by Jessie-Lynn MacDonald | Feb 5, 2021 | Life, Relationships, Wellbeing
“Life is available only in the present moment.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh
I’ve had a lot of conversations lately with individuals, parents, organizations and individuals who are struggling with relationships in one form or another. In each of these conversations we spent quite a bit of time talking about the power of presence.
The only time you will fully be able to experience life is in the present moment. When you are really present you are not engaged in time travel to the past, or to the future. It’s the only opportunity you will ever have to experience this moment in real time – we often underestimate the value of that. It offers you the opportunity to learn, to be curious, to let your body lead rather than your mind.
There is a vast difference between physical presence and the quality of your presence. Both are important, however, the latter is where the gold is.
As you go into the weekend notice the quality of your presence with your kids, with your partner, etc. How are YOU showing up?
Have you decided how a conversation will go before you have it? Have you decided what your child’s behaviour will be before it happens? Are you on devices or otherwise engaged while having a conversation with someone else?
If you answered yes to any of these I encourage you to try something different. Go into a conversation with curiosity and no expectations. Notice how it feels for you. Maybe there is a lesson in there for you.
Being in the moment is being fully alive, experiencing life in real-time it’s all about the power and quality of being fully present. We all want to feel like we are being heard, that we matter. The quality of our presence is a great way to show our employees, kids, partner, loved ones, etc that they are a priority – that they matter.
It’s not just about others, it’s also a great way to gauge how you are showing up in your own life.
Much love,
Jessie-Lynn
by Jessie-Lynn MacDonald | Jan 1, 2021 | Life, Potential, Resilience, Wisdom
“Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars and see yourself running with them.” Marcus Aurelius
The first day of the new year always feels so fresh, like a big, beautiful canvas just waiting to be filled with your magic.
When I think back on the past year, it is like one big beautiful mess. It is a year that has rocked our worlds in so many ways. We have experienced such loss and grief on a global scale, tragedies that have impacted and united people around the world. Family and friends have divided over differing beliefs, compliance or non-compliance based on individual perceptions of their inner and outer worlds.
It has rocked people to their core, pushed people beyond their perceived edges of safety and yet when we take the time to dig deeper, there is so much more.
On the flip side, we have witnessed incredible innovation, potential, resilience, kindness, growth and we have witnessed people around the world coming together in the most beautiful ways.
I spent the morning reflecting on the things that both shaped and supported me throughout last year. I had to pivot my work as a self-employed, single parent when schools shut down in the spring. One of the most challenging things was not being able to see my Mom who lives in a retirement home that was in lock-down for several months, the death of two family members, my son getting COVID and the subsequent challenges of continuing long term effects.
These events have shaped how I showed up in my life this year. I have been rocked to the core, experienced fear and sadness so intensely and spent a great deal of time being comfortably (and at times uncomfortably) numb.
Yet these moments were surpassed by an incredible outpouring of love and support from others, my relationship with my son is so strong, my mom’s home has been successful at keeping COVID out of the home, my on-line coaching continues to thrive with clients around the world, I have been able to continue my volunteer work with women and children who have been trafficked, I love coaching kids and teens and we had a great launch for our ‘It’s Good To Be Me’ workshops for kids and teens.
So. Totally. Blessed.
I decided to take some time last night to reflect on things I appreciate about the past year. I received a beautiful journal as a Christmas gift (I am a journal junkie). The quote at the beginning of this post is the one I chose to put on the first page. I spent the evening doing a 10 x 10 exercise (it sounds technical, but I just made it up). I highly recommend taking the time to do this, it’s a gift to give yourself as you start the new year.
Here’s how you do it:
Choose 10 themes (for me I chose things like Mom, Friendships, Knowledge, Health, Personal Life, etc) and for each of these things write down 10 things about each of the themes you appreciate. Sounds simple enough right? I’m only halfway through because it is a beautiful, reflective way to close out 2020. I think this is something I will do at the end of/beginning of each year.
I love how fitting it is that hindsight really is 2020!
Wishing you all a spectacular year ahead filled with much love, laughter and wonderful adventures.
Much love,
Jessie-Lynn
by Jessie-Lynn MacDonald | Jan 7, 2020 | Life, Mental Health, Wellbeing, Wisdom
“Today Is The Most Important Day Of Our Lives.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and are feeling recharged as we enter into a new decade.
