner strength from the body that indeed supports us back.
When we are honest with ourselves the space expands and usually there becomes available more choices that we were not aware of before; this is the power of being honest and my body loves the honesty.
One of the biggest things I love about the blog is you have proven than a day that does not begin well does not need to continue in the same quality. When I wake up feeling bad, my heart always sinks as I’ve always thought that how the day started equated to the rest of the day, but you have proven in this blog that it’s easy to completely and simply change your day around – I love it.
Thank you Catherine for sharing a simple and beautiful way to re-connect with ourselves when we are feeling out of sorts, a great reminder for us all -‘ I had simply committed to feeling what I was feeling, to being as honest as I could be about what I felt, and writing it in a journal.’
‘I had simply committed to feeling what I was feeling, to being as honest as I could be about what I felt, and writing it in a journal’ Imagine if we all did this? Everyday? The commitment and care we would feel for ourselves would build and deepen. Thank you Catherine for sharing this simple way to re-connect with love.
Thank you for sharing this Catherine – what a great way to stop and connect and feel what’s truly going on.
I find it now such a joy that however ‘miserable’ may classically be termed I am no longer miserable nor do I find the day miserable. It has its own beauty as any other day.
Brilliant really appreciate the simplicity of taking honesty to another level, sometimes I know I don’t really want to admit how I’m feeling or won’t be 100% honest in the wake of worrying about what other will think or say, so I really like this, tells me it’s ok…
Agreed, the dishonesty is a prison as it perpetuates the same behaviour, again and again. Time to try the alternative approach of honest which, although it requires of us to go into the hurt, also releases us and offers us a new insight.
Its not what is going on outside, but how we feel inside that defines the day. So simple, so obvious and yet I know I have lived a lifetime thinking its the other way around!
Me too Simon! How lovely it is to realise and understand that we are not at the mercy of whatever’s happening around us.
This was my pattern too Simon, I would be carried away with the outside world, but it is as you say, it is how we feel inside that defines our day and also has an impact on all others around us.
This simple blog offers so much. When we commit to feeling what is there, the hold it has on you can dissipate quite quickly. But when we avoid what is there to be felt, that avoidance can take many forms and quite a lot of time. It is always so much simpler to connect to what is there, feel it, be honest and let it go – yet we can make it so much more complicated (and I speak from personal experience here on both accounts!).
that it is possible to not have our connection with ourselves disturbed or distorted by any of the myriad of outside influences ready to do so, is something that should be shared with the world, because this is what is vitally needed now.
I love this Catherine – I am having the same experience currently with a daily short walk and writing my experience of it and the developments – so simple and yet such an amazing foundation.
Yes Michael I know what you mean. Moving & writing. Moving and writing… the awareness deepens in every moment. 🙂
Gorgeous – a cycle of stillness and motion
You have given me a great reminder this morning to appreciate what is there for me to feel in all honesty without any attachment of how something should be given that I already know it inside out, it is about living in full appreciation for who we are and where we are part of.
I remember how supporting it was to flick through my esoteric yoga journals so why not keep a journal every day to keep track of my journey back to me. So thank you Catherine, for inspiring me.
I just recently began to keep a journal in the same way Catherine. What touches me about your account is how you didn’t need to solve anything or work it out. But just expressing and getting your feelings down allowed you to move on and not be tied down. In appreciating and valuing yourself this way – it is like you could appreciate the day.
I agree hartanne60 – When we override what we are feeling there is a build up or laying that happens but when we take a moment to check-in everything shifts and space is there to love and be present for whatever is to come. Checking -in honours who we are.
As I deepen and become truer in the relationship with myself, so too, I find my relationship with the world reflects this. Through allowing, accepting and appreciating the beauty and light within us we begin to see and feel this beauty all around us. No judgement, no need for life to be a certain way, just the realisation that the magic of God is everywhere in every moment.
Thank you Barbara, for making the link to how the connection with ourselves is reflected in how we appreciate nature, or more simply in how we appreciate the weather. The more we appreciate ourselves, the more we will appreciate the weather, no matter if it is a sunny day or a autumnal cold and wet stormy day.
Wow, Catherine, this is so beautiful to make the connection between being not influenced from how ever the weather is, as we can choose to not be influenced from any “bad mood” we find ourselves in like a heavy rain shower or something like that. As long, as we are self-lovingly prepared, held warmly and in connection with ourselves to receive the beauty of the situation and environment from there. Thank you for this (missing) link : ).
A beautiful sharing of how we do not need to be a victim to the world around and our thoughts and emotions but can, in fact, so easily and practically self-empower ourselves. Committing to being as honest as I can be about what I am feeling is such a powerful practice.
It is just so simple. To let ourselves reflect and write and not run away from feeling and simply being with ourselves.
A beautiful point you’ve made here Alex. There is a very natural and super nurturing warmth our body offers when we are in connection and committed to feeling and observing. It’s like to body hugging us back with praise!
Journal writing is such a great tool to commit in feeling what we are feeling. I am learning to embrace this technique in my day too, not so much with writing, but with observing and feeling what is there rather than consistently reacting to myself and what is coming to the fore. The more love I become and welcome in my body the more stuff that is not love must come out. The thought of giving space and time to write about me each morning feels very healing.
Catherine I have aways found putting my thoughts and feelings on paper very soothing. It helps me reflect and seek the reason for my uneasiness or disturbing thoughts. I also like the fact that you turned what appeared as a miserable day into a glorious one by appreciating what nature had to offer when the sun is not shining. Why should some days be less than others on account of the weather?
This is a beautiful sharing Catherine highlighting how empowering it is when we simply connect to our bodies and express what we in truth feel, confirming truth of love that we are within. And that it is possible to live this love anywhere.
Lovely Catherine you are a living testimonial that if we allow ourselves to be open and to connect to ourselves everything is possible. It is on us what we choose so to “connect or not connect to ourselves” that is the forever question.
Catherine this is a great conformation of the fact that, by simply connecting more deeply, more fully and more honestly with ourselves, by being willing to open up to, and express the truth of our inner world, our feelings, we in fact connect to the innate grace and beauty of who we truly are and our outer world, all around us, also opens up to reflect this. This is the magic of god.
Your article makes me realise there isn’t really such a thing as a good or bad day … If I am in it, in my body, in my day actively participating in every aspect of life then there is nothing but absolute joy to be had and blessings a plenty.
This is a great point Suzanne, that there isn’t really a good or bad day…. There is an opportunity for us to be honest with ourselves and then to make a choice from here as to how we will be next.
I am consistently amazed at the power of writing how I am feeling down, the impact on my body is significant with physical symptoms disappearing. I have found the ourcyclesapp.com a great tool for this activity.
When we create space for ourselves,in whatever way that is, from writing, to stopping and resting, or sitting quietly with a cup of tea I always find that it is easier to be honest with myself because I am giving myself space or time to feel whatever it is I am feeling. And underneath that there is: I am worthy of giving myself space whenever I need it.
This for me proves how if we live from the inside out we can see the beauty in everything around us. As for living from the outside in, we are influenced by the outer that then forms our (mis) perception of life. Thank you for sharing how simple these practical techniques can be implemented in my day.
What I loved was the part where you wrote in your journal, and from there felt into what was going on, how you were feeling, through writing and being honest with yourself as you wrote. Writing can be a great healer, when we are honest enough to go there.
I agree Sally, writing can be a great healer, and what I always find, that when I sit down to write, how much more there is to be revealed that I think where did that come from? It always feels in these moments that I have accessed a layer deeper, simply because I have created the space and time to go there.
So true nvanhaastrecht. Great to also honour ourselves when we are feeling amazing and expressing this to ourselves by writing in a journal. When we appreciate ourselves for the choices we have lived then this supports us in deepening the love for one self.
Best not to gloss over what we are feeling but to nominate what is actually going on otherwise it will resurface again for us to deal with. When we are feeling off or quite not ourselves there is nothing better then a walk too reconnect us back to ourselves, to god and nature.
Thank you Catherine for reminding me about the power of honesty when it is lived everyday and how this can actually support us to see the beauty in nature which again supports us back. It is like a never ending cycle of return that nature and our ability to express honestly have with each other.
On re-reading this, I love the simple, loving way this is written. You so clearly show how we do not need to be imposed upon by outside stimulous but can stay detached yet still engage with the world.
On re-reading this, I love the simple, loving way this is written. You so clearly show how we do not need to be imposed upon by outside stimulus and can stay detached yet still engage with the world.
Thank you Catherine, what you are sharing here shows so clearly how we let certain things dictate our day to day life while we miss out on so many beautiful things around us and how this has nothing to do with what is going on around us but how we are with ourselves and how we feel in us and with us, which is in correlation with how much we take care and cherish us.
I felt the beauty of your walk Catherine, I too need to be reminded that no matter what the weather, there is always something beautiful about the day. Writing about how you are in your day is a great idea and one I will give more consideration to.
Caring for and nurturing ourselves is an amazing experience.
It is the basis for making loving choices that will change our whole life.
Incredible to realize how often I used to override what I truly felt.
I love the simplicity of what you share Catherine. How often do we hold onto or focus on what we don’t like about what we are feeling to the point it dictates the way we live our day, the food we eat and the way we connect with others. This would be a great tool to be taught in schools, to feel with honesty how we are truly feeling and to write it down.
