The Practical Soul

Ballet Hoo was a right ballyhoo!

Looking pretty good after seven hours in the car!

I thought today this blog would be bursting at the seams, flowing over with warmth and joy at the groundbreaking event I'd witnessed last night.  I thought I'd be painting a picture of hope for the future of youth and absolutely brimming with inspirational and so very soulful stories of the young people involved in the Ballet Hoo project.

Only last week I watched the Channel 4 TV programme (one of 4, 2 still to come, ) tracking the progress of the 200 disadvantaged teenagers taking part in the 18 month Ballet Hoo programme.  It combines intensive life coaching with strict and disciplined ballet training and a very firm hand holding everyone responsible for their actions whilst understanding how difficult their circumstances might be.  Any rule breaking, such as not turning up on time is dealt with fairly and very firmly.

We wept pretty much throughout the hour long TV programme.  So, so moved by the efforts against all odds of some of the teenagers, by the openness of guys who had been to prison to say that they found a ballet performance they'd seen gripping and beautiful. And really touched by the love and understanding and skill of the coaches, co-ordinators and ballet professionals working on the project. They are pouring themselves into freeing the souls of the young people on this project.

Last night was the culmination of the project in a live, full length performance of Romeo and Juliet at the Birmingham Hippodrome.  After watching the TV programme we knew we wanted to be there to see the performance and I spent a fair part of the next day online and on the phone trying to get through to get tickets.  I got the last 4 tickets.   

Delighted to be going we set off but never got there. We came to a stop less than quarter of a mile behind a traffic accident that was described as carnage by those who saw it and stayed there while countless ambulances, fire engines and police cars flew past us. We started moving again only after the performance would be over, limped back home both gutted not to have seen the performance and very grateful we'd not been in the accident.

If you'd like to experience a little hope for the future of young people, I can't recommend it highly enough.  I have only once been more moved and impressed by a project of this kind. (I'll post about the other project shortly).

There's still a couple of programmes left to see on Wed, Channel 4, 10pm.  The performance we hoped to see live last night is being shown on Channel 4 TV on Saturday 7th October at 6.45pm.

We're all busy then but we'll be taping it then making an evening of watching it.  Champagne and tissues I think.

Fresh perspective

I was blogging on the other day about how do you remember your soul in times when everything's going horribly wrong, (see 17th September post Take a Minute).

I wondered, when things are going wrong and you're tense and it's easiest just to allow yourself to react, and much, much harder to take a minute or even a second's pause to bring in the wiser perspective of your soul, what do you do? 

Would it help to have a sort of emergency soul cupboard, with things that you could go to at the drop of a hat, that would divert you for that crucial minute before you react.

Gaze at the sky, or a picture of the sky was my thing and later  Rosamonde offered her picture of a tree... most gorgeous.

Now Carla has offered her perspective for occasions when there's the chance to put a bit more time between now and a decision.  You can hear more from Carla at her blog .  She says

"I like to drive home on a different road and take in a new sight.  Taking a moment to see my way home from a different angle.  The same thing applies to sitting at a different spot at the dinner table, sleeping in your extra bedroom one night, letting someone else drive your car or spontaneously inviting someone you barely know over for supper.  Anything that brings a fresh perspective."

It begs the question for me of how often do I try to see things from other perspectives before deciding about them. I'm mulling on that one now.

The picture is of The Eiffel Tower.  Just not from the usual perspective.   

Brick wall stuck or ebb and flow

Is this a brick wall I see before me?

Does this 'nothing coming' mean I'm brick wall stuck? Am I in fear or just ripening nicely and in need of acceptance.

Acceptance that energy, ideas, progress, will ebb and flow.

We don't give the moon a hard time for waxing and waning, in fact many are transfixed by it's rhythm. I think it's absolutely beautiful. 

So there will be days when we're building up to something but it's not time yet.  It's not yet full, ripe, ready for picking.

Yet knowing this I can still forget, lose my sense of rhythm and give myself a hard time.  Come on, get on with it!  Produce something!

So much stress to be had by impatience with that natural process.  So much paralysis brought on by the worrying about it.

The thing to discern then.....when to push through because it's fear standing in the way of progress and when to allow the time for ripening.  How to put your soul in charge, trusting it knows the difference.

I sometimes only know which it was, after I'm unstuck and can see in retrospect what was in the way. Taking a minute to consider it afterwards, (rather than just breathing a sigh of relief and getting on with it) really helps me see patterns and rhythms and needs.  A much clearer picture of what's likely to stop me in my tracks like a brick wall, and so better equip me to notice while I'm in the middle of it next time.

Mind Body and Soul Fair

Roll up, roll up.  Don't miss the chance to bliss out on a whole arena full of mind body and spirit wonders.  Including myself!

The Mind Body & Soul Fair , is on Saturday 7th & Sun 8th October.

I have a stand there on both days so we can meet really, rather than virtually, have a chat and talk about all your practical soul questions.

I'll have special fair offers and the chance for trial mini coaching sessions.

I also plan to bring the soulometer out in public with me for the first time and so you can be one of the first to play with it.

Talks too.  I'll open with the first talk of the day on Saturday at 11.30am titled

"What are we here for?"

Blissing out starts at 10am - 5pm on Sat and 11am - 4.30pm on Sunday.

