Focus and Flow Mission Statement

FOCUSandFLOW365 PicQuote: Trust Yourself

Trust yourself enough to know that you can feel anything and recover from it. Know that because you are feeling something does not mean you must act on it at the moment you are feeling it. Stay with it long enough to de-charge it. Breathe deeply. ~Iyanla Vanzant

THE FOCUS AND FLOW QUESTION

(for meditation, contemplation, and journaling):

How have you been managing your feelings lately?

FOCUSandFLOW365 PicQuote: Simplify

The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak." ~Hans Hoffman

THE FOCUS AND FLOW QUESTION

(for meditation, contemplation, and journaling):

Have you cleared the way so that what is necessary can speak to you?

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FOCUSandFLOW365 PicQuote: Soul Vitamins

Faith and prayer are the vitamins of the soul; man cannot live in health without them." ~Mahalia Jackson

THE FOCUS AND FLOW QUESTION

(for meditation, contemplation, and journaling):

What vitamins do you take for the health of your soul?

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FOCUSandFLOW365 PicQuote: Growing Happy

"We are happy when we are growing."

~William Butler Yeats

THE FOCUS AND FLOW QUESTION

(for meditation, contemplation, and journaling):

: 

How are you growing? 

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FOCUSandFLOW365 PicQuote: Do The Work

"Nothing works unless you do."
~Maya Angelou

THE FOCUS AND FLOW QUESTION 

(for meditation, contemplation, and journaling):

"What do you need to work on?"

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FOCUSandFLOW365 PicQuote: Work It Through

"Problems do not go away. 
They must be worked through or else they remain, 
forever a barrier to the growth and development of the spirit."
~M. Scott Peck

THE FOCUS AND FLOW QUESTION 

(for meditation, contemplation, and journaling):

What do you need to work through in order to liberate your spirit?

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FOCUSandFLOW365 PicQuote: Beauty Revealed

"If we look at the world with a love of life, the world will reveal its beauty to us". ~Daisaku Ikeda

THE FOCUS AND FLOW QUESTION
(for meditation, contemplation, & journaling):

How are you looking at the world?

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FOCUSandFLOW365 PicQuote: Love All Things

"It is love alone that gives worth to all things". St. Teresa of Avila

THE FOCUS AND FLOW QUESTION
(for meditation, contemplation, & journaling):

What in your life needs to be given more love?

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"Purple Blessed" - A Poem

Purple Blessed by Shelly P. Harrell  

(Written at the beach in Santa Monica, CA on the occasion of my 50th birthday...because purple always reminds me of the beauty in the world, lifts me up, and connects me to my essence.)

I am blessed...Purple Blessed.

Blessed everyday and blessed everywhere.

Blessed in the darkness and blessed through the storm.

Blessed to be lost and blessed to be found.

Blessed by the rays of the sun, the blue of the sky, and the freshness of the breeze.

Ocean blessed.

Infinitely and forever blessed.

Blessed in my aloneness and blessed through connection.

Blessed by everyone whose path has crossed mine.

Blessed by love.

Blessed by change.

Blessed through my tears and my grieving.

Blessed in sweet surrender.

Blessed through the Holy Spirit. Blessed by miracles.

Blessed by forgiveness and hope.

Blessed with strength and passion.

Blessed by joy and laughter.

All are blessings. Blessings then. Blessings now. Blessings always.

Yes, I am blessed...beautifully, soulfully, peacefully, divinely Purple Blessed.

Copyright 2011. Shelly P. Harrell. All rights reserved. Photo from Swami Stream on flickr (Creative Commons)

FOCUSandFLOW365 PicQuote: Can't Rush It

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"We cannot rush the sunrise or pay to bring on the full moon.  Everything will happen when it's supposed to happen."  ~Iyanla Vanzant

THE FOCUS AND FLOW QUESTION:

What are you trying to force or rush in your life?