What really stands out in reading this blog is that by writing in your journal and being honest, you were opening up to yourself. By opening up to yourself, connecting, meeting you, asking what had upset you, you were able to feel supported and in turn you opened up to the simple beauty of the day.
Very Beautiful and confirming.
” … all I could see was the deep beauty and quiet that came with the weather …”
I dropped into that deep beauty and quiet on reading this, it was so clearly felt by you and thus conveyed. I am often astounded at people’s complaints of the weather and the day … to me, appreciating each day’s uniqueness is marvellous and the unique quality of every day means each day is completely new and one to enjoy discovering. Thank you for this blog.
So lovely to read this Catherine. It is easy to miss out on the beauty around us when we either gloss over things or indulge in them. And what a great reminder to bring honesty to what we are feeling and commit to that throughout our day.
Honesty to really look at what we make our lives about is the start, then we can lovingly move on step by step, continously choosing to live more lovingly, live more of ourselves.
I agree Michael.
WOW! Committing to feeling what it is I am feeling at each moment is all it takes??? I’m in! What you have written about Catherine is divine and feels very wise to me. Perhaps the end to psychologists and psychs…:)
How often do we feel a little flat or tired or not quite right and really get to the bottom of why? It is so easy to gloss over these feelings as just a normal part of life or feel that we are so dominated by them we cannot see past them. So it was very enlightening to read your blog Catherine and the simple tools you have learnt to be more honest with yourself.
A beautiful friend shared with me a question that was asked of the attendees of a women’s group in London – ‘do you care?’. So the question in this case is ‘do we care enough about ourselves to get to the bottom of why we’re feeling out of sorts?’ It’s a great question and one that has been shocking for me to feel the answer to in my body – wanting to care is not actually caring. To truly care I have to live that I care, which in this case would be to do what Catherine did and explore the root of my feelings.
Every day is a brand new day and we have the choice how this day will be. Regardless of weather, what people say, if the train is running late, traffic jams, deadlines, a stain on our shirt or needing to fill in your taxes. I notice that the less I choose to get affected by life but observe it more and more, every day is a joyful and wonderful day. Even if it rains, like this morning. Thank you for umbrellas!
Love what you share Mariette, there are so many things that we let ourselves get affected by. Like everyday chores and things we do not have any control over. We make life so hard and complicated, when it can be as simple as dealing what is there in front of us in the moment or using an umbrella when it rains 🙂
Absolutely I love what you have said here too – how much of life affects us when it has no need to? I always disliked being out in rain, until recently I discovered how cool big umbrellas are, and being out in the rain became a magical experience.
me too and I have these cute black rain boots so I even look gorgeous under that umbrella (and no wet shoes).
yes Thank God for umbrellas! and thank god for my choice to use them and not be affected. I am so glad I am learning to how to stay dry in the rain.
Your joy and appreciation for life is infectious Mariette! Thank you for being a ray of the brightest light in the world.
Catherine, by re reading your blog I felt again how I was with you on your walk. The way you describe your morning is beautiful. I experience the power of honesty and accepting where I am at, everyday and with that comes the power of appreciation of our honesty and acceptance. I feel this appreciation in how you had been taking care for your body to not get cold and in the flow of your walk.
I can wake up feeling as you describe and then let that influence my day. I love how you stayed with this, were honest about it and then as Annelies mentions you appreciate all of the self caring and self loving things you introduced to your day and this opens up your day so that you feel the joy and ease in it.
I too can wake up feeling out of sorts and tired, I am learning not to then react to this initial feeling when it presents, but to be extra gentle and to support myself to come back to my loveliness. I know that when I don’t judge myself or demand to feel different, I often feel very awesome soon after.
Agreed, these are such simple things. Quite often I notice that when I write something down, I didn’t even know what I wrote down until the very act of doing so; or with the clarity that comes with putting pen to paper.
Catherine, thank you for your sharing. Your commitment to be honest with yourself is deeply felt.
Couldn’t agree more Catherine, the simple attention given to registering an awareness of how I am feeling in my body at any given moment, allows me to stay with me so much more than if I carry on regardless, in fact carrying on regardless soon gets me very lost.
Catherine I love the simplicity and power of this blog, the fact that after employing the simple tool of writing in a journal honestly about what you were feeling, these feelings were no longer engulfing you – they were still there but they did not define you or get in the way of appreciating yourself and the beauty of the day. This blog is so inspiring as I can still find myself at times getting swamped by or lost in certain events or feelings that have come up during the day – the reminder to step back and simply commit to being honest and feeling what has gone on, rather than immediately looking to fix or change it is absolute gold!
The power of honesty and expression laid out so simply there Catherine. I’ve noted too that no matter what the weather looks like I am still able to see the beauty of it- rain, sunshine, storm. I love looking at it. It doesn’t matter what the wheather but how I feel… If I’m feeling miserable I’m not going to appreciate it as much.
We so often think we have to fix ourselves yet what you share here, shows that all we have to do is commit to feeling it and being OK with that. I am learning, and probably will continue to learn, more and more about what that looks and feels like. What I am finding is that, slowly but surely, the things that happen around me affect me less and less.
What a great combination we have been offered by Universal Medicine – to pause for a moment to acknowledge feelings and bring awareness and honesty to ourselves along with being in and connected with our bodies. It is so simple yet it is not common knowledge, if it were it would be integrated into medicine for it is a powerful healer. If it were understood it would be role modeled by our parents, spoken about in kindergarten and the common sense psychology of society. Thanks Catherine and Donna for sharing important anecdotal evidence.
Thank you for sharing your experience of the power of honesty, very inspiring to read how the way you felt when you came out of your bed didn’t affect your day, by just being honest about what you felt, and what has been going on.
Truth really is so powerful. Being honest, if not fully truthful, with ourselves can free us from the ‘hold’ that we perceive illness and discomfort to have on us. When we can recognise that our bodies are reflecting to us the choices that we have made and supporting us to clear any untruths, we are able to be not so owned by our physical state of being.
Re-reading your post Catherine, I too am appreciating the benefits of being honest about what instances/events that create bother, irritation or upset, and that just by expressing this, we release its hold over us, to then observe things from a more clear and non reactionary place. Honesty is very flow-some; truth so very freeing.
I love this Zofia ”…appreciating the benefits of being honest…” This is a wonderful reminder to appreciate myself when I am being honest. So often I can be honest and nominate how I am feeling but what I am not consistent with, is the appreciation for myself afterwards… I am beginning to recognize the importance of this.
”Honesty is very flow-some; truth so very freeing” – love it!
This is really quite profound – how many of us find that something little bothering us shapes our whole day? That little thing could be the size of an ant compared to an elephant, but I can still find that it can have an over-powering effect on me. Often I find if I am honest and write it down it gives me some detachment from it so it no longer has that hold over me and I can see it for what it is.
Honesty for me was the ultimate gateway to heaven. Walking through I was able to observe, that these were my babysteps to a much grander universe. And I start to understand Serge Benhayon, when he talks to us about true service. Being honest is the foundation, it’s part of the healing process. Once I get my act together I can then feel where my healthy body is needed to serve.
I love what you share Catherine, I woke this morning feeling a bit out of sorts and not refreshed. I am feeling very inspired to write in a journal now and to deepen the connection with myself. Thank you.
It’s all there. Waiting. Patiently.
That there is a great saying Otto, I work outdoors in all weathers and my greatest find is my beloved silk/merino blend thermals, I really don’t know how I survived in the past and my opossum, silk ,merino vest..yummy!
Super cute! I get so much pleasure from wrapping myself up warm. Such a ginormous shift from when I would just head out in whatever weather, wearing whatever. Vanity, laziness, total lack of self-love, whatever…But what I love is the double aspect of this self care. On a physical level there is the simple fact of keeping yourself warm or dry or protected from the sun or….but then there is also the immense joy I get from the actual act of self-care. Writing this now, it seems so nuts; that this is new to me and that I robbed myself of this for so long. But that is a much longer story!! The point is that wearing the right clothes doesn’t just look after your body it is also a huge self-blessing. Super cute
We had this profound ability to be able to connect with ourselves, with our bodies, indeed with our inner selves. The amazing thing is, is that it is just a breath away, and there it is.
I had a very full-on day yesterday and found myself very close to tears and when someone asked me how I was, I did actually start to cry, but I did not discover the depth of my feeling or the true cause until I wrote in my diary last night. This morning I had a lower back pain and woke up very hot. This, for me, was an indication of the ill energy leaving my body. The contraction I felt yesterday is no longer there and I feel more expansive in my body. I too find writing a great way to express my feelings and come to a deeper place of honesty with myself.
Indeed Catherine, If I can accept what I am feeling and be fully present to the moment, there is no resistance to life and no draining or weariness.
Spot on jenny mcgee – acceptance and presence is where it’s at, simple and so very effective!
I agree – when I just feel what is there to feel without any judgment or preferences or wishful thinking of how it should be, everything starts to unfold and the harmony returns.
I love your comment arieljoymuntelwit. Your friend has really empowered himself.
Hi Cathrine, I used to live in England. Your miserable day feels like what the Irish would call a soft morning. I just love inclement weather, not for everyday stuff like going out to work, but for a stomp out in the wild in pouring rain or to be battered by a storm on a beach.
What else is here for me is how one or two simple loving acts towards ourselves can completely change our day and the way we feel in it. Thank you Catherine.
