Canadian Thanksgiving weekend – there’s a coolness in the air, the leaves are turning yellow, meals inside as the warmth of summer fades into memory.

But not this year – there is a different perspective.

For those in Alberta, a late season heat wave has summer temperatures making Thanksgiving Dinner out on the deck a reality, and fall sweaters left behind on extended walks.

I’m looking at brilliant golden leaves against a bright blue sky – yet here on the Central Coast of Australia it is spring. Thanksgiving isn’t celebrated here – with the exception of Norfolk Island, an External Territory of Australia with a population of 1,750 and a 2.5 hour flight from Sydney. Thanksgiving on Norfolk Island is a legacy from the American whaling ships who would make frequent stops to the island during the late 1800’s, but the average Australian knows little of turkey dinner with cranberry sauce.

So although the tree has yellow leaves, it isn’t fall, and although the grocery store seems to be the same as what I am used to in Canada, you can’t buy a turkey, cranberries, or graham cracker crumbs for the pie crust. What they call pumpkin is what we call squash, and no one could imagine pumpkin pie which explains why canned pumpkin isn’t on the shelves. I could have ordered it on-line for $15/can, minimum order of 2 with $10 shipping, along with frozen cranberries at $23.99 for a 500g bag. I just wasn’t THAT grateful!

I did manage to source a turkey after many calls. It was 3.3 kg, just over 7lbs, and $45 and not enough for the 14 invited to the table. Note to self, next time source the ingredients before offering to make a Canadian Thanksgiving meal for extended family and friends!

I could have given in and served fresh oysters, roast lamb and pavlova – but I wanted to share Canadian Thanksgiving, so I got creative and did some work arounds.

I forgive myself for believing things always have to be the same.

I give myself permission to be creative and be willing to expand my perspective.

I choose to willingly expand my perspective when things aren’t how I thought they would be,

I am free to approach new and unusual situations with creativity and possibility.

I know how to do this, it happened when … (for me reinventing traditional Thanksgiving recipes – when did it happen for you with great results?)

I am creative and willing to shift my perspective.

I am grateful to myself for operating in creativity and possibilities.

Part way through the preparations I texted my neighbour in Canada and told her of the challenges. She replied “You totally got this. If it does not taste like Canada, they won’t know. It will taste different than Australia. That is all that matters.”

True wisdom there.

It all turned out magnificently. Everyone loved the uniqueness of the flavours. My mother-in-law raved about my mother’s cranberry relish which I made with dried cranberries instead of fresh, and were blown away by the pumpkin pie which they couldn’t even imagine eating prior, and now can’t imagine living without it.

Increased gratitude in the world, one piece of pumpkin pie at a time. One gesture of peaceful possibility, moment to moment. Sharing, caring and giving thanks.

It isn’t always as it seems. It is always powerful and healing.

Namaste,

Suze

The post It isn’t Always What it Seems appeared first on Belief Re-patterning.

You know you “should” think positively – and it seems impossible when circumstances pile up, people around you are dumping in your direction or life in general knocks you over.

It seems impossible, because it is – unless you have trained yourself.

Humans are wired to go to the negative. All animals are. It is a survival mechanism. We are wired to stay alive, so any change to our environment whether large or small, kick into gear our survival instincts.

Think of any animal – a cat, a horse, a mouse – they all approach new situations with a tentative nature. They call all their senses into play – looking around, sniffing the air, pricking their ears up, stepping forward cautiously, their heart rate increases allowing them to move quickly if needed. They stay on high alert until they are sure the new situation is safe.and then they relax.

We are animals, and it is the same for us – whenever there is a change in our environment or situation we go into fight, flight and fear. The difference between animals and humans is that we often forget to check in to see if we are safe. We don’t relax. We stay in fight, flight, fear. When we are in this heightened state it is challenging to remember to look on the bright side. In fact, it is nearly impossible. The energy is strong, and often our imagination moves us to the “what if…” places of worry, doubt and anxiety. Your instinctual will to live has kicked in. Every bit of your bandwidth is focused on surviving. Fight, flight, fear. We forget to check in to see if what is happening is really life threatening. We create more frustration, anxiety, unease – and we don’t have ready access to our creativity, our intuition, our good ideas. Unable to think straight yet most people make decisions, both small and lifechanging, from this deficit place.

Which is why you want to train yourself to transform this strong survival energy into learning – so you are able to create what you truly want – from what I call the “up-side” of the line. The place where you can easily access your intuition, your creativity, your wisdom and your knowledge.

I forgive myself for believing I need to stay in that fight, flight, fear reactive place.

I give myself permission to transform that energy into learning.

I chose to learn and move forward from whatever changes happen.

I am free to learn and move forward today when I…

I know what it feels like to overcome that fight, flight, fear place – I learned and moved forward when I …

I am transforming reactive energy into proactive learning energy.

