Just visited Ikea to return spare parts (all those extra bits and pieces - and not forgetting the Allen keys of course), packing and plastic packaging... They were thrilled !!! Truly, properly happy... and surprised... Apparently it's rare for customers to take this stuff to them. So, next time you buy, set all that extra stuff by, separating the extra parts from the packing and plastic packaging, and return it on your next visit ! #News #Inspiration #GoodPractice #Snip

The other day I posted about hitting the brick wall and asked the question, what do you do? I'd asked, because the previous evening had seen my return to Zumba after an 18 month break. A break that at 15 minutes into the session, seemed more like decades! Yes, I'd hit a brick wall. Luckily my instructor had given me the heads up beforehand, 'Just take your time and ease your way back into things. Do what you can, and when you can't keep up just move in time to the music.' I'm

... the question is... does your home suit the whole of you... and I mean the whole of you? I'm a homely sort with a spirit for exploration, contrary to say the least. To overcome this I've always made wherever I am my home, hunkered down, settled, explored the wider community and made the place my own... My heart has travelled far and wide from the middle of nowhere in Australia to the Tokyo in rush hour, it has been my homemaker. All that changed when I stayed in Dartmout

Moving home is a funny old business, much like any other major transition in life. There is always an element of necessity, being forced or driven in some way, but also a natural and organic move from one place to another. To start with there's the draw towards that generates a pull. Such a gentle tugging as this compels movement into the unknown which can be disconcerting. The stronger the draw becomes, the stronger the effect on emotions, thoughts, reasoning and relationshi

This article comes with a warning, as it is an exercise in life expansion and is not, repeat not for the fainthearted. Okay, I know, 'How do you learn?' is a big question, so let's be more specific. How do you learn a new skill? I ask, because, it is an important aspect of ongoing lifelong living expansion and, for the most part, the ways and means by which we learn new skills hold us back from living a forever expanding yet consolidating life. So, how do you kick these old w

Spring is in the air here in the UK, the sap is on the rise and all that natural wonder is on the move again. It's time to plant those deeply personal seeds for the year ahead... The words, healthy, wealthy, wise and happy rose up from deep within this morning and the sensation was glorious. Are you ready to plant your seeds for the year ahead? Before you go to sleep at night, take 5 to be with your whole self from the Big Bang forward to eternity, relax, calm, ground, centr

So, what's everyone doing for the planet and climate change on Friday? Whatever's on your radar to make the switch to more planet/nature friendly living, this is your chance to let it happen, just do it! And enjoy For those who are already strongly connected to, and doing your bit for the planet and nature, give yourself a break... take the day off! Immerse yourself in everything natural, breathe it in, around and throughout, soaking in this added momentum to a really good ca

... use of my phone. I moved home and never thought for a moment I'd have difficulty with phone coverage. I mean, waaaay back in 2011 I had coverage in the middle of the Maasai Mara... so, really - Devon ?!? It was a bit of a you know what, because my contract had only expired a month earlier, so I'd already switched once. Which, by the way, had gone like a dream. Lulled into a false sense of security, 10 days ago the saga of switching providers began. No coverage, so I began

#GoodPractice #Inspiration #Snippets

Hello everyone, this article is to open up a conversation around prospects for my next workshop. Could this workshop be for you? What are your thoughts about the price, time & venue? Keen to hear what you have to say about it all. Pat x I delivered my first ever workshop at the weekend called 'Unleash your Power' with overwhelming results. Thank you to the five who braved the challenge, and they all got so much out of it. Whilst the main idea behind the workshop was to introd

... pears are good for you One a day, preferably at morning tea or thereabouts will do you the world of good... inside and out. Don't believe me? Google, 'health benefits of pears' Enjoy ! #GoodPractice #Snippets

Yes, just living can be transformational in an holistic, life-enhancing way. So, how do you get to live this way? Here's a tip: The next time a life-enhancing event takes place, savour it, immerse yourself in the wholeness of you, life and everything. Open yourself to the pleasures of restorative sleep, then sleep on it, or have a few sleeps on it to ensure the fullness of the event has its effect on everything you are. You will thank yourself for it in the long run. Here's w

That's the problem with finding a niche for yourself in life... it can develop into a rut... The thing is we all do it, quite naturally and organically. I'm talking about, securing ourselves in ways of functional, physical, emotional, rational, spiritual & soulful being that were only ever meant to suit the moments they were lived. ... and the downsides are too numerous to mention... We don't like it, but we can't help ourselves. We don't like it in ourselves, and certainly n

A tip to help slow things down and take charge in changing circumstances #GoodPractice #Snippets

I ask, not for a quick answer. As ever with everything Living First, take your time... you might surprise yourself. Yesterday I posted about the state of the universe and the climate just now... drawing out lethargy... and provided guidance... be sluggish... take time out... somewhere where you are at home. Well, I was so surprised by my taking time out that I thought I'd share it with you. No, it wasn't surrounded by nature, alone in a meditative state. Neither was it at ho

OMGoodness... yet another pleasantly unexpected outcome. I don't know whether you know or not, but I'm not just developing a new style of therapy (for want of a better word), I'm living it. Why therapy? Well, I've always been quite the master of self-objectivity, self-scrutiny, research, self-experimentation and life-enhancing transformations, and I have come to realise that most others aren't. So Living First, its therapies and workshops, gives you the chance to be more obje

Be sluggish ! Everything just now is drawing out lethargy... the universe... the weather. We will all respond and live differently through this, but no matter what, it will be having an impact on everyone... Just now, we need more time and space than ever, and you know what that means don't you... whenever we need space, the world closes in. Take time out ... Even if it is just for 5 minutes, take time out from everything, be wherever you are most at home... and be sluggish.

... out there just now No matter how war torn your life just now, make space for some time out. #GoodPractice #Snippets

What is it about horses and people...? I've never been a horsey person. The whole, My Little Pony set didn't feature one iota in my childhood. Neither did any other animals for that matter. Despite all of that there has always been a connection, an affinity between me and other animals; one that has grown stronger in recent years, especially through hiking no less. Hiking, oh yes, and that's where I found myself today, connecting with and sharing a mutually life enhancing exp

... and it is so amazingly satisfying! So, why exactly did we begin to drink tea in teabags? Well, it seems that it was just a marketing aid that took off some 100 + years ago. I can't imagine how much of life's resources have been used since in this unnecessary process. I remember being told that teabags could be composted, only to find this is so not true. Despite having stopped 'composting' them years ago, they are still rearing their heads, knotted around and entangling u