1. “Your body is your temple. Treat it with loving kindness” Our bodies are a gift of life. We need to respect our bodies and take care of them through a clean diet, rest and exercise. Our bodies can also be seen as where our spirit takes up residence, and nurturing its home allows the divine and greater forces in our world to touch us. The cleaner we are, the purer vessel we are to help others in the world and to live a life rich in love, happiness and good health.
2. “Peace comes from within – do not seek it without” True lasting happiness, peace and wellbeing can only ever come from within. While we may find joy in the external world, we should remind ourselves of the impermanence of everything and not expect anyone, or anything, to provide lasting happiness. By cultivating and strengthening our relationship with self, we learn to love ourselves more and more – each and every day. We need the courage to look at the dark places within and shed light there for healing. We are born with ourselves and we die with ourselves, so we may as well become our own best friend and fill our tanks by practicing self-love.
3. “Be present in all that we do. Otherwise we will miss out on our lives” Mindfulness is allowing ourselves to be present in the place you are and in all that you do. Being carried away by thoughts, desires and wishes can take us away from the present moment and we can miss out on the beauty and sacredness of each and every moment of the here and now. Best to live our lives in the sacred nature of each and every moment and treat every breath as our last – “be here now”.
4. “Loving kindness and compassion for ourselves and for all beings” Treat all beings as we wish to be treated. Every action and word spoken is either a manifestation of positive or negative energy, which is expelled to the universe. This energy creates a ripple effect in our own lives and others, so we should remind ourselves of the power of our actions and words. For each action there is a reaction, so if we choose words and actions of loving kindness and compassion, we are creating positive karma for not only us, but also the world.
5. “Daily Gratitude” Starting each day with three things we have gratitude for has remarkable effects on our wellbeing. Having gratitude has been shown to increase happiness, as well as physical, mental and emotional health. Gratitude also strengthens and improves our relationships with others and ourselves, and reduce stress. The more positive we are, the better the things that happen to us are, as well as our capability to deal with what the world serves us. Focusing on the negative things in our lives or what we don’t have will only attract more of this into our lives and create further suffering. If we start our day with a triple dose of gratitude, positive changes will arrive.