Spring in Toronto

It is finally spring in Toronto. That means it's 'Motorcycle Time!'.

I took the motorcycle out of storage on Monday and rode it home from my cottage up north, down to my city home. The trip is about 2 1/2 hours and I loved it. I kept the face guard up, the vents open and my leather jacket partially open. I could feel the wind in my face and caught inside my jacket.

Turning those corners, feeling as one with the bike really made me connect with nature. As I rode, the sun was shining full on, I could smell the smokey smell of fire or the earthy smell of new plants and flowers growing. I felt totally free.

This is life!

Ekhart Tolle and Oprah

Ekhart, in his new book, The New Earth, talks about the benefit of not labeling items. He says that being open minded about people and things that you see allow you to be curious and to truly explore it without reverting to beliefs you have from the past.

In listening to Sonia Ricotti's interview of Denise Marek on 'Inner Peace and Happiness", Sonia talks about how being in nature gives her a sense of inner peace.

This week, when a client of mine came to the office to see me, she complained of feeling very high anxiety and couldn't find a way to reduce the level of anxiety. Spontaneously, I decided to take her outside. At first we looked at an evergreen bush and I asked to tell me what she sees. Then I asked her to notice the warmth of the sun on her back and the feel of the wind on her face. Next, I decided to go to a flower shop next door and spent about 2 minutes asking her to describe the beauty of the flowers, white on top, verigated purple on the back, yellow centres with brown dots.

This excercise took less than 10 minutes and my client reported her anxiety diminished by 50% and now at a manageable level. Her anxiety put her in a state of resistance - I shouldn't be here, and trying to get to somplace else - in the future. Simply being in nature, allowed her to be in the present moment and allowed her to shift her focus and her anxiety.