It’s amazing how simple it can be to support ourselves. Whether we are feeling fabulous or out of sorts, it is so important to connect to who we are, and acknowledge how we are feeling no matter what. When I feel ‘out of sorts’ I am extra tender with my self and I do as you wrote, go over the previous day and whatever may have contributed to any melancholy I am feeling, It’s great when we actually get a clear reflection back of what it was!
I love this Catherine. When we let ourselves express how we’re actually feeling we free up what’s taking up undated space in our bodies, weighing us down. And then we walk and go about our day with so much more space within ourselves to be who we truly are, and feel the immense joy that this brings.
Thanks Catherine. This is a great article on the power of expression ,truth and nominating through writing stuff in a journal . It makes life more simple and less of a mystery.
In the past I have allowed situations to engulf and overwhelm me, but I have found that being honest with how I am feeling, and expressing/sharing that either verbally or in writing, is a great support to stay with myself and not give my power away to something outside of myself. How simple life can be when we allow what is there to be felt.
I agree, it is amazing how simple it is. These days if something is bothering me I tend to take the time to sit down and write about it, if not talk about it not from looking for a solution to the issue or problem, but from expressing how I’m feeling. The freedom I feel in myself from dong so is huge, and the clarity as to what’s needed next comes from that freedom and space — a very clear head instead of a murky one! 🙂
It is great inspiration to write down how we feel, so the chance to overwrite it is less 🙂
I love your blog Catherine as it shows how simple life can be if we allow what is there to be felt. I have found that complications come in when i want to ignore or fix how i am feeling or try to figure it out. Your description of being as honest as possible in what we feel and what we choose or have chosen up to that point is not only gorgeous but very effective as well.
Thank you Catherine for writing such a gentle story of self-appreciation. I also find that if I go for a walk and connect with nature that is all around me that I feel refreshed and can observe any issue that has arisen and not allow it to overwhelm me – whatever the weather.
‘Each day has its own loveliness’… How incredibly important to remember that 🙂
Very cool and the fact that no matter what ideal we have about the weather or anything else about the day, when we stop and say “hey this day doesn’t dictate my day.
You empower yourself so much.
I am still learning myself to take time out everyday from my life to sit with how I feel and it does work, especially when I have been surrounded with a lot of tension at work. Thank you Catherine, this is just what I needed to read this overcast morning.
How powerful it is when we allow ourselves to feel what is truly going on for us.
And what a change those techniques make when we make the effort of doing them and not just let things get worse and worse. What you did is a clear example to me of what “dealing with your stuff” means – you took the time to feel what was happening, to write it down, to stop and pay attention to you and to be honest. Simple but powerful.
Beautiful, simple and profound Catherine. Through writing in your journal you gave yourself space to feel what you were feeling. This is a gorgeous and super important key that I am learning to live, just to allow myself to feel what I am feeling without reaction, comparisons or judgement.
Great to choose feeling instead of overwriting and looking deeply why we feel like we feel. Overwriting= hardness, feeling into= vulnerability.
This is beautiful Catherine… it’s amazing what can happen when we just allow ourselves to feel what is there to be felt.
I love the confirmation nature is giving us, how still it can be when the weather is terrible, the joy I feel when I walk when the wind is blowing, the sun or the rain on my face- it does not bother me anymore.
This is a great key Catherine. Allowing ourselves to feel all that we are feeling and expressing this honestly means we are then not consumed by the emotion or thought, it doesn’t own us, and it brings a greater clarity. Thank you for sharing.
Taking the time to stop and be with ourselves and ponder honestly on how we’re feeling is gold. It’s taking a moment to take the steps back home to who you truly are. Being lovingly honest is so important.
I agree, it shouldn’t make any difference what the weather is like – I can’t say I am there yet all of the time, but definitely something to work on and develop further. Thank you for the confirmation and inspiration.
Beautifully expressed Catherine, who would have thought that such a simple exercise could make such a difference. That is the magic of the teachings of Universal Medicine.
It is very beautiful how being honest gives you the opportunity to come back and feel yourself. As on the other side not choosing to be honest makes it most of the time worse, I then get lost in feeling sad not good enough and are very harsh to myself. This is a beautiful observation, when you are honest you can choose differently when you are not you are lost in what you are doing.
I can completely relate to what you’ve shared here Catherine. Writing in a journal how I feel has been a huge support for my health, both mentally and physically. In the sense of if I wake up feeling out of sorts or feeling amazing and or lighter as I have started to notice more when I wake, I write it down, in curiosity I can look back at yesterdays notes and get a better understanding of why yesterday led to todays out of sorts-ness OR what led to today feeling great. I then have a log of what choices affect my day negatively or positively.
leighmatson I have found the same amazing support in writing in a journal, I’ve found it really helps clarify what I feel, and make sense of what has happened in the day. It also really helps me let go of anything in the day that’s happened too, I literally can’t express enough how supportive it is!
That is just so beautiful Catherine, the power of expressing truth, in this case in writing in your diary, feels how you are living the true you and taking that into your day. And then nothing can affect that gorgeous feeling of being you.
What a great confirmation of the healing that occurs when we allow ourselves to honestly feel what we are feeling. Also however great a technique is it is only great if we embody and live it rather than paying it lip-service.
Thank you Catherine for sharing your experience, and the power of nominating honestly how we feel. When I stop and completely allow myself to feel what is going on and the discomfort of it, I sometimes come to a place of acceptance and even appreciation of what ever is there is a blessing for me to allow, and that helps me to evolve.
Great honesty and a very inspirational article.
Lovely and simple blog, thank you for sharing. It seems that simplicity is one of several keys in having a great relationship with ourselves.
Your blog is such a lovely one to revisit Catherine – the simple act of writing to honour what happened previously and how you felt. That act brought you to yourself and then your day unfolded in appreciation of yourself and nature. Thank you for confirming how these simple acts of love can change our day.
Cathy your writing took me back to a feeling I use to have: a dread of dark and gloomy November days and the prospect of winter. Now November comes and goes and I’m not affected by it, rain, grey or shine each day is the same. I love winter as much as summer. And walking in winter can be a joy especially when you make sure, like you do, that you’re dressed all snugly warm. It’s true as Serge Benhayon has said everyday has its own beauty.
Something that can often be forgotten when there is a dull or rainy or stormy period, is that the sun is still up there beyond the clouds shining as consistently as ever, still reflecting its light no matter what.
What a wonderful post Catherine, I’m there walking with you on that misty day! Your post shows the power of honesty and then equally based on this, the power in then making a new choice without any hold of the former, which then directs the next choice – towards love.
The simple techniques we can do in our lives to support us to appreciate and feel again our loveliness, are great things… such as going for a walk or taking a bath.
It’s amazing how you can wake up feeling one way but by the way you live and the choices you make it can change everything.
This is gold. I know that I go to great lengths to avoid feeling what I am feeling but your blog shows just how healing this can be. I am inspired by your approach Catherine – thank you for sharing this here.
Me too Leonne! Whether it be food, unsupportive thoughts or a way of moving – I certainly have tried everything to not feel what I am feeling. Sounds crazy now but it is something I am still learning. What makes us want to avoid our feelings at all costs? Maybe it’s because when we actually stop and feel, the layers of disharmony can fall away and we are left with our truth and the love we naturally are. So perhaps we are avoiding our own power?!
The self-honesty is huge. The clarity it gives can be very empowering. Something to try more often. Thanks Catherine
Lovely to hear how you decided to evaluate why you were tired when you woke up and decided to write it down, and then you moved forward with clarity. Maybe I should try that. 🙂
How lovely that simply being honest and connecting to the way we feel could be a doorway into reconnecting to a deeper sense of self-awareness. This is the power of what Universal Medicine presents , the innate simplicity of reconnection is a revolution and an evolution.
How lovely that you simply honoured how you were feeling (flat), but you didn’t hold back on your self-nurturing and dressed warmly, which in turn reflected love back to you, and when feeling that you were also open to the fact that there was magic all around you, even on a rainy day!
It is so true that when we are truly connected to our body and be honest about how it feels, we are able to also connect to the nature that surrounds us (a lot more than when we do not feel connected to our body) and find its beauty in everything there is. The beauty in a “miserable” weather is one of them.
Thank you Catherine for sharing with honesty and for inspiring me to be more honest with myself in each moment. Just beautiful!
The importance of honesty is not to be overlooked – thanks for the reminder.
Allowing yourself to feel what you were feeling stood out for me in your writing Catherine. How often do we get into our day doing things to distract us from what we are feeling? This simple technique is so powerful. Thank you for the reminder.
A great confirmation for what I am working on at the moment for myself – writing from reflection of how I have felt the day before. A great reminder too for me is to not become the issue keeping it light and simple is important. Thank you for sharing your insight Catherine.
It is lovely to feel that the committing to being honest about our feelings allows us to feel the beauty that we are.
It is interesting that if we prepare ourselves for the day, for the weather – that then when we go outside, we aren’t cold, agitated or distracted, we can actually completely surrender, feel solid and enjoy the environment, the trees, the birds and the beauty within the world, instead of being angry at it. Your description of your walk really resonated within me, and I recognised that I have also experienced that.
Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for the reminder of the power of when we commit to what we truly feel and how freeing that can be. I know when I do not do that, I can spend so much time & energy ‘running away from it’ and filling up my day/moments to stop me from connecting and feeling what is truly there. Hours can pass with this sometimes. And these moments are generally filled with an emptiness and an anxiousness. There is such grace and beauty to stop, reconnect and to feel and explore with love, understanding and compassion, and then to move onto the next moment where there is such beauty to be discovered – as you so greatly shared.
Amazing how the simplicity of honesty can change how you experience your day. My old pattern of overriding my true feelings and staying in the emotional reaction was very draining. I remember how distanced I felt from nature when emotions were dominating my life. Nature is there to reflect everything for us if we just let it in. Thank you Catherine for sharing a way to start each day and how honesty can lead to true connection.
This is a simple reminder to remain honest and open and above all to be continually aware of what we are feeling and that honouring these (eg. by wearing thermals on a cold day) always supports us back in the most loving of ways.
So beautiful Catherine. We do not need to be bound by a mood or the weather. We are so much more than either of these and we are filled with a beauty that can melt both away, as mist in sunshine. You have laid out the path back to this inner beauty with such simplicity and grace.
I felt my heart warm with your words and felt myself sink deeper into my own beauty.
It really is that simple.
Catherine such a simple offering that is in truth so powerful. Allowing ourselves to feel each moment in full allows us to let go of that moment and feel the next one. You did not allow how you felt on waking to dictate how you would feel all day – inspiring.
I love that when we spend moments in reflection with ourselves, opportunity is offered to reconnect to who we innately are. Thanks Catherine for the reminder to allow these moments with myself.
Feeling what we are feeling and not suppressing, denying or ignoring it, is true medicine. And I’ve realised how powerful it is to write simply and honestly how it is we feel in a diary, opening up tenderly to ourselves … This was so timely to read Catherine, thank you.
Thanks Catherine, this is a good reminder that there is beauty in each and every day, we just have to see it regardless of the weather. When Serge Benhayon presented how it shouldn’t matter to us what the weather was like – how in truth it shouldn’t dictate or alter how we felt, I remember thinking, “ha! that’s easy for you to say, you live in a place with a gorgeous climate!”, but since investing in some serious wool/silk thermals and some proper out doors gear for work including opossum socks – weather is not such a factor.
How powerful is being honest with ourselves! All too often we struggle to be honest with ourselves and brush things under the carpet. What a difference admitting to ourselves why we feel a certain way is. Thank you for sharing your choice to allow honesty in your day which supported the walk to flow better.
Catherine, you have reminded me of the simplicity of being honest about how we feeling and the choice not to be taken over by our issues in our day.
This is so lovely Catherine. An English friend once said to me: “There is no such thing as bad weather – just inappropriate clothing”. It has remained with me and, yes, if dressed appropriately it makes no difference as you say. I personally love walking in rain. You have inspired me to return to writing in a journal again as I recently kind of forgot with the busyness of my life. It is a great tool.
So lovely to re-visit you blog, Catherine. A great reminder to allow myself to feel into how I’m feeling and trace it back to the root of where it started – instead of overriding this and pushing through. There is a great amount of healing in this simple practice. Thank you.
Thanks Catherine. I am committing to what you are feeling. Hard at times, but simple in love.
Catherine, noticing the little things that disturb you and what you do when you feel disturbed is a great way to catch yourself before you fall. No wonder you feel great on a foggy day.
Absolutely awesome Catherine. Melbourne (the city I live in) is famous for its cantankerous weather and yet since moving here a year ago I have loved just about every moment of it. Your blog has enabled me to appreciate the way I have been able to embrace something many people complain about without even trying. What a lovely gift, thank you!
Beautiful Blog Catherine. Being honest is so powerful. In fact it can truly turn around a situation that feels difficult, to a moment of true appreciation.
I love how you have said ‘I found myself fully appreciating that no day was more beautiful than another: that this ‘miserable’ day was equally beautiful to a bright sunny one.’
When I am honest I will notice that my body expands and that the world opens up to me like every beautiful day…. hail or sun. 🙂
I feel called to be more truthful. I am invited into my own essence and I feel held in love.
I learned from Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine that honesty is the key to our personal development and the key to human evolution too. Once committed to honesty I found that there are so many tricky subtle little levels at which I can avoid complete honesty. I have found that honesty develops itself as each layer of protection is peeled away. Journaling has been such a great tool for helping me be honest with myself, I don’t know why, just that it magically is. And that your blog is an awesome reminder for me to start journaling again.
Catherine. A very open and honest blog. Being fully connected in one’s body is so powerful, and letting go of the dross we carry from time to time.
I found your blog a great reminder Catherine of the power of honesty and expressing which you have done through your journal writing. And how something this simple can make such a difference to how we feel as when we get in touch with what we are really feeling there is room for it to move as we don’t need to hold tight onto to it any longer.
I really loved reading this blog and the simplicity of it. Allowing ourselves to feel whatever is there to feel, reflect and to be honest with ourselves. Which gives us more clarity to what is truly going on within us. Biggest key of all…to not let the emotions define us.
It is amazing by allowing to feel into the day and where we are at, and then allowing it to unfold without the judgement of how it should be for me allows me to enjoy all my days, also knowing that it is always changing moment to moment. So if I get caught on the negative moment I miss the positive moment that is coming around. A good point about a journal as it also helps us to stay with ourselves and go deeper instead of running for comfort and medicating what we feel.
Catherine, such a lovely blog, it’s so true the things out there don’t need to dictate how we are, this is so powerful – we are not at the mercy of outside forces, we can be who we are in any situation, as long as we are willing to be honest and accept how we feel without judgement or any expectation. It’s such a powerful statement to make ‘The things that had been bothering me on waking were still there, but they were not dictating or affecting how my day would be. ‘ And I’ve embraced a similar sentiment over the last 2 days and it’s changed my approach to work and to life, somehow it’s more gracious, easier, and it flows and all because I decided to just be with it, feel what I feel more and be honest. So thank you for the beautiful confirmation.
Catherine, I have also found that taking the time to stop and honestly reflect what is happening by writing in a journal helps me better understand what is going on in my body and what feelings are there for me to notice and feel more deeply into. If someone told me 10 years ago I would be writing the above statement in a blog I would have though they were bonkers! When I first heard Serge Benhayon present at Universal Medicine workshops and talk about feelings and connecting to our bodies, I was pessimistic. After all, I had been to many workshops over the years where presenters espoused the benefits of meditation and various other methods of emotional expression. However when I tried them they all seemed superficial, even ridiculous. Yet, because a lot of what Serge presented made sense I was intrigued enough to hang in there, all be it with a wariness. I have steadily developed my awareness and understanding of myself and am learning to bring down the defences and to open up and allow others in, thanks to the wonderful, consistent, non imposing support I have received from Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine practitioners.
A deeply inspiring blog Catherine – showing us how extremely powerful it is to acknowledge what you feel, and then express it – in this case writing it in a journal. Love it.
I love what you said about the weather, that no day is more beautiful than another.
With that simple statement we can offer a deep revelation. Each day is the beginning of a new cycle. Appreciating what I feel, surrendering to my body makes me feel warm, beloved and cosy, no matter what the weather is outside.
Catherine the way you turned your day around by writing about how you felt is inspiring. Your enjoyment of the beauty of the quiet day, the shapes of trees and the sounds of the birds can be felt by all your readers I am sure, and reflects the beautiful connection you had made with yourself.
Great blog Catherine. How simple life becomes when we take note of what our body presents and pause to connect to how we truly feel. When you add self love, in the little nurturing acts you describe, life feels truly delightful. The care we give ourselves has the potential to colour our every waking moment, taking us from woe, to truly enjoying each moment. Thanks for the learning inspiration provided in your story!
I really enjoyed reading your blog Catherine. I have woken feeling the same as you’ve described. By accepting the way I was feeling I was able to identify why, then let things go and or change how I do things to be more aware, gentle and loving. I haven’t been using a diary but you have inspired me to start. Thank You.
An interesting blog. I like the way you were able to sort out your physical and mental outlook by looking at how you had lived the previous day.
I love the simplicity of this article how by choosing to be honest about what you were feeling but not get bogged down in the emotion and by staying in your rhythm, you were able to “appreciate the beauty of the day”.
Me too Deidre…. Why do we as humans seem to make everything so complicated? When we can choose to make it so simple, like it has been expressed here in this blog.
I loved reading how you chose to acknowledge what you felt and to give yourself that space to do so. It feels very honouring of yourself and I can see how this then extended into your day by the way you dressed yourself and the way in which you could appreciate the day no matter what it looked like!
Thank you Catherine, reading your very simple but powerful blog has just been read at a most appropriate time for me. Keeping things simple, honest and commit to oneself, lovingly so.
I agree when we allow ourselves to feel what is there to feel without judgement or any reaction, we can appreciate so much more. You highlight this beautifully Catherine when you say “So, here I was, the person who had woken distinctly out of sorts, now walking along feeling the ease, stillness and quiet, and fully appreciating the beauty of the day.”
Thanks Catherine love your honest blog, without honesty we have no foundation for truth and will live a lie.
Catherine, what a gorgeous simple plan,I can feel that writing in a journal gives an opportunity to reflect honestly in a purposeful way. It focuses the mind on what is required. I love it. Thank you for sharing.
