Mastery of Health and Happiness
  • Home
  • Who am I
  • What is Mastery?
  • Pearls of Wisdom
  • Media
  • Store
  • Newsletter
  • Contact
May
10
2017

Our Children, Our Teachers

“A thousand names for joy. “ ~ Byron Katie

For us parents, it is a wonderland of surprises to watch our children grow up and live their lives. Whoever would have guessed as they grew up and became adults, that they would have chosen this or that… or this or that opportunity would have unfolded for them. I gave up trying to control that a long time ago!

Right now my oldest daughter, Holly, is in East Africa and just finished a safari. She actually left Vancouver in September 2016 with a backpack, hiking boots, a swimsuit, and money she had saved from working two jobs. She left Canada on a one-way air ticket, travelling on her own. How cool is that?

She is a young woman with dreams, and one of them is to experience the world. She decided the time for this dream was NOW, and she went for it! Personally, I am very excited that she is following this dream – that she has put this all together, created it.

I am sharing this with you because my children have been, and still are one of my biggest teachers in life. They inspire me to keep growing in ways that are really important to me.

She sent many photos. I loved all the “big 5” animals in Tasmania, but there was one photo that really caught my eye. It’s the one you see… her holding a little creature in her hand.

I was mesmerized by the expression on her face. She is so alive in the moment with total appreciation and delight for this small creature. I remember thinking, “wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could all our lives with such aliveness and appreciation”. It was a reminder for me of how juicy life can be when we are really in appreciation, especially for the little things in life.

It’s wonderful to have an ‘elephant’ of experience or a ‘lion’s’ worth of active fun. Most of us are the most alive when things are going our way. But to be alive because we are simply in delight about a small creature or thing in our life, that is really hitting the jackpot of health and vitality.

From my experience, the consistency of joy and happiness is related to our ability to find delight in the small things in our life rather than take them for granted. Everything can be beautiful. Even the way the wax melts off a candle can have us smiling in wonder.

Day-to-day delight comes from our appreciation of all the small things. Of course I love it when a big thing comes my way, but the daily emotional, spiritual, and physical nourishment comes from our joy in all the small creatures or things in our life.

Now of course there is another layer to this experience that I found really interesting. The small creature she is enjoying is a chameleon. A chameleon can be a symbol for us of the power we have if we use it wisely. A chameleon changes colours… easily and effortlessly. It has the innate capacity to do that. As humans we have the innate capacity to change the colour of our moods, perceptions, and life experiences.

We have been gifted a lot of power with this capability. We don’t have to stay ‘blue’. We can change our colour to bring us vitality and happiness. Both vitality and happiness are inwardly charged. There is a tremendous amount in literature about this. The well known saying, “what we focus on, expands” gives us a great deal of power to change the colour of our moods.

Everything we experience is dependent on how we process it… what meaning we give it. We are chameleons in a very positive way. All the innate gifts we have are dependent on how we use them. Use them well!!!

I would love you to invite yourself this month to be more alive to all the good stuff around you. Bring in appreciation, especially for the small creatures or things in your life. And know you have tremendous power, like the chameleon, to change your colour to a tone that fills you up inside with vitality and happiness.

Tags: acceptance, awareness, Bev Pugh, choice, happiness, life, love, Mastery of Health and Happiness
Posted in awareness, Gratitude, Happiness, Health and Happiness, Health and Wellness, Love, Self Growth, Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

Dec
04
2015

An Act of Integrity

self awareness“Remember you are always practicing something….know what you are practicing!” – Bev Pugh

Throughout my life, I have learned so much about giving and receiving. It sounds so simple, but it has layers and layers of meaning. And to these layers there are very powerful ways of moving towards the person we truly want to be.

I used to think giving and receiving was a beautiful exchange. I still see it that way. However now, I am keenly aware of the nuances we attach to it.

Are we giving to receive? Are we giving so that the other person will like us? Are we looking for approval? Hoping to be noticed? What is our true agenda in giving? If we have an outcome attached to giving, then we are not really giving. We are manipulating. We are giving from our heads and not from our hearts. We actually lose our power this way. It is a way of trying to get power, but it’s not authentic power. It is a manipulation to try to make something happen.

My feeling is that when we give to get, we are feeling that we are not enough and we live life from that place. Giving can then become a tool to try and be enough.

I know there are numerous times when we all give just from the heart with no agenda, but to honour and acknowledge the other person. It is an important consciousness to have when we are giving. Ask yourself: what is your true intention? If there is an agenda other than honouring the other, then you have a great opportunity for some self-inquiry and some inside work.

Then there is receiving. How do you feel when you receive? Do you receive with total presence and gratitude? Do you feel honoured? Do you let yourself connect to how special you are and breathe in that truth? There can be times when we receive without really taking a deep breath and feeling how good it feels to be noticed and cared for. And then of course, there is the question. Do you notice and care for yourself by really feeling what it’s like to receive?

This holiday season, giving and receiving gives us a beautiful opportunity to be more present with ourselves and others. The spirit of the beautiful balance of giving and receiving is one of gratitude. In Buddhism they call it “Moderation”. In karmic language they speak of “what we give, we receive back”. For me it is a beautiful reminder of love, gratitude and being Present. It is an opportunity to do a check-in to what our intentions or motives are; to allow for some readjustment if needed. This is how we grow.

