♥LOVE TIP  – Monday  February 27, 2012

♥NAMASTE  LOVELIES  from our beautiful Kerala Retreat….wish you were here with us 🙂

How special and exciting it always is to come together as a new group of people sharing…..and particularly so for something as wonderful as being on Retreat together for 10 days……each of us with our hopes and wishes and expectations……..so today we talked about our Goals and Intentions for our time here at the Resort and the invitation was to put out what we need from the group to keep us on track with our choices……and to keep on defining down the ACTIONS we will be doing using the ♥SMART P process –

S–pecific,
M–easurable,
A-chievable,
R-elevant & R-elated
T-ime frame – setting a time limit for each day,
Positive – eg: putting it is the positive – Once a day I am doing ______________ instead of describing it by saying I won’t______________etc…

It’s important to regularly assess and re-assess our Intentions and to name them – by that I mean put it out ‘in public’ – declare them out loud so that others hear them….and in so doing also letting your friends know how they can support you. This will strengthen your commitment and accountability.

In short, by being intentional what I mean is saying what I am going to do and then doing it! Making a conscious choice! For a review of Intentionality and the ♥TOOLS in our Communication ♥TOOLBOX/TREASURE CHEST that are good to have on hand when we are setting our Intentions and putting them into practice I suggest you have a read of the very popular post ♥ DAILY LOVE TIP – Monday August 1, 2011 – intentionality and I did it♥

One of my Intentions for the Retreat is when I am in my massage treatment time [which is 2 hours each day] is my ♥ME-time…..and by that I mean my total focus is to be on MY precious ♥SELF. And do you know what♥…..It is sooooooooooooooo extremely hard for me to do! And I mean extremely! My mind keeps wandering all over the place, all around the world, onto and about everyone and everything other than being in the present moment of the sensations in my body. I am in awe at catching myself thinking about other things/other people………

And a BIG YES! I am over the moon about the delight of today’s massage treatments. It was the treatment using warm herbal waters. I described my experience in detail on the blog last year….good to just go and have a read of it now to make sense of what I am talking about… Monday – 21^st February 2011 – It did get better….!! 

And do you know it may have actually felt even better this time! Feeling sooooooooo like a Queen.…….. or a Goddess. Being strongly transported to the extravagance and opulence of the places we have been visiting like the Amber Palace and imagining such pleasures and indulgence being part of life there……… My body tingling in delight at the touch of the herbal waters as the massage therapists on either side of me deftly and in unison flow the warm liquid up and down my body…..a bit like a soft and caressing water dance up and down my body….or maybe like being massaged or stroked by water……..lying on my back, then on my left side and then my back again and then my right side and then my back again……searching in my mind for words to describe the sensations……maybe like warm liquid velvet or liquid honey……..a sense of deep richness….but lightness at the same time…..ultimate ♥BLISS!

Here’s a photo I took today that shows the big old solid wooden treatment table with the simple copper urns they use….along with ♥Santhe, my massage lady and her assistant.

Focusing exclusively on me and what is happening in me is such a continuing challenge and growth edge for me. My role in growing up as the eldest daughter in a family of 5 children with an invalid father was to be vigilant about everyone else….eternally, externally on alert 24/7…..To just take ♥ME-time where I am doing things or being in the moment just for me is not natural and not wired into me as a default position….I have to be constantly vigilant about my own self-care….even in this environment where I am being totally pampered and indulged externally…..

And if our thoughts aren’t in alignment then guess which part of us ‘wins’……..Yes you are right! Whatever we have in our thoughts is what is transmitted to our bodies and right down to our cells….so to fully take in the experience of the herbal waters treatment [and all the treatments] I need to keep catching myself and reminding myself to drop into being fully immersed in it…….

Question for you: Do you give yourself quality ♥ME-time♥ Are you able to turn off to your other commitments when choosing to be in ♥ME-time♥

♥MIRRORING TOPIC: Share with someone/with us what this post brings up for you/touches in you.  ♥MIRROR each other for a minimum of 5 minutes.

I’m delighted I get 10 days to practice being indulged and absolutely know that with practice I will make good progress…..I’m imagining you taking time for your precious Self… It is OK to ♥LOVE and nurture and care for our precious ♥SELVES…..indulgently, SUSIE.