REPOST: Meditation Techniques for Beginners (from FinerMinds.com)

REPOSTED FROM: http://www.finerminds.com/meditation/meditation-techniques-for-beginners/

Meditation Techniques For Beginners – 3 Simple Tips To Get You Started

by FINERMINDS TEAM

August 29, 2012

We here at FinerMinds are not surprisingly avid meditators (we even have a meditation room to prove it!); therefore we’re often on the lookout for the best ways to get to that OM happy place.

However, we all started somewhere, and we sometimes get questions from our readers asking how they can start meditating (as let’s face it, switching off your mind, sitting still and resisting the urge to daydream, watch the time, or fidget is more difficult than it looks!).

So in response to your questions, here are a few pointers to get you started!

1. Comfort is Key

Yes, the great masters and experienced students of meditation often sit in what’s called a ‘lotus’ or ‘half-lotus’ position during meditation. And they look so good, don’t they? They make it look easy to sit cross-legged on the floor, spines straight, bodies relaxed. But every time youtry it, your knees ache, you back slumps and your mind feels anything but relaxed as your body demands at least a little bit of movement.

If this sounds like you – fear not! You don’t have to sit like a master yogi for successful meditation. But you do have to be comfortable. So if you’ve got a straight-backed chair, a pillow to sit on or a wall to lean against, you’ll greatly improve your success-rate.

Keep in mind though – you don’t want to be so comfortable that you fall asleep! (Thus, beds and lay-z-boys are out, sorry). You want your spine straight, neck and shoulders relaxed and your limbs comfortable enough for a good, 10-20 minute sit.

2. Food For Thought

Give the ole left-brain something to do. If you want a sure fire way to shift your thinking into overdrive, sit still and try to force yourself to have ‘no thoughts’. Ha! Good luck. Instead, give that busy brain something to sink its teeth into like focusing on a mantra, on your breath, on a guided imagery journey or even the thoughts themselves.

3. Be Patient

Yes, you’re going to fidget. And yes, your mind is going to wander. But please be patient and don’t give up! All beginners go through this so just consider it par for the course. If you get too focused on that itch on your nose, simply scratch it and get back to breathing. If your mind has wandered off on a tangent 100 times in a sitting, gently bring it back to the focus at hand 100 times (and be prepared for 101).

In time, these and other distractions to deep meditation will lessen. But if you don’t begin, you’ll never get there. So give these meditation techniques for beginners a try and enjoy the many benefits of a regular sitting practice.

What’s the single most difficult challenge for you to overcome in order to make meditation a regular part of your life? Leave us a comment and let us know.

What is Focus and Flow?

Focus and Flow is a Strategy that you can use to Manage Stress, Optimize Your Well-Being and Transform Your Life!

This website provides some tools and resources to support you in developing and maintaining a “Focus and Flow” way of life!

What is meant by “Focus”?
CONSCIOUS, intentional, and integrated awareness of self, others, and situations through directed attention.

What is meant by “Flow”?
 Culturally-syntonic ENGAGEMENT with life informed by the integrated awareness that emerges from focusing.

The core idea of “Focus and Flow” is captured beautifully in this quote on meditation by Thich Nhat Hanh:  “Meditation is not to escape from society, but to come back to ourselves and see what is going on. Once there is seeing, there must be acting.”

Focus and Flow is about BOTH seeing and acting, or CONSCIOUS ENGAGEMENT.

I developed the “Focus and Flow” approach from my nearly 30 years of helping, healing, mentoring, and motivating people as a therapist, professor, and consultant.  It is grounded most directly in humanistic, multicultural, and community psychology, and is informed by recent scientific research from interpersonal neurobiology. 

The Bottom Line…

Focus and Flow can be thought of as a way of life that enhances personal, relational, and collective well-being.

Focus and Flow is about being connected to internal and external processes, and then changing or shifting those processes as experience, conditions and demands change.

Focus and Flow is flexible and individualized because the things we need to focus on, the path to finding our flow, and how we flow will vary from person to person.

Ultimately, Focus and Flow is about fully living life in a way that is authentic and to its fullest potential and optimizing the time we each are given on this earth.

***Where is YOUR Focus?***

***How do YOU Flow?***

I invite you to contact me if you are interested in individual or group consultations: drshellyharrell@focusandflow.net