This is inspiring and empowering, what you are teaching us is instead of feeling awful in the morning, overriding it and grabbing a coffee; if we recollect how we have been living (what happened the day before) and ask ourselves why are we feeling awful it brings about a healing. You then teach us that as you continued with the awareness, self-love and honesty in your day it changed for you. Thank you for sharing your story and for the lesson : )
Dear Catherine,
Thank you for expressing how simply we can support ourselves, and all of it comes from choosing to simply be honest about what we are feeling. Like you when I begin to write something I so often get more clarity and understanding, this very simple tool is a very powerful tool when used with truth and honesty.
This is lovely Catherine. I have never been a journal writer even though I can see the immense value of journaling or even simply and honestly reflecting on why we may feel a certain way. It’s amazing how this simple process can change the focus of our day so quickly if we allow it so.
This is lovely to read Catherine. The power of being present and how by allowing ourselves to feel everything we are not then consumed by those thought and feelings. I have also found it is in the reaction to these feelings that they seem to magnify, and by simply being willingly to feel them as you did changes this.I could really feel the beauty of the walk you describe and the attention and care you took in your choice of snuggly clothing.
Thank you, Catherine. It was just perfect to read your blog this morning. That simple step of being “committed to feeling what I was feeling, to being as honest as I could be about what I felt, and writing it in a journal” is something I feel I have become complacent about and not appreciated as deep as I could.
Thank you Catherine, for sharing so beautifully about your day and allowing yourself to be truly committed to feeling all there is too feel , and how amazing with such a turnaround for you.This is huge and so inspiring to read and shows the power of our choices.
Every day is a beautiful day if we choose to connect and see it, a gift for us all (and is especially valuable to remember in this cold misty January winter weather at the moment)… and the power of appreciation – it’s simply huge!
Indeed it is Tricia. Appreciation can move mountains. We usually got drilled from childhood onwards to see all that is wrong or could be better. Once we allow ourselves to see what amazing things there are in us and in our life, we often see the potential problem in front of us shrinking from the size of an elephant to that of a mosquito.
Yes I too find the same! The power of honesty and reflection is immense. I LOVE returning to this blog!
“I had simply committed to feeling what I was feeling…” A lovely quote, it is simple but also a nugget of wisdom to really consider and start practicing this as a choice, to commit to feeling what is truly there rather than trying to numb it or avoid it. Thank you.
I agree Samantha, this is definitely a nugget of simple wisdom that does pay to be lived every day. The power of simple honesty
I agree Samantha, a lovely quote indeed. Honesty is key along with the commitment to keep being honest. This is an inspiring read Catherine, thank you.
Completely agree with you Samantha. So wonderfully expressed thank you.
What is inspiring about this blog is the fact that you are using that moment of writing to be honest with what is going on. A moment to pin down why you felt the way you did so that it doesn’t follow you around throughout the day. Reading this blog has highlighted what I have already felt lacking in my relationship with my own daily log and how I could go deeper in that moment. Thank you.
I find writing my dreams down helps to stop me keep going over and over them in my mind.
Thank you Catherine, this blog is a great reminder every time I read it to be more honest. Its one thing going over things in the mind but it seems more solid and requires more honesty when written down, like getting it out of the body instead of leaving it to the mercy of the mind.
Thank you for the beautifully honest and appreciative blog. I really connected with that appreciation for life and making simple supportive choices and it feels lovely to read. I really connected to “The things that had been bothering me on waking were still there, but they were not dictating or affecting how my day would be.” With the support of Universal Medicine and some of the techniques suggested I to am able to live life more in full, rather than getting distracted and weighed down with worry or issues. Simple techniques, such as taking a walk for myself, the Gentle Breath mediation and yes journal writing have really supported me to care and nurture myself. This has improved my life deeply.
I really love coming back to this blog and being aware of how it supports me in simply stopping and appreciating. I too woke this morning disgruntled, agitated and with a sore lower back…as you say, slightly put out by this. But the truth is that yesterday I worked late into the evening and then set my alarm too early – I should of seen it coming. This blog has truly supported me back to myself this morning and just goes to show the power we have over the way we feel. The weather isn’t responsible, we are.
Most of my life I have allowed how I feel to be affected by the weather, but how crazy is it to allow something that I have no control over determine how I am feeling? It simply doesn’t make any sense and yet most of us do it anyway. I agree with you Catherine, that a damp misty day can be just as beautiful as a sunny one. What I have discovered is that the quality of the day, regardless of the weather is a reflection of the quality inside of me.
Thank you Catherine. Your article shows me how being honest with myself allows me to see how the way I have been with myself affects the way I feel. With honesty I can feel the beauty of who I am and those things that disturb me are just issues to be dealt with but are not who I am.
“I found myself fully appreciating that no day was more beautiful than another: that this ‘miserable’ day was equally beautiful to a bright sunny one” Such a great reminder now we go into the cycle of winter. Enjoying ourselves is coming from inside, the weather or other circumstances are not to blame. I too enjoy writing to get more clarity and honesty about the choices I make in my daily life. Thanks Catherine for sharing the start of your day so honestly.
It is amazing the difference such a simple thing as writing down our feelings can make to help us with expression of those feelings. It’s a huge thing as our expression affects the quality of our lives.
Catherine, what you write makes so much sense. I too have implemented simple tools in my life from my connection to Universal Medicine which help me to not stay stuck in a rut. Sometimes on waking I feel rough, but I have found the practice of self care very useful. Before Universal Medicine, I would stay in bed as long as possible, languishing in how bad I felt. Now I will give myself time to acknowledge how I feel, but not stay there and to the best of my ability get up and have a shower around the same time each day. After that I always feel refreshed and ready to start the day. I’ve been reflecting on this recently and this is the advice given by Doctors to people experiencing depression – to be active and set a rhythm and routine. Although I’d read this a lot when I was depressed it’s only now through my connection with Universal Medicine that I have been inspired to change and bring consistency to how I start my day.
That distinct level of honesty and care for self is so important I feel when taking responsibility for how I truly feel about all sorts, everything. I have been struggling recently with really being honest to myself and it has affected so much stuff. My rhythms, diet, relationships even just the feeling of overwhelm that crept in. My head has been going a dime a dozen. All of these areas have felt heavy, cumbersome and “massive”. The truth is that it just starts with a tiny complacency on my part to not honor myself and writing it down like that in a journal allows me to see it. I know that and appreciate this timely reminder. Great blog Catherine.
I really agree, when I begin not being honest with myself it effects everything, and taking the time to write in a journal is hugely helpful I find, in being honest.
Absolutely true Amita.
It was lovely reading through your process of the morning you shared with us here Catherine. I could feel the loveliness of your walk – despite the weather and how gorgeous you felt all wrapped up in your carefully chosen walking gear. How amazing that the simplicity of being honest and getting what’s troubling us out onto the page can set us up to enjoy the day differently than how we may have otherwise experienced it.
Thank you Catherine, I really must start writing everything down like you do!
In my case, if I don’t, the feeling or sense just seems to evaporate and is lost.
Such a great blog to read.
Thank you Catherine, you have reminded me that the weather doesn’t have to affect how we feel inside.
Great point Michelle
I agree Abby.
A really lovely blog indeed! I have always kept ‘journals’ since very early on, and reading back on them I would write in a way that would totally dramatise a story or series of events rather than just simply stating what was going on or how I was feeling! How crazy for me to add to my life! Since using Our Cycles App and putting down very honestly and simply what’s going on, no matter how out of sorts I feel at the time, is a true inspiration because it allows me to write what is felt, accept it and start to heal! It’s great to have such a simple account of how I am living and a very honest reflection at that! And it also makes me appreciate my honesty and not criticise myself for it.
I too have felt the support writing a journal gives for me. I find it a great way to clearly decipher where I made ill choices and the way it effects how I am feeling.
Such a simple blog. It’s freeing in itself. I love it. Thank you Catherine.
Catherine, just reading your blog brought me back to reality. It was inspiring, so thank you.
Thank you Catherine for your beautifully descriptive piece. I remember being told
when I was young, after complaining about the ‘miserable weather’, that whereas
rain comes from ‘up there’, misery comes from within. Your ‘caring’ choice
of clothing isolated you from the damp and you were able to simply enjoy the sights
and sounds.
How the simplest of choices can lay the firmest foundations. A moment or two a day, honestly feeling and reflecting, changes the way we relate to everyone and everything. Thank you, Catherine.
I agree – beautifully said Matilda. Simple choices can be the most profound.
Yes Catherine so many of the suggestions from Universal Medicine are simple…so why I wonder do I still try to make them so complicated? It’s almost as though there’s a part of me that says unless it’s difficult it won’t work.!!
That is very true, it develops an amazing intimacy with yourself. Also when I read your comment Catherine I realised that the more honest I am with myself, the more honest I am with other people and the more of myself I share with others – it starts to become more real, rather than just projecting a picture or showing/sharing a measured amount of me.
Catherine, what awesome simple steps, to begin with feeling, expressing from within, then lovingly supporting your body through clothes and exercise and with that same appreciation and love you have allowed yourself you can then appreciate the world around you. As Serge Benhayon has consistently presented, these basic self-loving steps have the power to evolve humanity.
Allowing simplicity back into our lives (feeling not thinking) and appreciating the impact of it as it sets a new foundation and cuts through the complication we habitually create. Thank you, Catherine and Lucinda.
I love the honesty writing a journal brings, it’s like telling a close friend all about my day! I like to look back and see what’s going on and see if there are any familiar patterns through the month to see where I need some support or can makes some changes.