I am grateful for training myself to do this as my normal way of BEing.

You are wired to reactively survive – which is good.

You are also wired to proactively learn, which is something even better.

Create the habit of transforming the energy when your survival buttons are pushed.

Use this energy to move forward. Learn. Re-pattern.

Namaste,

Suze

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Twenty-four hours from airport to airport – Calgary, Canada to Sydney, Australia.

I love it – not just the arriving, but the journey itself.

A short and familiar hop across the Rockies to Vancouver with 4 hour connection could be irritating, and I watched many passengers pacing, checking and rechecking the Departure Board. We set our timer and then wandered the terminal – appreciating the stunning native art, the lovely seafood restaurant and a quiet gate where we could stretch out.

And then it is time! Others call it the “long haul” across the Pacific, I refer to it as leaping the equator and the International Time Zone in a state of near suspended animation, away from distractions and demands.

Others find it boring and monotonous – I welcome the opportunity to just be.

The daily expectations and “should, must, have tos” melt away to respecting others and delighting in the self-indulgence of reading, listening to music, watching a movie, sleeping, napping and quiet contemplation – the only requirement being all from the seatbelt of 20A. It becomes my sanctuary, there are few interruptions and I already know my answers to beef or chicken, cold or hot breakfast, and red or white.

I read a wonderful novel cover to cover, slept for more than 9 of the 16.5 hours and played Suduko and Crib to my heart’s desire.

I forgive myself for believing I need to focus on the constraints of what I can’t do.

I give myself permission to be present to what supports me.

I can be irritated by constraints and dragged down by demands or I can be nurtured by what is supportive. I choose.

I am free to be present to what supports me and focus my attention there.

I know how to live this way – I practiced it on the flight here.

I am BEcoming more present to what supports me in my life

I am grateful for my conscious perspective – it creates more ease and enjoyment daily.

You may wonder… “What about the jet-lag?”

I keep expectations and demands at bay, sleep when I am tired, eat when I am hungry and make sure to move my body.

The trip and the jet-lag are real. So is my decision of how to perceive what is.

It is a great way to live.

Namaste,

Suze

The post Yes. It is a really long flight! appeared first on Belief Re-patterning.

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Calm. Quiet. Peace.

Daily living doesn’t have to be hard or a struggle.

You’ve been easily letting in chaos, noise and dissent.

Switch it up. It is as easy as making a decision.

After a 3 day lovely unplugged mini holiday at the beach, I arrived at the Comox Airport for my flight home.

CANCELLED.

I could have been upset that I couldn’t get home. My carefully organized un-plugged get-away had resulted in 3 action-packed days at the end of the week.

I made a decision.

I headed back to the beach to watch a bonus sunset. My cousin remade the bed with the sheets we had just washed earlier in the day (since we thought I was leaving!). And we pulled out the backgammon board and played waaaay past my bedtime.

I still had a full day of work Wednesday, fortunately I can work remotely – another decision I made 2 decades ago that the rest of the world caught onto in the last 3 years.

A decision to create a lifestyle of calm where there had been chaos, where I seek the quiet from the noise and consciously shift dissent into peace.

My ocean swim late Wednesday afternoon when I finished my client calls was ever so delicious and soul-fulfilling!

Victor Frankl was right in Man’s Search for Meaning in 1946 when he wrote:

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”

There’s A LOT of noise, chaos and dissent right now. Make the decision not to add to it.

There are reasons to, and you can list them, justify them and act on them.

Or you can claim your own Peace, find the calm that is also available and be quiet within.

I don’t like the dissention around me.

I give myself permission to create my own peace within.

I choose peace, and the quiet calmness it brings.

I will feel calm and peaceful as I watch the video from the beach.

I remember being calm and peaceful when I was… (specifically where you felt it)

I AM creating more peace and calm within, just but changing my thoughts.

That feels better, I am thankful I made the decision to create my own quiet.

You are right. You probably can’t fix the chaos immediately. But you can choose your response.

You can decide not to add to the dissention and the noise. You can decide to create your own peace and quiet.

Good decision. Here’s to your growth and freedom.

Thanks for joining me.

There were a LOT of upset and complaining passengers on the flight home Wednesday night.

Grumbling, each listing the inconvenience caused to them personally. People who, like me, had their plans changed by a fire in one of the three transformers at the Calgary Airport Tuesday night. An accident. Something that is highly unusual and could not have been avoided. Caused by a lightning strike…

Instead of grumbling, I chose to be grateful no one was injured. I focussed on the good that was possible. Between stimulus and response there is a space.

I responded with calm, quiet, peace. It was a conscious decision.

And the flight attendant gave me 2 packages of cookies with my mint tea. Co-incidence? Maybe. Or evidence of growth and freedom…

As we each become lighter, the world becomes brighter.

Namaste,

Suze

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