by Jo-Dee Walmsley | March, 2017 | Relationships, self-growth
February was the month of LOVE and while that has been awesome for some it’s maybe been a totally different story for others – including me. I chose to break up with my boyfriend the day before my birthday, which is 2 days before Valentines Day – now this is hard but luckily there are ways to make it easier. Being true to yourself Staying true to yourself and loving yourself is so important to make sure your love relationship is right. So many people are staying in the wrong relationships because society says you have to, maybe they are afraid of the unknown, or maybe they just think it’s all they deserve. NO its NOT!! We were made to thrive not just survive and its up to you to make that happen. It’s a choice to be happy so make it now! I personally think the world would be a much more positive if more people made that choice. Its not about being selfish, its about knowing yourself and doing what makes you happy which will only have a great a positive impact on those around you. If at first you don’t succeed I have noticed an increasing amount of people around me becoming cynical about relationships and pre judging the partner based on their negative conditioning from their past relationship. Hey guys – Eddison didn’t fail 1000 times before inventing the light bulb – he found 1000 ways that you couldn’t make one lol it’s the same with relationships. Each relationship teaches you something that will get you closer to that perfect match and the one thing...
by Dan Collinson | February, 2017 | Relationships
As it is the month of LOVE I thought I would dedicate this months blog to it. There are many types of love and each relationship can benefit from adding a good dose of laughter. As we all know, laughter makes us feel good and helps us have that feel good factor that can tear down walls and bring you into the now of happiness. Loving your work People who laugh together work well together. When you have a fun environment in the work place you will find more people happy to come to work. Their communication and tolerance towards each other is better and they will form great bonds. People incorporating laughter in the work place also found increased productivity and creativity. Through laughter you will find more people loving their job and a decrease in absenteeism and employee turnover. Love in your family Families that laugh at the ‘small stuff ‘and makes light of all the little squabbles will get on much better and maintain that joyful love. Life throws us many interesting things and we tend to take it out on those we love – by changing the way we respond to that will help the person going through the challenge and show them that you are there for them. How many times do you find yourself more aggressive and careless with what you say when it’s someone you love? – That isn’t fair on anyone so well worth watching out for. I know I am guilty of this one and have made a real effort to change it and it is amazing how things are...
by Lynn Soots | October, 2016 | Positive Psychology, Relationships, self-growth
All of us go through tough times in life and it’s so important to make sure we get the most out of our relationships whether it’s with our partner, kids, friends or colleagues. I, like many of you, have had my fair share of knocks in life and would love to share a few where laughter really made the difference and kept me positive. Laughter Yoga gave me a new sense of empowerment and confidence and I actually made a change in my life and decided to be happy no matter what. This starting to show immediately and people started responding differently to me. Breaking up is hard to do: The first and possibly most important change that I owe to Laughter Yoga is with my relationship with my ex husband, the father of my 2 children. Visiting my kids every 3 months in Iran was so stressful and drained me so much. Having had a toxic relationship and difficult breakup, it was hard for us to spend too much time together without getting into a fight, we had both built up anger because of the way things had turned out. This all changed when I learned how to change the way I looked at life and how I responded to what it was dishing me. I had called to book my trip to see my kids and had mentioned to my ex that I had started a new career in Laughter Yoga and was totally surprised by his reaction when he saw me at the airport. Now imagine an arrogant, angry man who was bitter that I had...
by Lynn Soots | October, 2016 | Health, Positive Psychology, Relationships, Show & Tell
While I do not profess to be an expert on Navy submarines, in my military travels I do recall several Navy friends talking about the silent running of the submarines. This is a term used when a submarine goes into a silent mode of operations. In the mode of silent running, the purpose is to evade attacks from the enemy and requires those aboard to stand down; let there be a stillness. Speed, movement, and noise from the propellers are drastically reduced, and for good reason. The intention is to allow for safety along a stretch of a journey that poses potential harm. Silent running can be summed up as a tactic to maximize safe passage and minimize destruction. Communication and relationships are in themselves a journey that can be, at times, overwhelming and impact wellness. Just as the commanding officer of the submarine must analyze the impact of an encounter, we too can be the commanders of our journey. Prepare for impact: size and strength of negativity I recall, in an episode of the Lucille Ball show, poor old Lucille Ball on the candy conveyor belt line, unable to keep up with sorting and placing of candies neatly in the packages, thus leaving her to shove abundant amounts of candy into her mouth. Information is much the same, the amount and type have an influence on us; how much negativity can we take in before it becomes unhealthy? This concept is not new or novel to this generation. We can find research regarding the retaining capacity of the brain in late 1950 and probably even further back than...
by Dan Collinson | October, 2016 | Ageing/Aging, Relationships
In a few words, I would like to talk about leisure and share a significant episode of a very old woman of the group I’ve been studying since 2010, the Wednesday Tea programme. It is a ritualised programme for old women. There are moments for conversations, moments for doing what they like the most, moments of prayer for their families and for themselves and in the end, they have a cup of tea and eat some cakes and sandwiches. Always at Wednesday at 2 pm, for women only. Mastery in adversity A very old woman, aged 80, that worked all her life as a rural worker, wanted to participate in this group. She was convinced that she needed a specific ability that she could share and show to her colleagues of the group. She didn’t know who they were, but she knew that they used to do things during the group gatherings. The problem was that this woman became blind some years before. But she wanted so much to participate in the group. Then she had an idea. She said to me, in an interview that she might still remember the art of knitting. She thought that if she imagined herself knitting in a dark room, she could remember it. She tried over and over… She said that it was very, very difficult, but then she made her first sleeping boots– or something similar to that! She practiced again and again. The moment to enter the group arrived. She now mastered the art of knitting. She began to do lots of sleeping boots to sell in the Christmas sale…...
by Lynn Soots | September, 2016 | Positive Psychology, Relationships, self-growth
Think for a moment about one of your best friends (perhaps someone that you have been friends with for ages, or got to know more recently and just ‘gelled’ with)…visualise their face …imagine the sound of their voice…maybe looking forward to a planned meet up, or thinking of getting in touch with them very soon… The chances are that you currently have either a smile on your face, a warm feeling in your heart centre, or both. This physiological response clearly demonstrates that experiencing positive emotions – such as those felt when thinking about close friendships – can trigger the release of ‘happy hormones,’ which are good for your health! Friendships can bring sadness too if, for example, trust has been broken, you have grown apart, loss of friends through distance or bereavement, or if you don’t have someone you can call a best friend. This can spark sadness, anger, or hurt and even feelings of guilt for not staying in touch when life gets too busy and there just isn’t enough time… But why are friendships so important to health and wellbeing? Friendship and 21st Century life As parents we encourage and support our children in making new friends and ‘fitting in’, but don’t always recognise the importance of seeking out new friendships as adults. Friendships can dwindle as people move house, job, or grow apart. The pace of 21st century life and raising a family can mean we don’t have the time, energy, or money to socialise, so social network sites such as Facebook have become an important communication channel for many people. But do Facebook friends...
