My Learning Pathway
The Jungle
I remember it very well; the iridescent blue wings burned holes into the warm evening air, the jungle was awakening me from my thoughts. Perhaps it was an ancient calling that came from deep inside or just curiosity, with my palm open I reached out my hand and the creature came to land on my finger. Immersed in awe with the sun now set the jungle was speaking to me, I brought my hand closer to my face with the large blue butterfly resting on my finger. In few hours’ time, I would be sat on the floor of the adjacent moloka journeying through the shamans healing ikaros, songs gave to him by the plants. Soon I would be walking up a white mountain with my ancestors guided by the pure sound of a reed flute played by the shamans apprentice whilst his young child slept peacefully on his mother's lap in the darkness of our ceremonial hut. With the bundled leaf rattle beating above my head the shaman blew sacred tobacco smoke over my body cleansing my soul. The medicine was flowing strong when out of the darkness floating in front of my face what I will describe as a luminous bodhisattva appeared. I also remember how it felt when the butterfly pushed off from my finger again circling taking one last look before flying off into the jungle. I stood for a while longer embraced by the healing power of nature.
My journey to the amazon in 2008 marked a pivotal point in my life, the circumstances which lead me to the amazon jungle in Peru had been some of the most challenging I had encountered. Looking back now I have a clearer perspective and hopefully understand a little better of what actually happened to my health. It was a childhood ambition that compelled me to the journey to the amazon rainforest before a false belief of deteriorating health would prevent me.
False Beliefs
False beliefs have had a significant effect on my life over the years. From a young age thanks to the structure of our society I was presented with many opportunities to believe in things which did not have my best interests at heart. Over many years all these beliefs created a map of reality in my mind which I lived daily. I came to believe in certain patterns of thought and was able to manifest and experience the effects. The unfortunate thing, the map of reality many of us carry around does not serve us to well. For myself I kept getting lost in its chaos.
As I described in the story on the “about” page of this website, the unexpected death of a close friend in November 2016 made me step back and take a look at my own life. What I discovered brought up many questions.
It’s now February 2017 and from the months when I first started this design “My Learning Pathway” already I’m seeing a massive change in my outlook on life. Before Justin died my own life was full to the brim with all kinds of stress. I had a belief that I could ride the huge waves of stress I was giving myself and be very productive. A small part of this belief was in fact true, I was working on several things at once and I was full of drive and motivation. I look back now and think about what cost I was gambolling with be consciously letting myself live in such a stressful state of mind.
Gratitude
I’m grateful that I started this design before Justin died because it gives me a reference point to work from. I’m grateful to have known Justin as long as I did he has become my inspiration to change my own life, to change my own map of reality.
Creating a new map of reality
My Learning Journey permaculture design is going to be the story of how I went from a life full of stress to a life full of abundance. I started this design in the summer of 2016 and have made a major update in February 2017. Where I feel a date is important I’ll add one. For myself I’m really interested in how this design will grow over the coming months and years.
Design Web
For this Design “My Learning Pathway” I will be using looby Macnamara's design web to help me calm my thoughts and gain some focus.
Vision
What is my ideal?
My mind to be calm
Be in nature every day
Good health
Have joy
Read a lot more
Lots of fun adventures
Access to healthy and tasty food
Access to healthy water
Photograph nature
Low impact living
Empower other people
Enjoy everyday
Living in abundance
Love and be loved
What are the abundances I would like to create in my life?
Joy
Healthy food
Healthy water
Wealth
What are my wildest dreams?
Travel the world in a sustainable way
Visit Tibet
To have a retreat centre with large ancient woods
Helps
What are my motivations for changing?
September 2016
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Too much stress in my life
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Not living as sustainable as I could be living
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Not spending enough time in nature
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Knowing that I can improve my diet
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Knowing I can improve my health
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Knowing I’m caught in the illusion of a false map of reality
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Knowing that there are solutions to all these things
April 2016
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Found out I've got very high Cholesterol, very high...
What resources do I have within me?
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Passion
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Motivation
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Drive
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Excellent trouble shooting skills
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Experience
What external resources are available?
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Books
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Online courses
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Courses
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The internet
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Podcasts
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My permaculture tutor
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The Permaculture Association
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People already knowledgeable with the information I’m looking for
Limits
What’s holding me back?
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Myself
What are my limiting factors?
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Myself
Why would I not want to change?
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I do want to change this is why I’m doing this diploma
What concerns do I have?
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May need to come back to this question once I’ve progressed further into the diploma
Patterns
What are the current patterns of thinking?
September 2016
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Not enough time
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Got to get it finished
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Too much to do
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Looking for the quickest way of solving something
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Constantly troubleshooting
February 2017
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I am enough
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Lots of things I would like to learn
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Lots of things I would like to do
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Often feel frustrated
April 2017
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Observing my life much more
What are the current patterns of behaving?
September 2016
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Working on several things at once
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Wanting to be organised
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Perfectionist
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Routines
February 2017
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Becoming more organised
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Managing my time
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Starting to slow down
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A little calmer in my thinking
April 2017
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Stepped back a little bit so I can observe
What are the current patterns of interacting?
September 2016
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Stressed
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Angry
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Direct
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Quick to jump to a conclusion
February 2017
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Calmer
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More helpful
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Observing myself much more
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Observing others
April 2017
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Detached
What spirals of erosion can I identify?
