Tag Archive for: think

Unearthly

General Conference was a smorgasbord of spiritual instruction and renewal.
Following the instruction leads us to the covenant path and Jesus Christ.
โ€œ๐‘ป๐’‰๐’Š๐’๐’Œ ๐‘ช๐’†๐’๐’†๐’”๐’•๐’Š๐’‚๐’โ€ was such a powerful address from President Nelson.

Memories

After his talk, a memory came to mind.
In May 1983, I turned 18, received the Melchizedek Priesthood and was ordained an Elder.
On 10th June, I joined many others on an overnight 12-hour bus journey to the London Temple, in Lingfield, Surrey.
We arrived a little tired on Saturday morning, ready to spend a day in the House of the Lord.
We live in a telestial world. Entering the temple, we symbolically enter a terrestrial world. And the celestial room in the temple allows us a little glimpse into heaven.

Endowment

Receiving your temple endowment is a very personal experience.
We receive instruction and eternal context for our mortal life.
An endowment is literally a โ€œgift.โ€ In this sense, the temple endowment is a gift of sacred blessings from God to each of us.
I recorded these words in my journal that day, โ€œit was an unearthly experienceโ€.
โ€œUnearthlyโ€ โ€“ it was something spiritual, something deep and meaningful, directly from my soul.

Choices

That same day, I decided to serve a full-time mission and by November I was in the England London Mission.
I have never forgotten the feelings that entered my heart that day.
I made a choice, like many others have, โ€œto take the long view, an eternal view.โ€
The cherished moments that day, were a few more steps on the covenant path to help me to start to โ€œThink Celestialโ€.
โ€œWhen you are confronted with a dilemma, think celestial!
When tested by temptation, think celestial!
When life or loved ones let you down, think celestial!
When someone dies โ€œprematurely,โ€ think celestial.
When someone lingers with a devastating illness, think celestial.
When the pressures of life crowd in upon you, think celestial!
As you recover from an accident or injury, think celestial!โ€
Call one of the missionaries today, they will help you to think celestial!
How can you think celestial?

My Best Thinking

Frequently our minds are at warp speed, with a jumbled clutter of thoughts that seem more disorganised than inspiring.
In those moments it can be difficult to do any thinking at all!
My โ€œbest thinkingโ€ however, seems to occur when my mind is somewhat relaxed and quiet.
Time seems to slow a little and I can sit quietly and just think.
A quiet spot, with no interruptions is the best place for me.
Itโ€™s my place, where I find peace and quiet time to think.

Three Places

I have three favourite places where I do my best thinking.
Firstly, sat in the living room, on the couch, pondering, reflecting, and studying.
Secondly, often I am awakened in the middle of the night when it is dark and quiet. One or two words come to mind, followed by a flow of inspiration. I arise from bed and capture the thoughts that follow in my journal or on a notepad.
Thirdly, in the shower. The warm water seems to increase the flow of dopamine to my brain and physically relaxes my body, which allows my inner thoughts to really shine. There has been a lot of research done on this and it is actually known as the โ€œshower effectโ€.

Timing

Interestingly, all of my best thinking also happens in the early hours of the morning.
Its in those wee small hours, when Iโ€™m not focused on an issue that Iโ€™m concerned about, that answers usually always come.
It is the time when my most meaningful ideas arise.
“In the hustle of the marketplace there is money to be made but under the cherry tree there is rest” โ€“ Ruskin Bond.
Wherever you go and whenever you take time to think, perhaps the most important thing is to actually slow down and make some time just for thinking.
It is my experience that ideas don’t just happen in certain places, they happen at certain times, too.
When and where do you do your best thinking?

Turn it Off!