Big changes have been happening over the past few months. In September of last year, I took the lead on an exciting new campaign in Canada – My Mental Health Rocks. This amazing campaign started in the UK is all about promoting wellbeing, resilience and raising awareness of our innate mental health and wellbeing in children, youth and teens. I’ll provide more details about that in a separate post.
This new role has taken all my focus and effort, as a result, I put The CPR of Life podcast on hold. I’m happy to be starting it up again next month with some fabulous new conversations focused on mental health and wellbeing.
For now, I want to share a few words with you as we enter 2020.
I see a lot of posts about resolutions, not having resolutions, what the new year means, etc. I wanted to share a few thoughts as we begin a new decade. Let this time be whatever best serves you moving forward in your life.
If it helps you to have resolutions go ahead and create a list, but leave room for the beauty of the unknown. Don’t get caught up in the anxiety of not meeting an expectation you created for yourself. If you have no desire to create a list then don’t.
There is so much magic in the unknown. Be curious, be open to new experiences, opinions, beliefs.
My wish for you as you start this decade is that you embrace your greatness. No-one can do you as good as you can, so you do you. Embrace all that you are beyond the stories you engage in – beyond the fears, the judgement and the criticism. You are a beautiful bundle of infinite potential.
Stop searching and start living. Often when working with clients they are striving for something, to be something, to have something. They are so focused on all the absence of things they are missing out on the most incredible gift we all have – the present moment. What about right now?
Be grateful for all that you are, you are enough, right now just as you are. Whatever you are searching for will not make you more amazing. I’m not saying don’t try to better yourself, to learn a new skill, etc. Just know that you are starting from a place of already being more than enough, just as you are.
Be more than kind to yourself, your inner being is always with you, it is the unique light that makes you literally one in 7.8 billion. Read that again, you are one in 7.8 billion! As you move forward in this decade embrace that unique statistic. Embrace all the things that make you so incredibly unique. Have more presence, find beauty in the ordinary, have amazing adventures and beautiful connections.
Cultivate the most extraordinary relationship with that inner being that is always with you. Ready to shine through the layers of judgement, criticism, the excuses, the stories. I promise you that it will be the most rewarding relationship you will ever have. It will be the most valuable way to spend your time as you move forward.
I wish you all much love, peace, gratitude, curiosity and presence as you begin 2020.
by Jessie-Lynn MacDonald | Jul 25, 2019 | Life, Resilience, Self-Love, state of mind, The CPR of Life Podcast, Wellbeing, Wisdom
Life is a journey. Depending on the stage we are at, we may be discovering something new about ourselves or rediscovering something we touched on at another time in our journey. In this podcast episode, my guest is author and coach Ankush Jain.
It’s a wonderful and easy read. It was great to talk to Ankush about writing a book and the wisdom behind rediscovering (or discovering) who you really are.
We talk about:
- Why Ankush wrote the book;
- The process and challenges of writing a book;
- The ebb and flow of life; and
- How transformation is at the heart of everything Ankush does in his work.
As I mentioned I recommend this book, it is an easy read filled with gorgeous nuggets. It’s always nice to hear the background of how and why a book is written.
Here are a few thought bomb takeaways:
- Our reality is a reflection of our thinking moment to moment. There is a tremendous benefit to tapping into who we were before getting caught up in our thinking;
- Younger children show up unfiltered, without a lot of thinking about who they are (or are not), how they are showing up, etc. When we learn how our reality is created we are more likely to tap back into this unfiltered presence; and
- When being of service is at the heart of your coaching business (and really for any business in general) clients feel that and are more likely to gain insight and experience of transformation.
I hope you enjoy this conversation.
To listen to the podcast on Podbean:
https://thecproflife.podbean.com/e/rediscovering-who-you-really-are/
To listen to the podcast on iTunes:
https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/rediscovering-who-you-really-are/id1438553484?i=1000445340272
Until next time: Be well. Be inspired. Be You.
Much love, Jessie-Lynn
To reach Ankush or to access the many valuable resources he has on his webpage:
https://ankushjain.co.uk/
Ankush’s Book “Sweet Sharing”
https://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Sharing-Rediscovering-REAL-You/dp/1796646830/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2ULLM1LJ4YR5E&keywords=sweet+sharing+ankush+jain&qid=1564112912&s=gateway&sprefix=sweet+sharing+ankush+j%2Caps%2C283&sr=8-1
https://www.amazon.ca/Sweet-Sharing-Rediscovering-REAL-You/dp/1796646830/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1564113832&sr=8-1
by Jessie-Lynn MacDonald | Apr 18, 2019 | Life, state of mind, struggles, Wisdom
I am so blessed to connect with and have such beautiful conversations with amazing souls around the world. I never know what will unfold in my conversations and I love that. In my conversation with rebel girl and transformation coach Nicky Bartley, we talk about her journey from suicidal ideation to living a beautiful life.
