HighVibezFocus

WE ARE WHAT WE BELIEVE True - we have genetics to thank for much of our physical appearance. But we shape our facial features  through mindset , affect our health through lifestyle choice and mould our lives by the thoughts and actions we take. Our genetics can play a major role in determining what tools we have available, but many have shown us through sport etc. how perceived disadvantages caused by birth defects or disabilities, can be overcome through mindset. Arguably, our social standing - our 'place' in society - has significantly more power to hold us on a pre-determined path, which is harder to break free from. And for the most part, it's our minds holding us back from breaking free from these chains we place on ourselves. It's mostly how we 'see' and what value we place on ourselves, then leaving the rest to society, our peers and even what our friends/family tell us, to define who & what we are. Change may seem difficult and a new, a brighter path...

  BLOATED OUT OF PROPORTION Training hard? Check! Drinking less alcohol? Check! Hydrating more? Check! Eating a well-balanced, highly nutritious diet? Check, check & check! Yet, feeling overly tired, low in energy and suffering with ailments stemming from an out-of-sorts digestive system? This is where a better understanding of food is required to  heal the gut  and get back on track. Plug The Leak Reading up on  Zonulin  and  leaky gut syndrome , it's relatively easy to discover some helpful clues as to why our energy levels are so low and why eyes are dull or skin dry and flakey. Damage to the digestive system can be caused by a multitude of different factors and it can also  manifest in all kinds of ways , ranging from the more obvious signs like a bloated stomach, to the not so obvious ones, like experiencing more mood swings, chronic fatigue, lacking in concentration or having sustained bouts of  brain fog & headaches . Without t...

  YOU ARE YOUR UNIVERSE Everything we see, hear, touch or experience as we journey through life, ultimately makes up our reality. Our senses feed information into our minds and it's our interpretation of this torrent from the environment about us, that becomes our personal universe. All our connections, including everybody and everything we come into contact with, will be  relative to only us  in our own unique way. There will be positive, negative and neutral connotations associated with everything, depending on our personal interpretations and therefore it's  how we  choose  to  perceive the world  around us that determines our path through life.  The universe has no  feelings  and does not make order from chaos or draw on emotions - these are human traits.  There is no meaning  to the universe, just  universal natural laws . So without our minds trying to make some  sense out of this universal information or a...

  ANIMAL ATTRACTION Human beings are not so far up the evolutionary chain as we'd like to think we are. We're still very much 'animals' at heart and it's solely the human 'thinking' part that separates us from the other beasts of the animal kingdom. It's also this thinking part of our minds that masks what is really going on in our primal animal brains. Thinking and reasoning can be beneficial in many ways but  are we over-thinking  and not doing what our instincts tell us? And does our reasoning mean we avoid trouble - or that we miss out more on doing the things we really want to do? Animal Avoidance We witness certain behaviours in others when their barriers are down and especially realise it in ourselves the morning after a night out drinking & socialising. Original link to FFC blog post here. It's inebriated moments, when we are free from our rationalising thoughts where our actions reveal our true primal desires. Others may negatively comme...

  SELF  ACKNOWLEDGMENT I can vividly remember the first time when I became self-aware. It wasn't my first strong memory from childhood, which was actually when I fell down the stairs at barely three years old. It was the first moment I really became aware of myself and being able to address myself from a 'wider third-person' perspective. The memory was not triggered by shock, pain or etched into my memory through other sensory experiences. The moment when it happened, was not framed by anything particularly significant. I was 6 1/2 years old, facing the full-length bathroom mirror and this was where I recall looking into my eyes and expressing out loud, how I was never going to forget being in this moment. My 2 1/2 year old brother was next to me at the time and I encouraged him to try and do the same by looking into his own reflection. I wanted to freeze time. I was trying to connect myself to the future and can still see my young face addressing me now. The vision is so s...

  THE STUBBORN AND REBELLIOUS ONE The  ego  is an identity of our own construction which states our beliefs and abilities. And just as a  small child  will seek solace to diminish fears, our anxieties expressed through the inner voice, will manifest attachments to the ego, which given the power to dictate who we are, create emotional turmoil in our lives. We build up our ego from birth. It is implanted within us by our mother/care givers, our peers and society. We have a need to fit in and conform with those around us. It's a process of finding the right way and it's not easy to accomplish. That's why we all struggle with our ego and are prone to inner conflict when we follow our false centre rather than become more attuned to our truer self. Through ongoing skilful and compassionate mindfulness, understanding where our strengths lie and our weaknesses hide, we can live a meaningful existence in harmony, without being controlled by the ego. We hold on to the ego...

  BE LIKE WATER Bruce Lee made this quote: "You must be shapeless, formless, like water. When you pour water in a cup, it becomes the cup. When you pour water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle. When you pour water in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can drip and it can crash.  Become like water my friend .” What this statement implies, is to make your own way, but to never get  stuck  in your own way. Continuing to evolve, grow and adapt and never becoming stagnant. This simple quote should be applied to life in everything we do. And if we could accomplish even a fraction of what  Bruce Lee  did in his short 32 years, it would truly be something - as we can see from this man's philosophy and ethics in this great documentary. He would have been 75 years old today.  Link to original FFC blog post

  WAY OF THE YOGI Over the course of this year, I have come to realise that yoga has and is one of the greatest things I've learned in my life, let alone learned along this path of discovery in 2015. Not only has the physical aspect of yoga helped with fixing many physical ailments, but studying the other disciplines has also helped with general health and assisted with a journey of self-discovery and body mastery. We should all practice a way of life that helps us develop physically, mentally and spiritually. Consistent practice of yoga is that way and  Hatha Yoga  incorporates all the necessary tools for self-study. It is an integrated system of self-mastery that helps individuals and could greatly benefit wider society too. Taking up yoga practice solely as a form of exercise, is great for improving ourselves on one plane, but if we wish to take steps towards personal growth on a deeper level, choosing the right teachers or  guruji  is the best course to take...