Alban Arena, Civic Centre St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL1 3LD.  Entry costs just £3.

Book tickets at the Alban Arena Box Office on 01727 844488

It'll be great to see you there!

Not just swimming

This is not just swimming.  This is Practical Soul swimming!  Here's how it goes.

I'm thinking to myself ....oh busy busy, shall I swim or meditate...swim or meditate?  Swim - 50 lengths. (But I really want to meditate as well?).

As I got going, I realised I could make the swimming meditative.  I started to breath out with every forward stroke (doing sidestroke).

At the same time as breathing out, I said to myself the number of the lap that I was swimming, from one up to 50.

  Oh nice.  Got into a lovely flowing rhythm, managed to gently bring myself back to the rhythm and my breath whenever I realised thoughts had come into focus and on the whole remained in a wonderful, protected, peaceful, rhythmic place for 45 minutes while my body exercised.  I felt truly and fully restored to peace.

That on it's own would have been wonderful, meditation and exercise combined, real Practical Soul stuff.

But that wasn't all.  Another unexpected and extremely welcome bonus, was that all the issues of the day that had been swarming in wanting attention, which I'd noticed but then let go during the swim, had prioritised themselves and were waiting for me in the shower.  So as I was finished in restore and refresh mode and was ready for thinking and action mode, there they were, ready for me to pick up and attend to but with all the piffly non issues gone, ...just the important ones for today, nice and clear.

I'll often postpone time for myself or exercise or meditation till I've done the thinking and sorted things out.  I like this way much better.  It's like having an assistant sit at the side of the pool skimming off all your thoughts, concerns, issues to address and taking them off, sorting out what's important for you and will therefore get your time and attention.  Excellent assistant the soul.  Just needs some peace to work in.

Take your soul to swim, get out of its way and bingo...we have ease of living!

Exercise, restoring of peace AND priorities for the day sorted, all with ease....now that cannot be called just swimming.  That's Practical Soul swimming!

What do you do?

Here's Rosamonde's 'full tree'.

The one who you got to know close up, in yesterday's post.

Seeing it from a distance this way, and then by contrast the close up, had me thinking about how generous trees (and lots of other flora) are with just how up close and personal they let us get without any objections.

We can stand here at a distance and stare unashamedly at them for as long as we like without embarrassing them (as far as I'm aware).

And we can get right up close and stare again, right in at the detail of their bark, their twists and turns, again no problem for the tree.

And if all this minute observation wasn't enough sometimes we'll touch and stroke them, even hug them. Or sit down beside them and bore the pants off them with our woes.

Generous soul's, trees.   

What do you do?

Yesterday I was waxing lyrical, kind of.  Completely absorbing activities was the subject, I'd just discovered watercolours for tired people and was wondering what you do that you find completely absorbing, that takes you away from your ego and delivers you to your soul....ahhh......

Well....get a look at this tree!  I can see the soul from here. Rosamonde Quincey sent it through.  Her absorbing activity, picking up a long lost hobby, photography and trees. (E-mail me at paulineesson@thepracticalsoul.com  if you'd like and I'll pass on any messages to Rosamonde). 

I'll be adding it to my emergency soul file along with stone and skies.  This is the close up version, there's a full version which I'll post later. 

Does it do it for you? 

Butterflies

Don't sing don't dance what do you do? (it was Adam Ant).

What's your completely absorbing activity that takes you away from your ego, and delivers you to your soul?  I don't sing, DO dance AND paint. I love to paint.  Watercolours.  Mmmmm.

  Sometimes though, if I'm really tired, I want someone else to do the thinking and the drawing, leaving me to just fill in between the lines and here's the perfect thing.  My local art supplies shop had these.  It's all drawn for you to just colour in. And when I saw there was a butterflies version it was straight in my bag and coming home with me! 

What do you do?

Turner Sky

In the midst of ALL the things I was making my way through this weekend I was fortunate enough to be stopped in my tracks and pushed backwards into a seat to bask for a moment in this most water soft beautiful, glowing sky.

One for the emergency soul file. 

Take a minute

I was gazing at the sky for a minute or two yesterday, (this is real live Hertfordshire sky you're looking at here). There's a shoulders down moment if you need one. 

And it occurred to me that it might be nice to gather together things you can purposefully do in those moments when you've lost the plot, are about to make a decision or do something you might later regret and would very much like to regain connection to your soul, the wise part of you that takes decisions you can live happily with for a very long time.

This is different from the general list of soul food that you can just dip into at random to keep the connection active and your levels nicely topped up.  This is more like Emergency Soul.  How do I remember my soul when things are going wrong and I'm most likely to act in haste and in anger?

By Taking a minute...that's what and dipping into your favourite 'take a minute' file.  If you have a special thing that you have ready that works for you when you take that minute, things that half your tension, lower your shoulders, ease your brow and alter your decisions then marvelous! 

Why not start your Emergency Soul file?  Have my 'Gazing at the sky' if you like it.  I particularly like it as a whole screen for days when the real sky isn't doing what you like or you're office has no windows (eugh).

There's a website I've visited where taking a minute is all sorted out for you www.just-a-minute.org and I've been asked to do some practical soul style ones too...It's on my list.

Let me know what's in your 'Take a minute' files