We cover a lot of ground in this conversation including:
- Living a secret life with stress, depression, suicidal thoughts and attempts;
- Even at rock bottom how you are always okay; and
- When we peel back the layers of the inner critic the beauty of life unfolds.
Here are a few thought bomb takeaways:
- When we create a story of low self-worth and not-enoughness we stay behind the mask. It’s such a heavy place to live. We limit ourselves because we believe the story we have constructed. If we live in this state for long enough it starts to manifest symptomatically in our bodies. When we allow ourselves to drop the mask, we see that the potential and possibilities are limitless;
- When we are feeling off track or off-kilter there is information in that, as Nicky says, your feelings are like a personal alert system. I heard a great metaphor by Dr. Bill Pettit, he referred to our feelings as a personal bio-feedback system. Feelings are not to be avoided, changed, managed, etc. Feelings are a barometer to the quality of your thinking. Nothing more, nothing less. How powerful is that!
- Trying to control and manage our thoughts and feelings is exhausting and keeps us stuck. When we let go of the need to control we move quickly back into the flow; and
- A beautiful life is really simple, even when it’s complicated. The simplicity lies in understanding that life ebbs and flows, thoughts, feelings, experiences of life change moment to moment. There is nothing you need to do but be in the moment.
I’m grateful to know Nicky. She has a special gift and the work she does has an incredible ripple effect. I hope you enjoy this conversation.
To listen on ITUNES:
https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/from-suicide-ideation-to-living-a-spirited-life/id1438553484?i=1000435281327
To listen on Podbean:
https://thecproflife.podbean.com/e/from-suicide-ideation-to-living-a-spirited-life/
Until next time: Be well. Be inspired. Be You.
Much love,
Jessie-Lynn
To reach Nicky:
https://www.nickybartley.com/
by Jessie-Lynn MacDonald | Apr 11, 2019 | Anxiety, Life, PTSD, state of mind, The CPR of Life Podcast
This month I’m travelling the world vicariously with my guests. Today I am jet setting to Isreal to chat with author, coach and speaker Chana Studley. Chana and I met on a course on Mind, Brain and Body (fabulous course by the way). She survived three separate vicious attacks (rather mindblowing to think about the odds) which led to a period of time suffered debilitating PTSD and severe anxiety, in this episode, we talk about her journey to wellness.
In this information-packed podcast, we take a deep dive into:
- Surviving trauma not once, not twice but three times and our inbuilt resiliency;
- How our body is like a personal alarm system;
- What happens when we let go of our stories; and
- The fascinating connection between the mind and body.
Here are a few thought bomb takeaways:
- You are not your story. When severe trauma happens it is easy to embrace the story and let it define you. It can be difficult to let it go, and when you do, it opens the door to a whole new experience of life;
- We are all born with an innate system that regulates our body. It is also there as a personal alarm to tell us when we are experiencing thoughts that take us away from our wellbeing. This innate system is such a gift. For Chana this personal alarm shut things down after years of being stuck in her trauma and afraid to leave the house;
- Self-esteem is not hard-wired or even constant – it’s based on a story we tell ourselves and others. It feels true, however accepting it as truth and allowing it to define you is what keeps you stuck; and
- The connection between mind, brain and body is fascinating AND life changing. By gaining an understanding of the mind and how we operate as humans we discover a way to tap into our wellbeing from an emotional and physical healing perspective.
I hope you enjoy this conversation. It’s a deep one filled with many nuggets of wisdom.
To listen to the episode on iTunes:
https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-journey-to-mental-health-after-three-vicious-attacks/id1438553484?i=1000434722417
To listen to the episode on Podbean:
https://thecproflife.podbean.com/e/the-journey-to-mental-health-after-three-vicious-attacks/
Happy Friday you beautiful souls. Until next time: Be well. Be inspired. Be You.
Much love,
Jessie-Lynn
To reach Chana:
https://www.chanastudley.com/
To learn more about Chana’s FB group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/understandinganxietystressandtrauma/
To purchase Chana’s book (which I highly recommend):
https://www.amazon.ca/Myth-Low-Self-Esteem-Hollywood-healing
https://www.amazon.com/Myth-Low-Self-Esteem-Hollywood-healing/
