INTRODUCTION
No valid plans for the future can be made by those who have no capacity for living now.
Alan Watts
We are probably similar, you and I. We tend to want to be somewhere we are not. For most of us, there is a compelling and imaginary life waiting, where we are finally secure and content. Where we are happily doing all the cool, exciting stuff we would like to be doing. It’s so tantalisingly close, but have you noticed it never quite feels like we are there yet?
I struggled for many years. I didn’t like feeling bad, so I searched for solutions in the world. I made unhealthy and healthy choices to feel better temporarily. When nothing really worked, this led to more insecure feelings of failure and anxiety. Everyone else seemed to know what they were doing, so I was playing catch up. I began to imagine that I needed to be someone who didn’t look like me, who had things I didn’t have and did things I wasn’t doing. Then I would feel better. I was always busy yet also weirdly stuck. I could not understand why life often felt so damn hard.
Like me, you have probably done your absolute best to do and achieve MORE.
If I could just get this… Just have that… Just do this next thing... Then life will be all good. THEN I can relax.
There is lots of great advice to help us do life better. And yes, it may be helpful to create routines, work smarter, meditate, exercise, eat well, enjoy less screen time, sleep better, etcetera. I’m sure you have tried some of these things. But if you are tired of struggling to ‘be better’ and you are as fed up with being fed up as I was, then you are in a great position: you know what it is not to feel ok—AND you know you don’t have to feel that way. You have hope. That is your wisdom, leading you here to the answers you have been looking for. I will show you it CAN be another way.
This is a book about how we are perfectly positioned to overcome our struggles and thrive. Unlike many other methods, the goal is to take stuff OFF our minds, not add more things we ‘should’ be doing to the mental party.
We will get to the root of what stops us lovely human beings from fulfilling our potential and enjoying ourselves. I’m pretty sure it’s the elusive secret of life. Simply put, we are only ever up against one thing, and it is hidden right before our very eyes… Our own minds.
Understanding how our beautiful, creative minds work will help us in every area, especially where we struggle. Unfortunately, we are not taught about our minds in school; this most precious resource we use all day, every day, every second we are alive. Yet everything we need or want is found in the perfect system that generates our psychological experience.
When we come to appreciate the genius within us, we realise we get to create anything we want in life. We begin to look in the mirror, into our infinite irises, honouring and respecting the person we see because there is so much more to us than meets the eye.
Miracles do happen within us and all around us, all the time. But we tend to overlook them and focus on what’s wrong and where life doesn’t feel good. It does not need to be that way. So, let’s get ourselves back on track, skipping down the yellow brick road of life and creating wonderful miracles. But first, are you open to a simple miracle?
What would be a miracle?
We create space for something new to flow in by asking ourselves questions. You have picked up this book and started to read it; try to get a sense of what you would love to have. Is there one thing you would like clarity on or to change? We don’t need to know ‘how’ it will happen yet; this is an invitation to dream big. What would be a miracle for you?
Allow yourself to get curious and open to the possibility that making miraculous changes might even be quite simple! After all, if now is always and magically new, then we don’t know what will happen in 5 minutes, let alone five years. Right now, is the only place we can step out of our current ideas of what is possible into the unknown and create something new. When we settle down and discover the magic of getting present to this precious moment, we won’t need to worry about the past or future. We are ok, just as we are.
Life is short, so ideally, it would be less of a struggle and way more fun. Let’s go on a ride and untangle you from the things holding you back. Free you up to fly by the seat of your pants. No, not tomorrow, later, next week, or in the new year. Starting wherever you are, here and now. Let’s understand what is getting in the way of you living a life you love. What exactly are you up against in life?