Catherine, you have shone a light into the dark corners of my sporadic Journal keeping.I finally get it. It’s not about putting what happens down so it can be re-visited next week/ month/year. It’s about expressing how you feel, being honest about why, and with that awareness, embracing the day. Thank you so much, this is a great lesson for me.
This is such a beautiful blog, Catherine. I’ve always loved writing, have kept journals since I was a kid. Writing and reflecting on the day has always helped me to come back to myself when I felt off for some reason. And then to feel how you can carry that through the day by staying connected with your body and making loving choices, there is nothing else like it!
I can feel your tenderness in this blog Catherine. It is very honest (pun intended) and inspiring. I am starting to learn also that when things get intense and I find myself going into reaction, being honest with myself (without beating myself up about it) is the foundation that helps me to come out of it.
Thank you for the reminder, trusting our feelings, whatever they are, listening to the body, and being truthful with ourselves, is a great way to connect to ourselves and live from that truth.
Well said Ken!
Thank you Catherine for this very inspiring blog. I remember Serge Benhayon talking about not letting the weather dictate how you feel inside and so, whether it is raining, snowing, too cold or even too hot I welcome and appreciate it.
This unfolds and opens up like layers of onion; the more I write things down, the deeper I am able to feel the honesty. It’s great thanks, Catherine
Great comment Gill. I love the onion analogy, peeling away the layers and going deeper.
A great analogy Gill, so much magic in such a simple tool.
Thank you Catherine for sharing with honesty how you feel in this inspiring blog. I love the bit about the weather and not allowing it to dictate how you feel. I also choose to wear clothes when I walk to support me and the weather does not bother me as I feel snug and warm. Yesterday evening is what London would call a warm day and I had a thin hat on and snuggy boots and loved my walk with me. I do recall seeing most people in t-shirts and shorts and in the past I would feel odd and now it doesnt bother me at all.
Like you, I write my journal and I know that if I remain deeply honest then it is the doorway to Truth.
Beautiful Matilda. Thank you.
‘Simply committed to feeling what I was feeling’…so simple, so accessible, so why not? A few moments a day just to stop, feel and note down what is going on, then with that foundation of self-care and respect get on with our day. Just maybe we will let ourselves notice and enjoy the miracles that litter every day and what a foundation for the next. Thank you, Catherine.
Love both your comments Catherine and Matilda.
Thank you Catherine for your inspiring writing, such a practical application of how one can be honest with what is going on. I know when I write a journal it helps me to be honest. When I don’t try to solve an issue, resolve it or even numb it out and just allow it to be I am also allowing myself to feel the beauty of this world, whatever the weather.
Thank you Catherine, a great reminder of the power of committing things to paper.
Yes so true Amita, being honest with ourselves is the start of all healing.
Thanks for bringing up the subject of journalling. I feel it to be so supportive and now I am doing the Our Cycles App each night I find it is such a lovely way to complete the day.
Thank you Catherine for you simplistic method for us to come back to ourselves.
Great blog Catherine – thankyou. The more I write and express the more I find I can express verbally what needs to be said, bringing a greater honesty to the conversation. I so often try to defend or justify my position. I am spotting this more and more and just coming back to how my body feels, then take things from there.
So true, Sue. The body is where it is at! I have also found that if I am stuck trying to write something, that if I let go of the ‘trying’ and let myself feel my body, whatever it is that I am trying to say comes so much more easily.
Thank you Catherine, I loved reading your blog. You beautifully illustrate how the daily ritual of writing a journal supports us, giving clarity and healing.
I love the simplicity of this profound message. Thank you.
I agree Golnaz and thank you Catherine for sharing your daily ritual. It is truly inspiring.
The simplicity and truth offered in this blog is awesome thank you Catherine.
I’m only just coming to realise the difference writing something down makes. When it’s written, it looks back at you to show you how honest you’ve been with yourself. Very powerful , thank you Catherine.
Yes Catherine I agree. I notice that when I write I give myself the permission to not hide what I might be feeling. The power of the pen and paper is truly incredible.
Great point Catherine – I agree, writing something down can reveal things that probably wouldn’t come to if you were just “contemplating” as you say
This is awesome Catherine so simple and yet so profound. I have found writing in a journal to be a really useful tool for gaining clarity on what is really going on and then I have a choice about how I deal with it. I am just reflecting on the times I choose not to do this and how my whole day can be impacted. More and more I am appreciating the benefits of taking responsibility for how I am feeling and how my day then naturally flows.
Absolutely Helen – and I too am learning to take responsibility of how I am feeling, and appreciating how amazing it is that our body gives us the opportunity to do that!
I felt to come to back and read this article and it has again inspired me. Yes, writing and journaling are very powerful healers for me.
A great read for every day to start from honesty, whatever and however you feel on waking and to reimprint the day from here with even more love, gentleness and understanding. Beautiful Catherine, thank you.
These are great words to re-read, especially as our English Winter is approaching with darker, chillier mornings . . . and we can choose to enjoy the beautiful day ahead – beautiful because it is us in it.
Thank you Catherine for this beautiful blog – simplicity in expressing allows us to move on and appreciate the day and us in it.
I have just read this article for the second time – and am feeling inspired to start writing a journal! Thank you Catherine; amazing.
Being honest with yourself…..a beautiful article Catherine, thank you
This is inspiring, thank you. So simple…
“I had simply committed to feeling what I was feeling, to being as honest as I could be about what I felt, and writing it in a journal”. I have found that this is so profound and effective that it can seem almost magical! I have so much more regard for myself and my body having started doing these exact things. I love myself now and care deeply for my body and others. It really is so simple yet so profound.
A beautiful article. I am also learning the beauty of listening to my body, seeing when i override what i feel and the honouring of stopping and listening to it and making loving choices for me.
Thank you for sharing.
Honesty is such an important part of our lives and can really support our well-being. By being honest, is the only way we can stop any self-abuse.
Thank you Catherine, allowing time for feeling the body, writing in a journal, dressing lovingly to care for the body, walking and appreciating the weather conditions – you have described how beautiful life can be when we choose simplicity and truth. Gorgeous!
Thank you, Catherine, for pointing out the need for honesty. We learn this from the teachings of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine, yet so often we do not truly express honestly and we do not live honestly. Every day is a beautiful day and if we start out with honesty we will feel this beauty no matter what the weather brings. What you say is so simple and yet so strong.
Yes Michael, honesty IS the key to true change.
I love that Michael – every day is a beautiful day if we begin honestly – amazing.
Oh, so simple to change everything in your day with just a dedication to yourself and a bit if self care! I felt all snuggled up just reading this!
Being honest about how we are feeling, it is amazing how easily that can change how we feel in our bodies. It is wonderfully healing to check in with our bodies and notice if we are holding ourselves back in any way. It seems crazy to be affected by the weather, if we live that way then who is running our lives, is it us or an outside influence?
Thank you Catherine, in reading this I realised that I have not been giving myself simple honest reflection time in the mornings of late….and I know what a difference this can make. A great reminder and a lovely blog to read. Truly refreshing.
I totally agree Judy, I used to be very affected by the changing weather too. I love the simplicity and honesty of this article, thank you Catherine.
Hi Catherine, I love the blog and it made me wonder when did I change from being one of the people affected by the weather to one who loves the changing weather (four seasons in a day sometimes!). The honesty you have shared about how you felt was beautiful. Thank you.
I love what you have expressed here Catherine – this is so true about life as a whole. We can either be in step accepting what’s coming, or be holding onto the past, wishing for something else.
I agree also, I love every day, what ever the weather, it always seems as if the weather is actually just perfect for that day.
I love this blog. It really reveals the simplicity of how we can come back to harmony through honesty. Thank you Catherine.
I could feel the joy of what you shared Catherine, being able to appreciate yourself and the day you are in. Not being affected by things you can’t control which are outside yourself.
Thanks Catherine, a really uplifting blog which makes me want to go out and walk my dog and enjoy whats on offer.
A great blog Catherine. I love writing in my journal and I use it as a tool to connect to myself and get honest. Its amazing what can flow from you when you sit and put pen to paper. And regarding the weather – I did actually leave the country for a warmer climate thinking that things would surely be better without miserable weather. What I found was that I could be equally miserable in the sunshine! A great lesson for me and a call to look more deeply at my life and take responsibility for my choices, and not expect the weather or anything else outside of me to make me happy. I now no longer moan about the weather : )
Very funny, but also very true – there is always an excuse to be not feeling quite right.
It’s true – if you step back – it is a crazy excuse to not feel great and have a great day!
Absolutely Ariana, if there’s one thing I really love it’s honesty, with myself and others, we may not always get it right but that’s okay, it’s all about learning and expressing and letting go of what we are not. So often I say to kids in class, please don’t tell me or write what you think I want to hear, be honest, share how you really feel – there is no wrong or right.
And yes when we are honest, with ourselves and others, accept how we feel, where we are at and what is going on in our lives, it’s amazing how much this opens up and allows us to feel the love and equallness in all.
Thank you Catherine, I love this.
It made me smile to read what you wrote about the weather as it’s so true! how often people say it’s miserable outside, to which I really have to reply no, as I can’t lie, I just don’t get it, as I feel it’s actually beautiful, amazing, joyful, still etc whether its rain or shine outside, as really it’s a reflection of how I feel inside. And I love what each day brings, I love the rain , the snow, the sun and the wind, as there is a beauty and an amazingness to be found in all.
