Can you laugh at yourself? Can you look at yourself with honest eyes, and see what’s there to laugh at? Usually, there is plenty, if you dare to look. The way your mind wanders, the quirky way you sit to meditate, or do a yoga asana, the way you think about others. So much is laughable.

We can easily fall into laughing at others. Fall is the right word, because in that act of laughing at others, we are lowering them in our eyes, and raising ourselves above them. What fools we are!

By laughing at ourselves, we show humbleness and modesty. We see ourselves as we truly are, not as we might wish to be. Most of all, we show others that we’re not looking at them. We’re looking at ourselves. Introspection and humbleness are two powerful forces for self development.

Today’s thought is from the series ‘31 Ways to Have a Better Day‘.

What is the most important thing we need to sustain life? Food? Water? You can last a surprisingly long time without food or water. How long can you last without air, without breathing? Hold your breath, the answer soon becomes clear.

Now, breathe in. A long, deep breath. There’s a problem with that too. To inhale deeply, we need to be empty. We need to empty the air out of ourselves.

Breathe out. Breathe out until you have emptied yourself of all the exhausted air. To achieve this, you may need to repeat the process a few times. Breathe out, all the way out. Again, breathing in, breathe deeply in, feeling the rush of fresh air, the prana of life, rush in to fill the empty space created by the out breath. Just as we need to exhale completely, in order to be able to inhale completely, so in life, we need to empty our mind, before we can fill it with the wisdom of zen. Exhale deeply, then inhale, deeply, taking in your life.

When you wake each morning, stretch your arms up skywards. Breathe deeply. Fill yourself with the emptiness of the air around you. Breathe. You are alive.

Today’s thought is from the series ‘31 Ways to Have a Better Day‘.

There’s nothing better than to find a spiritual guru, to have your path mapped out for you. Is there?

Did Buddha Shakyamuni find a spiritual guru? He sought teachings, and found them in many places, each one different from the other, yet there were common threads. He was the original ‘spiritual tourist’. Not in a shallow way, but in a deep way, he dug deeply into his spiritual heritage, seeking out truths from all those around him. More importantly, he sought out truths from the world around him, seeking the answers to his questions by directly meditating upon those truths.

Be your own guru. Dig deep inside. Explore teachings and practices. Find your own way. Find truth that way. It’s a lifetime’s work, but you have a lifetime ahead of you.

Today’s thought is from the series ‘31 Ways to Have a Better Day‘.

Sometimes, meditation can raise more questions than answers for us. Do I meditate enough? How much is enough? How often should I sit? How long should I sit for? How should I sit? Where should I sit? Am I doing it right?

What’s the right answer? The right answer is in your heart. You know it, if you would only look for it, and listen to the answer. You can study various meditation techniques exhaustively, until you find one that resonates with you, but don’t be fooled into thinking that there is a perfect solution, a magic method, out there. The best results in meditation will be achieved by sitting regularly, maintaining a simple, but consistent practice.

Ultimately, it is what gets results for you personally, that is the right technique for you. Whichever method you settle on, sit more. Longer, more often, more focused with, more love for the practice. More is where the results are. Form a regular practice. But if an irregular practice is what works for you, then do it your way. Just check your reasons first.

Today’s thought is from the series ‘31 Ways to Have a Better Day‘.

Lao Tzu, author of the Tao Te Ching, writes “At the centre of your being you have the answer.” Have you been to your centre, can you find your way? What map would you use to guide a trip to your centre? The map of meditation. Sit quietly, on your yoga mat, meditation cushion, the floor, or a chair, or outdoors.

Sit for just 5 or 10 minutes initially. Simply focus on you breath, observing the in breath, observing the out breath. Try to remain a detached observer – the observer cannot also be the observed. You may not manage long initially, don’t be put off. You just need more practice. Take this journey daily, and you will become calmer, more ‘centered’,  more skillful at the act of detached observation. The thoughts are not you, and they are not your reality, don’t let them become it.

At the end of your meditation, slowly bring your awareness back to your physical body, step by step, then finally, bring your awareness back to the place in which you are sitting, arriving back refreshed, as if from a short holiday. Did you find the answer yet?

Today’s thought is from the series ‘31 Ways to Have a Better Day‘.

What have you noticed so far today? Wherever you are, look around you, listen, smell the air, and see what you notice. You might choose to look within yourself, instead of outside of you.

What can you notice there? What thoughts are arising? What is your state of mind? Note these things, and move on, letting them go. In the outside world, take notice of the small things, the things that you might normally miss, perhaps because you are usually too preoccupied with your thoughts, with yesterday, with tomorrow.

Take notice, and see the world afresh.

Today’s thought is from the series ‘31 Ways to Have a Better Day‘.

Have you done good work today? Can you think of one thing today that you could do that would be good work, that would contribute something to someone, or some thing?

There are many possibilities, donating unwanted possessions to charity stores, buying something from a charity store. Giving money to charity, or to the beggar you pass every day on the way to work. Helping a neighbour or a friend.

The key? Don’t brag about it. You don’t have to tell anyone. Your knowledge of the smile on the face of the recipients will be the biggest reward. Another reward will be the beautiful feeling that will arise in you. Pat yourself on the back, you did good work.

Today’s thought is from the series ‘31 Ways to Have a Better Day‘.

What does that mean to you, to be ‘mindful’? Your awareness should be right here, right now. If it isn’t, bring your awareness back to the present moment.

You can use a simple technique of focusing on your breath. Breathing normally, relax, focusing on the sensation of your breath, as it enters and leaves your nose.

Feel the fresh, clear, cool air as it enters your nostrils. Feel the the exhausted warm air, as it leaves your nostrils. By watching your breath like this, just for a few minutes, or only moments, you can bring yourself to mindfulness.

You can do this on the tube as you travel to work, in the supermarket check out queue, anywhere. By coming back to the present moment, your mind ceases wandering, and the falseness of your imagined experience falls away.

Today’s thought is from the series ‘31 Ways to Have a Better Day‘.

Do you have  too much ‘stuff’? Stuff from your past, cluttering up our drawers, cupboards, car, bag, your pockets. Stuff you’ve gathered along life’s way, and become too attached to be able to move it on.

The same can go for the stuff we crowd our minds with, also stuff from our past, but in addition, we crowd them with stuff from our ‘future’, which of course, isn’t real, as it hasn’t happened yet, it may never happen!

What do you get if you “take out the trash”, spring clean, tidy up? More space! Let go of all the unnecessary stuff. As you do this, you can move into that space, spread out, relax a little.

Create room to breathe.

Today’s thought is from the series ‘31 Ways to Have a Better Day‘.

You know the snooze button you reach for on your alarm clock, when really you should be getting up? Because it’s easier than getting up. It’s easier to do nothing, than to do something?

Now look at your life,  are you hitting the snooze button there too? What part are you avoiding waking up to? Check yourself for mental laziness. It’s time to wake up!

Can you smell the coffee yet?

Today’s thought is from the series ‘31 Ways to Have a Better Day‘.