I hope you enjoy a non-consumer Christmas. We can give through kindness, a bowl of homemade soup, a wink, or by noticing someone. I was given a dollar recently by a stranger because I was at war with a meter. Someone took the time to stop and notice and care. I am looking for an opportunity to pass that spirit on to someone else.

There are so many ways to give. The integrity of giving and receiving brings a beautiful sense of well-being.

Happy Holidays to you all!

Tags: approval, awareness, balance, being present, Bev Pugh, feeling, giving, gratitude, grow, intentions, motives
Posted in awareness, Feeling Gratitude, Gratitude, Happiness, Inspirational, Love, Self Growth | 2 Comments »

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. NEXT

Beverley Pugh

Beverley Pugh

Beverley Pugh has international experience in Individual, Marital and Family Therapist services. Areas of practice include counselling in: individual, couples, family, anxiety, addictions, grief, depression, pain management, multicultural, workplace and others.

Join Our Mailing List

Mastery Practice Tool

Bring mindfulness through your 5 senses to an activity or setting that you enjoy. Choose a period of time before you begin so you are in charge, rather than your mind being in charge. Breathe deeply as you focus on each sense. Set your intention and attention.

Testimonial

My daughter, Trinity, attended her first Children’s Empowerment Workshop and she loved it! It has helped her deal with some of the real anxieties that all children go through - from the not so nice kid at school, to the imagination that runs away with her at night time, when we are getting ready for bed.

She practices her rooting and the different breathing techniques that she has learned, and has become stronger and more confident in dealing with different situations.

Pauline M.

Archives

  • May 2018 (1)
  • March 2018 (1)
  • January 2018 (1)
  • December 2017 (1)
  • November 2017 (1)
  • October 2017 (1)
  • September 2017 (1)
  • August 2017 (1)
  • July 2017 (1)
  • June 2017 (1)
  • May 2017 (1)
  • April 2017 (1)
  • March 2017 (1)
  • February 2017 (1)
  • January 2017 (1)
  • December 2016 (1)
  • November 2016 (1)
  • October 2016 (1)
  • September 2016 (1)
  • August 2016 (1)
  • July 2016 (1)
  • June 2016 (2)
  • May 2016 (2)
  • April 2016 (2)
  • March 2016 (2)
  • February 2016 (2)
  • January 2016 (2)
  • December 2015 (2)
  • November 2015 (2)
  • October 2015 (2)
  • September 2015 (2)
  • August 2015 (2)
  • July 2015 (2)
  • June 2015 (2)
  • May 2015 (2)
  • April 2015 (2)
  • March 2015 (2)
  • January 2015 (4)
  • December 2014 (2)
  • November 2014 (2)
  • October 2014 (2)
  • September 2014 (2)
  • August 2014 (2)
  • July 2014 (2)
  • June 2014 (2)
  • May 2014 (2)
  • April 2014 (2)
  • March 2014 (2)
  • February 2014 (2)
  • January 2014 (2)
  • December 2013 (2)
  • November 2013 (2)
  • October 2013 (2)
  • September 2013 (3)
  • August 2013 (1)
  • July 2013 (2)
  • June 2013 (2)
  • May 2013 (1)
  • April 2013 (2)
  • March 2013 (2)
  • February 2013 (2)
  • January 2013 (2)
  • December 2012 (2)
  • November 2012 (2)
  • October 2012 (2)
  • September 2012 (4)
  • August 2012 (3)
  • July 2012 (3)
  • June 2012 (3)
  • May 2012 (3)
  • April 2012 (4)
  • March 2012 (3)
  • February 2012 (3)
  • January 2012 (2)

Categories

  • awareness (30)
  • Balance (8)
  • change (16)
  • Choice (28)
  • Feeling Gratitude (14)
  • forgiveness (8)
  • Gentleness (10)
  • healing (17)
  • Health and Happiness (35)
  • Health and Wellness (18)
  • holding power (9)
  • Inspirational (32)
  • Learning to Adapt (18)
  • Love (30)
  • managing emotions (20)
  • Meditation and Relaxation (15)
  • Parenting (6)
  • Pearls of Wisdom (21)
    • Breathing (3)
    • Creating What You Want (4)
    • Gratitude (6)
    • Happiness (7)
    • Heart Space (2)
    • Meditation (2)
  • Relationships (4)
  • Self Growth (57)
  • Stress (3)
  • transitions (6)
  • Uncategorized (3)

About Beverley

Beverley Pugh has international experience in Individual, Marital and Family Therapist services. Areas of practice include counselling in: individual, couples, family, anxiety, addictions, grief, depression, pain management, multicultural, workplace and others.

Contact

Telephone:
604-925-1513
Email:
bev@beverleypugh.com
Location:
120-1451 Marine Drive
West Vancouver, BC
V7T 1B8
Canada

Disclaimer: The information presented on this site about various psychological conditions, is of a general nature and is not a substitute for an assessment by a competent therapist and/or medical professional. If you believe that you or an important person in your life is in need of an intervention please seek qualified help as soon as possible.

(c) 2023. Beverley Pugh Counselling Services. All Rights Reserved. Site Designed by Pureze Web Media.