I also love what you have shared about waking up in the morning, describing how you feel, and with honesty allowing yourself to go deeper and realising these things, the heaviness etc are not you. Often I wake with feelings of feeling flat, heavy, anxiousness, a list of things to do, and I can either choose to stay in my head with all these and perpetuate the cycle, or I can chose to stop and allow myself to really feel, be it in whatever way supports me to let go and re-connect back.
Thank you Catherine, I really enjoyed reading this. It reminded me how powerful it is to develop our self-awareness. I loved that it didn’t feel like you were trying to ‘fix’ anything when you woke up but just bringing your loving attention to how you were feeling and how that had come about.
Fiona I love what you share about “not fixing things” it feels like such a release and relief, for many feel the need to fix something or look for a solution, and in that a heaviness, even a judgement, a pressure and a need instead of the lightness, simplicity and joy of simply being honest and brining our loving awareness to how we are feeling and how that may have come about
Thank you. I am going to start writing in my journal more regularly. ken elmer
Same here, just hearing someone sharing today how they have been writing each day, being honest and in appreciation – it has, as with this blog, inspired me to take time to write.
Thank you Catherine. The simplicity of paying attention to what we are feeling is so self honouring. If I have a day when I just get up and get involved in the day without paying attention to how I am feeling, the day plays out very differently as to when I do take notice. As you say, the acknowledgment and honest expression of how we are feeling via a journal is truly supportive.
Beverley, it’s a great point you make here about getting up and paying attention to how we are feeling – it is very easy to wake up with a head full of ‘things to be done today’ and get straight into the ‘doing’ without feeling first. Checking in with our bodies before we do anything is a lovely way to wake up and prepare for the day.
Thank you Catherine, you have reminded me to be aware that when I complain about the weather it is ME who is feeling miserable about ME! I know that when I am feeling good about myself from the inside, I enjoy all weathers and they do not need to influence how I feel, I can enjoy them all.
How often, and especially it seems in this country, people talk about “the weather” as though their whole life depended on it giving them what they want. It is the most used topic of conversation on greeting, and suppresses true feeling and contact. And have you noticed that the weather forecast on the radio is delivered with a judgement, for example — using adjectives like “good”,”bad”, and “nice”, which encourages people to have an emotional attachment to it, whereas it is actually just weather.
It seems the weather is used to avoid the honesty you speak of and suppress our feelings. Great also to remember to be very honest in my journal, no hiding from myself or excuses.
Good point, it is also interesting that even though there is seemingly ‘good/nice’ and ‘bad’ weather as you say, whatever the weather there is always an excuse to be feeling out of sorts – its ‘too cold’ or ‘too windy’ or ‘too hot’ or ‘too rainy’.
Catherine, I love how simply you show how if we take the care to “listen to the messenger” (our bodies communication) the message doesn’t need to keep hounding us as we are already healing the ill just by recognizing the sadness, aches or whatever and where they came from. Hurray. I wish everyone in the world could read this blog.
I agree; we are already a step towards love just by nominating the ill we have been living in.
A lovely blog
Thank you for sharing Catherine. Learning to listen to my feelings after many years of putting so much effort into avoiding and overriding them has changed my life. It is these simple little choices like you have mentioned that can make such a difference.
Thanks Vicki. Me too. I am re-learning now to listen to my feelings, not avoid them and I am finding I am making life so much easier for myself.
I agree with you Vicky Geary – I have always put effort into avoiding how I truly feel and today I am choosing to honour how I feel by listening to me and not overiding or dismissing my feelings. It means sometimes I have to say things that others may not like but for me being honest is the doorway to Truth and that is something I will continue to develop. I love this honest way of living now and it makes sense. Above all, I feel more content with my life.
I love the way you not only looked at what had disturbed you the previous day Catherine but more importantly what you had done when you felt disturbed. Awesome.
Completely agree Shevon.. It is most certainly important to express and nominate the disturbance, but it is equally crucial to pin point the opening for that to be allowed into your body, then furthermore put that into action and make a different choice for the future.
Hi Catherine, this is the second time I’ve read your blog and it’s inspired me once again to examine what I am feeling. Thanks Catherine, simple but effective – great reminder.
I agree Julie, awesome reminder of the simplicity and healing there is in just checking in with ourselves.
Awesome blog, Catherine, and how simple – walking is a great way to clear ourselves, being aware of our feet with every step, and then to use the body’s wisdom in clarifying what is going on, which means we can clear our issues very quickly.
Yes Carmel, I love to walk, it’s my go-to if I am feeling off, as I know it’s a great support to help me re-connect back.
This is great. So many people complain about the weather and blame feeling down or miserable on it. Some people even move countries because of it, believing that something totally external to themselves can really affect them. Of course it doesn’t, it’s just an excuse; something to blame for living in a way that doesn’t create any true joy in the body. All it needs to affect is the clothes you choose to wear that day. As you say, every type of weather can bring some kind of appreciation, be that wearing a lovely flowery dress when it’s sunny and taking a picnic on the grass; cosy boots, a lovely soft jumper when it’s cold and feeling the cool fresh winter air on your face; or a good rain coat that you’ve chosen to invest in to keep you being able to go for walks and enjoying nature in all seasons. Your honesty and taking responsibility for how you truly feel is an inspiration.
Great point Anna. The English weather offers the opportunity for so many choices. I have always enjoyed the change of seasons, different clothes, different activities. The inspiration is to feel you in whatever you do so that whatever the weather or whatever is happening around you then you are still you.
I fully agree with you Anna. I love foggy misty days there is an extra stillness and on the rare occasion that it snows is even better.
A beautiful article on awareness and honesty. Thank you Catherine.
The beauty and simplicity of this blog is profound. It clears away all the clutter and sets out how life can be lived in a connected way that can support us and our bodies. I have also been realising that if I can connect to my feelings and allow them to surface, my body responds in an expansive and healing way.
I wholeheartedly agree Sue.
I completely agree Amina, so often is it the weather – too hot, too cold or the other people that get blamed for my mood – lovely and inspiring to reflect that is simply my choice not to be me!
I love how in this blog Catherine shares with us how powerful it can be when we are honest with ourselves about what we are feeling and she also clearly highlights what a wounderful supportive tool journaling is.
Agreed Elizabeth – journaling can definitely be very supportive.
So true Catherine. I am currently keeping a food diary and finding it so supportive to make truer choices around nourishing myself.
Thank you Catherine, it is amazing how being committed to feeling what we are feeling, and being as honest as we can, we can in fact bring a big healing for ourselves by simply listening to what our body is feeling and honouring that. I too have found these are simple practical techniques that help me on a day to day basis. Thank you for the reminder!
So true Samantha – it is so interesting that by listening to our bodies it can help to start to heal, but by ignoring it we seem to make things ‘worse’ or amplify the symptoms.
Thank you Catherine, the beauty of your article makes it so easy to re-read and re-connect and shows us where we are. The day to day commitment, checking daily choices and being honest honours and confirms us on the daily basis.
Great blog, Catherine, ‘Being as honest as I could be about what I felt’ sums up the recipe for success. Suppressing or numbing our feelings only serves to incarcerate us.
Thank you Catherine. I agree that one day is just as beautiful as the next, whatever the weather – and that it is how we are feeling that is important. When we are connected to ourselves – rain cannot dampen our mood!! It is indeed a good reminder to catch ourselves if we are moaning about the weather! I also have found the benefit of writing about experiences and a great way to get what is inside – outside!
Thank you Catherine for the beauty of your blog – the reminder of simplicity, the power of feeling and of expressing what we are feeling.
I absolutely love the simplicity and beauty of this blog.
Me too Shevon. Thanks for sharing this beautiful but powerful simple approach Catherine. Very lovely to hear how your day transformed after this loving self reflective process.
So true Janet, and thank you Catherine for sharing the importance of connecting and nominating.
This great blog and the comments are really supportive and a great reminder of what it is all about and how simple it can be – tracking our daily choices, our feelings or reactions and honouring what our body is saying to us.
I’ve been really enjoying reading these comments and the commonality that everyone shares in that it’s healing to acknowledge and express what we feel, whether we write things down or if we express them verbally.
Thank you Catherine – I find for myself that using the OurCycles app quite often helps me to really connect in to how I am feeling and allows me to be honest with my body, as writing in your journal does for you.
Thanks Catherine, I also find writing a diary really supportive and writing this at night before bed I notice that it helps support me to nominate and let go of things that have happened during the day, so that I can prepare for sleep without unresolved issues getting in the way. It has become a very loving part of my bedtime ritual.
Thank you Catherine, I love how you connected so simply yet profoundly to what you were feeling. It really brought it home to me how simple it can be to simply connect to our bodies, and how we are feeling. This can transform an experience and give some distance to observe and regain perspective. Thanks so much, super inspiring.
Hi Catherine, I woke this morning feeling heady and out of sorts. You have inspired me to write how I feel and go for a walk and feel my body. Thank you.
Such a great blog, I totally agree that writing in a journal can help to get to the bottom of what is affecting your day, well said.
