Hello and welcome!

I have spent quite some time in the past month reading and in contemplation - partly forced by a tonsillitis followed by a flu. Three weeks, all in all, where my body just shouted 'Stop' to my busy life.

I got one main lesson: to simplify. Less to-do, with more time open for to-be with whatever comes in the present moment.

Reading, I love reading - and making mindmaps. I might be a bit nerdy in that I have a process to 'deal with' whatever book comes into my life: I read it, I make a mindmap of it, I paste the mindmap on my agenda, and I give the book away by leaving it somewhere in London with a post-it that says 'You can keep it'. I've got tons of fun awaiting - I have a good 6 boxes of unread books ;)

Here you can see a picture of the mindmap for 'Wherever you go, there you are', a book by Jon Kabat-Zinn. Very soothing-feeling book, by the way - you can find a review of it here: 'Wherever you go, there you are'.

And yet, while I love reading and acquiring knowledge which helps me untie my own knots, I seem to realize that there is only one thing that we are here 'to do', if you like, and that is to experience love (read more in the Thought of the month, below).

Do I want to keep giving shape to a life that I love living? Yes. Am I in a hurry to make anything in particular happen? No. There is no hurry, because there is nothing else that we need to do other than be here and now with our hearts as open as possible.

Giving and receiving love. That is the business of this now ;)

I treasure that moment a few weeks ago, when I was in the train to work, and all of a sudden I realized that our 'mission' while alive is to experience love. I'm not talking about romantic love, although that is a kind of love to be experienced, too.

I'm talking about the love that is the essence of who we are. I'm talking about the feeling that you experience as you sit and stroke your cat, or marvel at the colours of the sky in the sunset, or discover the beneficial consequence of some painful event.

It's the feeling that you are at total peace. The feeling that everything is perfect as it is, just now. The feeling that you are not lacking anything - and the suspicion that if you took your hands off the wheel and stopped trying to control everything, your life would only improve.

I suspect that the deep feeling of 'universal love', so to speak, is the motor of Life - it's the energy that put in motion the universe as we know it. It's eternal and it's all there is. It's what I would call God.

This energy translates in our actual lives in very practical ways (see, I love ideas, and I think that 'good' ideas have to have a practical application).

So then the question for me is, how can we bring ourselves to the frequency of love every day?

You'll have your own ways. Here I want to share with you some things that I like doing every day and that bring me into to that indescribable essence of universal love:

• Reading an interesting book in the train to work while sipping my coffee - usually it's a non-fiction book, a book that I can learn something from and apply to my own life.

• Giving my full attention to the person I'm interacting with - making the moment about them, rather than about me.

• Helping someone when I don't have to. For instance, I saw on facebook that a cousin of a cousin has just moved from Spain to the US to work for a year - and she's finding it a bit hard to settle and fit in, as well as to speak English. I messaged her and offered my help - and she welcomed some advice.

• Noticing that I'm rushing and then stopping, taking a few moments to center myself and let go of the feeling of 'having to' do anything.

• Sensing 'what wants to be done' and doing it - rather than doing what 'I' think that needs to be done.

• Taking a few moments in the morning to stand in my studio, feeling the silence, observing the sun through the window, and savouring the feeling of looking forward to the day.

• Conducting a good meeting with a complainant, where they leave more at peace than they were when they came in.

• Sitting on the grass at the park nearby work, feeling the stillness of the trees and feeding nuts to squirrels.

Now, if we can bring ourselves more often to experience moments of complete joy, then this is real magic, and I would bet we're doing something very important for ourselves and for mankind at large.

I'd love to hear from you in which ways you bring yourself to the eternal feeling of love and peace - contact me and let me know - let's start a conversation!

I love Soundstrue.com because it has many interesting podcasts - you may remember that I have shared with you links to Soundstrue recordings in the past.

This week I'm recommending to you a Soundstrue podcast with Tara Brach called 'Radical Acceptance'. It offers insights and ways in which to bring ourselves back into our bodies to be able to deal with what arises in the now - including our difficult emotions.

This interesting podcast will have you relaxing and inspired to live life more authentically and more in tune with yourself. Check it out - it's Radical Acceptance.

I believe that being grateful for something is one of the most powerful tools to feel better immediately. Here are the two thanking bits of the month:

Thankful for... Lareena, from Canada. You might remember that in the last issue I shared with you my ponderings about how to speak about mindfulness, when I found that the 'truth' of such a state was indescribable. Well, Lareena replied with some very useful suggestions which I will be implementing. Thank you, Lareena! :)

Thankful for... GPS on mobile phones. In the past month I visited Spitalfields, a well-known market in London that I had been wanting to go to for long time. However, the underground line did not reach the station closest to the market and they moved us on to a bus replacement service, which left me in a different location than I had expected. So I turned on the GPS on my phone, I entered 'Spitalfields market', and I walked my way there easily guided by the blue arrow. I am amazed at the way that technology makes our lives just so easy. Thanks, GPS! :)

What are you thankful for? Share your gratitude on this page and read what others are thankful for!

Care to send me your thoughts about this issue's topics? Email me and let me know!

If you enjoyed this newsletter, please pass it along to your friends, family and colleagues, or send them to the Dare To Play It Big sign up page. I thank you in advance.

Stay well,

Cristina

P.S. Feeling stressed and worried because of problems at work? Then check my handbook 'From Conflict To Calm' - based on my own experience with conflict with my boss, my handbook gives you the keys to move from a powerless situation to one of peace.

P.S.S. Tired of procrastinating? Wish you got more out of your own life but you don't know how? In my handbook 'Power Over Procrastination' you will find the exact plan, techniques and tools I use to get things done easily - leaving procrastination behind altogether!