โ€œ๐‹๐ž๐ญโ€™๐ฌ ๐ ๐ž๐ญ ๐จ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ ๐š๐ฎ๐ญ๐จ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ๐จ๐ญ.โ€
In our leadership session on Saturday, that was one of many discussions we shared together.
Thinking about that comment this morning, I asked myself several times over, what does that actually mean for me?
On reflection, itโ€™s actually when your body is here, but your mind is elsewhere.
Do you know that feeling?
In my pre-mission coaching world language, itโ€™s about paying attention and being aware.
As a coach Iโ€™d refer to this as having presence or being present.
However, from time to time, people simply zone out.
Have you seen this?
You probably do it yourself from time to time!
There in body, but your mind is elsewhere.
Frequently we simply turn our thinking to automatic mode, and we donโ€™t pay attention, in other words we hit our autopilot.
For example, routinely, many of us drive in this mode โ€“ we get home and remember little or any part of the journey.
The key to change is every time you notice you are on autopilot, you turn your attention to what you are doing.

Here are some tipsโ€ฆ

– Getting a glass of water, pause and feel your feet, hear the noise of the water as it flows into your glass.
– Walking to your next appointment, stop thinking about your things to do and notice that you are walking. What do you see, hear, smell, and feel? Touch something along the way.
– In your next meeting, after 20 minutes ask yourself if you are bored. If you are, then make a decision to turn your attention back on. What do you hear and see now?
– Stop Multi-tasking! (Exclamation mark). When someone asks to speak to you, then stop what you are doing, put your mobile down, stop typing and listen.
– Go and learn mindfulness.
What can you do to get off autopilot and be more present?

Silence has power

The world is getting louder.
There is a lot of noise out there.
In fact, the world is now in continual commotion.
Have you ever cultivated silence for yourself?
Perhaps it is time for a quiet reflective moment, to find some time to think?
Why not ditch your phone and take a walk through nature?
Or better still limit input!
Take a fast from social media and the news for a full day, resting from unending social media feeds or current events.
๐’๐ข๐ฅ๐ž๐ง๐œ๐ž ๐ก๐š๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ.
Silence is in fact golden!
Build some periods of silence into your day to refresh, replenish and renew โ€“ they are powerful times to reawaken.
Why not try it for a week and see the effects on your stress levels, creativity, and well-being.
Go on โ€“ give it a go!
#silence

Ask first!

Standing in the kitchen, Monic passed me the jar of beetroot.
Having tried to open it already, Monic didn’t have to say anything, the look in her eyes said it all… “can you open that please?”
Taking the jar from her hands, I gave it a go.
Holding the jar in my left hand, I tried to open the jar with my stronger right hand.
No joy.
Holding the jar in my right hand, I tried to open the jar with my left hand.
Reflecting now on that silly moment – as expected, no joy!
“Try holding it under hot water” Monic said.
Under it went. Several attempts later, and after straining my right wrist – still no joy.
“Try it with a cloth” Monic said.
With my right wrist strained, it was back to holding it with my right hand and then trying with my left hand.
No joy.
Monic took the jar back again.
“I remember my mum said if I pry a knife under the lid, it may let a little air in and that may help” – said Monic.
So, taking a knife she pried it under the lid. Hey presto “pop” went the lid, a little twist with her hand – job done!
Moral of the story….
Pause, reflect and ask the question first…
“Has your mum given you any tips as to how to open that jar?” ๐Ÿ˜…

Don’t just do something, sit there!

“Don’t just do something, sit there!”- is a phrase I have stumbled across several times recently.

It’s extremely difficult NOT to do something these days. In the frenetic pace of life, whether it is a work task, an urgent assignment, homework, something needs fixing, the school run – taking time to “sit there” and think, rarely (if ever) tops the list of things to do.

We think far too seldomly. Conversely, we tell ourselves not to think, by saying “don’t just sit there, do something!” In several coaching sessions and workshops recently, this theme has been a topic of some healthy conversation. Ultimately, our discussion peaks at the realisation that we need to think, before we act. The lesson is that we need to put the thinking in before the doing.

In my own life, there have been many times that I have felt a bit harried, time poor and harassed. Then, some years ago, I decided and chose to change. I realised that I needed to simply “sit there” for a while every day and declutter my noisy mind. As an early riser, the first hour of every day is my precious contemplation time. Those 60 minutes of thought and study are a daily gift to myself.

A little time set aside daily to think about what really matters makes all the difference.

When will you “sit there?”