This is cool Catherine. Shows how if we keep expressing, whether it be by writing in a journal and tracking our feelings, or walking the dog, we can shift things quickly when feeling out of sorts. I’ve recently began using the “Our Cycles” app as a journal and it really helps to bring clarity and understanding to the day,
Such a simple yet very practical tool available to us all, yet one so easily overlooked especially in today’s society. I could really feel the support of writing in your journal for you through your writing, and know this to be true having used a journal myself despite never using one before in my early years. It was amazing how simple and easy it became after just the first putting of pen to paper. A great technique for everyone.
I love your practical example of how to work out what’s going on when you feel out of sorts, thank you.
What a gorgeous reminder and confirmation of how such a simple thing can support us to make great changes in our lives. Love it! Thank You Catherine.
I love the simplicity, cuteness and honesty in this blog. Great expression Catherine thank you.
The simplicity of what is offered in this blog is beautiful and a great reminder that I have the power to change the next moment if I choose to commit and support myself with love. And that writing this down or tapping it out are far more supportive than sitting with it in my head. Thank you Catherine.
Nice one Catherine, I totally relate to your blog as I too can wake up feeling under par, but after writing down how I feel then walking my dog in whatever weather; except maybe pouring rain, I generally feel amazing. I have been using the Our Cycles App as a journal since February and although still learning to be completely honest with myself it is a great way of keeping an eye on myself. I have looked at the calendar on occasion and seen that I have missed a day here and there and one time three days in a row. Now where had I been? Who knows! I didn’t write it down, my memory is not that good but I would have got caught up in things, work etc. and not created extra time for me to be with me and I can’t imagine I felt very good on the missing days.
I can so relate to what you have said here Kevin re missed entries on the Our Cycles app. Reading your comment has inspired me to up my commitment with my entries. Those times when I don’t feel like writing in the app, I see are the very times I realise it would be supportive to write.
Thanks Catherine, such a simple and delicate blog. I loved reading it.
Reading this blog is a beautiful reminder to me of how, when we are able to come back ourselves and not get caught out feeling bad, that the world comes alive again and we are reminded of the magic that is all around. It makes it so simple, as it should be… thanks Catherine.
Beautifully put Simon.
This is such a beautiful blog. I read it yesterday and it came into my mind whilst I was getting ready in the bathroom. I felt optimistic as I reflected that all that is needed is that we keep doing the things that we know support us, even on those days we don’t feel like it. Thank you Catherine. 🙂
Thanks Catherine, it is a constant amazement to me that such simple things done consistently can have such a powerful impact on how we feel and how we are in the world, and how we feel about ourselves!
A lovely simple blog and a great reminder to bring awareness and appreciation to all.
I like the power in your words “committed to feeling what I was feeling”.
Thank you Catherine, I too find that when I take the time to write things down in my journal everything becomes a lot clearer about what is going on and then I am not carrying the thoughts from the day with me when I go to sleep. I have to plug the ‘Our Cycles’ app as it is what I use for my journal and I would recommend it to all.
Thank you Catherine for the gentle reminder that when we walk with love on the earth we will feel the love returned to us through every step.
What a beautiful blog. It inspired me to appreciate the simple ways that I do support myself and to reflect on where I could do with a greater focus.
Hi Catherine – what you write is so true, I find when I keep a daily journal I am much more reflective and honest and much less likely to step away from the truth. I also can feel the appreciation you have of all the small things around you and it’s very inspiring. Awesome blog thank you!
I love the honesty and simplicity of your blog, Catherine. When I take time to feel it allows me the space to connect to what is truly going on and not become overwhelmed by re-action.
Thank you Catherine, through honesty and expression I too have become much more aware.
Dear Catherine, thank you for this very simple reminder of the power of honesty and how this can support us to simply be more aware of what is going on for us and why, without these events or situations controlling other aspects of our lives. As I have begun to work on this more and more myself, I am more and more aware of how much I used to be in my head and when this happens, how all of the thoughts going on in my head stop me from being present in other situations, and how much it effects my day, my work, how I relate to other people etc. Now that I am more willing to feel my body, and to be more honest and aware of exactly what I’m feeling, I am much freer and more able to be present with whatever else is going on without being distracted. To me, this process has involved learning to be more responsible, and to take responsbility for all of my choices, and by being honest about this (my choices and the consequences of my choices), I no longer feel as out of control or overwhelmed as I used to (as in allowing life to happen ‘to’ me), and much more able to appreciate that whatever else is going on around me (including the weather!), that I can still feel ‘me’… The Power of Honesty rocks!
This is such a lovely timely reminder and yes there is something quite ‘delicious’ in those colder grey mornings when we are not allowing the world to affect us.
Beautifully expressed with simplicity and honesty. Thank you Catherine for sharing!
I experience the same thing when I write in my diary. I can fleetingly notice things I’m feeling or moods and reactions. But when I take the time to sit and write, sometimes before sleep, sometimes when I wake or sometimes if feeling out of sorts, then I get more clarity. Sometimes it comes about later that day but I feel as though taking the time to really feel my body and ask “what is going in here?” opens the door for me to understand and learn more. I too have learnt so many simple tips from Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine, and hugely from just sharing experiences with others. Thanks Catherine for sharing simple wisdoms for enjoying everyday life. 🙂
Thank you Catherine. How beautiful. Such a simple and practical way we can support ourselves to be present and not be at the mercy of the day.
Thank you Catherine for this timely reminder. I woke up this morning with an old familiar feeling of anxious nausea and after reading your blog I started writing about yesterday and my feelings and as I was writing I was aware of a background headache but both sensations started to recede as I acknowledged to myself my responsibility to honour what I need to do for me and be present and not lose myself.
Hi Catherine – ha! You’ve just described how I woke up this morning, feeling out of sorts, and with an aching back, and I’ve just done the same thing – been writing in my journal – in my case, acknowledging that I was standing all day yesterday at work, exploring how was I standing, what was my posture, was I aware of what else I was thinking about at the same time, what emotions was I engaging in, was I being judgemental, trying to please, trying to get it right, and the fact that I crashed into bed, exhausted, showed me that I had allowed myself to get dis-connected from who I truly am. Your beautiful post has reminded me simply to honour my feelings and to nurture my body today.
Gorgeous blog, thank you Catherine, for sharing how our choices reflect the day we will then have.
Thank you Catherine and how amazing, that by simply being honest with yourself, you could then appreciate the full beauty of the day, rather than dragging your weariness through yet another ‘miserable’ day. Beautiful advice to follow!
That’s beautiful Catherine. I too write in a book about things that I am feeling and processing… Things that come up for me seemingly out of the blue. I never used to, but recently I have become a keen notetaker in workshops and post-one-to-one sessions. It’s like a diary of how I am unfolding back to my true nature. When reading some of the stuff I was writing only a year ago, I can feel how far I have come.
Honesty is a very powerful tool, much under estimated in its power. I guess because it is so powerful, many of us choose not to be honest. Sometimes it takes hitting rock bottom or losing something of true value before we come to an honesty. It’s all in the learning and some of the simplest things can be the biggest lessons. Thank you for sharing. Jinya
Thanks for sharing this Catherine – it’s simple but true and really effective. I feel it helps us all when we read your blog as we are all trying to do this and feeling each other is inspirational.
This is exactly where I am at Jean, much inspiration and timely reminders are gained from reading these blogs written by people all going in the same direction as one another, thank you Catherine.
Thank you for both these insights, Catherine. I too was feeling ‘out of sorts’ last week – but I didn’t do what you did and consequently it took me several days to come out of it. Next time I will follow your most wonderful example. As for the weather, yes I too love walking in whatever weather, as long as I am warm and cosy. I love being out in the elements – I really feel alive! Awhile ago I walked the Tongariro Crossing with friends – it is a one day walk across a saddle between two mountains. Part way through the weather really closed in – mist, rain, wind. However, as I had taken full wet weather gear and had two walking poles I felt really comfortable and just loved being out in nature. The others in my group were not so prepared – and consequently did not enjoy it. How important is it to care and nurture ourselves so we can be prepared for whatever the weather may bring?
Thank you for sharing your lovely experience here! Perfectly timed, as I didn’t feel so great waking up this morning (thanks to the 4th of July fireworks happening late into the night!). And you’re right, just being willing to give notice to how I feel makes a difference. It hasn’t affected my day, I still feel lovely – but it provided an opportunity to observe the effect of my own choices, something that is vitally important in today’s world that we are seldom taught.
Thank you for your beautiful beautiful blog Catherine. I felt tears in my eyes as I read your piece. I too in the past was stunned when I first heard Serge Benhayon say that it doesn’t matter what the weather is like! At that point in time I absolutely loved sunny days and didn’t like certain overcast days. What he said resounded deeply in me. The more I practiced my presence and feeling all that is there to be felt, the more I experienced what you have just written about – I now enjoy every kind of weather with all the amazing facets of beauty, delicatenesses, fragrance, flavour and tone. And yes, it is so great to keep remembering to feel how we are, really honour that, and not pass over it.
I too have been waking the past few mornings feeling flat and with a sore lower back so this post is very timely. Thanks for the reminder of how journalling supports us to see what can so readily be overlooked in the busy-ness of our days.
Catherine, the simplicity of your piece is so lovely I am touched once again by the power of our choices. I felt I was out walking with you… Thank you for sharing…
Thank you Catherine. A love-ly, practical reminder of how we can guide ourselves through this experience of living in a body. Reflection, honesty, writing in a journal, nurturing the body appropriately to the weather, and walking. All easily available and low cost solutions. 😉
Thanks for the reminder. It really is so simple and it is a choice we all have equally.