September 2016
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Stress: due to doing many jobs - too little time – too much pressure – not able to be organised
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Health is suffering due to: not relaxing – mind constantly thinking – not sleeping
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Consumed in trying to juggle everything and not able to move forward
February 2017
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Busy wanting to do too many things at once
April 2017
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Lost in thought
What would a spiral of abundance look like?
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A calm mind
April 2017
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To be in the best health ever
What patterns from nature could help within my design?
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flow
What patterns of success from another area of my life can I translate into my design?
Ideas
What creative, adventurous, wild and wacky ideas do I have?
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Create a new permaculture design framework
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Learn to speed read
What big, little, practical, routine ideas do I have?
February 2017
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Keep to a morning routine
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Keep to an evening routine
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Setup a web template for each of the designs I plan working on this year so when the days grow longer I can update my designs with minimal time sat looking at a computer screen
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Think out of the box more
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Think about how technology will change in the coming years and how it will effect permaculture
April 2017
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Change my diet due to high cholesterol
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Exercise a lot more due to high cholesterol
What seeds of ideas do I have?
February 2017
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Use IT support service management practices in some of my designs
April 2017
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What food should people be growing in relation to their health needs
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breakdown the food myths that have directed us towards growing food that does not help us thrive
Principles
February 2017
If I look through the lens of each principle what do I see?
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Principle 1: Observe and interact – I should think a little more about what I want to archive doing this diploma
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Principle 2: Catch and store energy – How are my own energy needs, should I be adding anything
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Principle 3: Obtain a yield – I’m I getting the results I would like
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Principle 4: Apply self-regulation & accept feedback - Am I stretching myself too far with what I’m trying to do in my designs with working on so many at once
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Principle 5: Use & value renewable resources & services – What areas do I need to be adding this in my life
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Principle 6: Produce no waste – How Am I using my time
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Principle 7: Design from patterns to details – What patterns from nature have I currently been working from
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Principle 8: Integrate rather than segregate – I’m I integrating my designs into my own life
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Principle 9: Use small and slow solutions – Are my solutions small and slow
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Principle 10: Use and value diversity - Do I need to be adding more elements into my designs
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Principle 11: Use edges & value the marginal – I am I thinking outside of regular thinking to find different approaches to achieve successful systems
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Principle 12: Creatively use and respond to change – I’m I letting go of old thought patterns that were holding me back
What does it tell me about my current state?
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Principle 1: Observe and interact – I’ve been able to become much more observant of my own life and where I need to focus on making changes
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Principle 2: Catch and store energy – I’m not wasting as much of my own time and energy now that I’m focusing on eating more nutrient dense food and getting better longer sleep
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Principle 3: Obtain a yield – already in myself, I’m seeing a yield, my brain is much calmer bringing more abundance into my life
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Principle 4: Apply self-regulation & accept feedback – Currently using lots of different tools to organise my day and giving myself more time to relax
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Principle 5: Use & value renewable resources & services – Getting better sleep is giving me better energy levels
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Principle 6: Produce no waste – I’m becoming very organised with the structure of my designs and through this, I’m using time very wisely
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Principle 7: Design from patterns to details – Flow is where I need to be focusing on
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Principle 8: Integrate rather than segregate – My designs are an extension of my life
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Principle 9: Use small and slow solutions – I’m doing lots of different small things at the same time which are beginning to have a positive effect
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Principle 10: Use and value diversity – I’m looking at things from all angles and using different tools for different things
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Principle 11: Use edges & value the marginal – most things I’m doing are from the edge and the value I’m seeing is inspiring
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Principle 12: Creatively use and respond to change – Changing every day and loving it
What ideas does it give me about the direction I want to go in and how to get there?
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Principle 1: Observe and interact – To be able to observe without attachment and to create change
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Principle 2: Catch and store energy – Keep on building up my own energy stores
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Principle 3: Obtain a yield – Focus on abundance
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Principle 4: Apply self-regulation & accept feedback – Keep focused on my goals
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Principle 5: Use & value renewable resources & services – Work with and use all the resources I currently have available to me
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Principle 6: Produce no waste – Be thoughtful how I use time
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Principle 7: Design from patterns to details – Remember nature has the answers
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Principle 8: Integrate rather than segregate – Start bringing everything I’ve learnt together
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Principle 9: Use small and slow solutions – Remember not to get caught up trap of now
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Principle 10: Use and value diversity – Spend time in nature
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Principle 11: Use edges & value the marginal – Be unconventional
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Principle 12: Creatively use and respond to change – Keep an open mind
Integration
February 2017
How can I integrate the information already gathered?
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Keep reviewing what I have wrote
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Set goals on how I’m going to use the information
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Staying focused on the whole design
What are my needs within the design?
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To create a new map of reality
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To create abundance in my life
What systems could be put in place to meet those needs?
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Goal setting
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Time management
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Regular reviews
What elements would each system be composed of?
Goal setting
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Daily 3 goals
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Weekly goals
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Monthly goals
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6-month goals
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1-year goals
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3-year goals
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5-year goals
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10-year goals
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20-year goals
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50-year goals
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100-year goals
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200-year goals
Time management
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Use a calendar to plan each day
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Have lists of thing you want to do and organise them into time scales
Regular reviews
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Each day invest 15 minutes focusing on the goals you want to achieve that day
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Spend 30 minutes every week to focus on goals that you have broken into smaller goals for each day of the week
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Spend one hour every month to review your goals and progress
Action
February 2017
What am I going to do and when?
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Each day have a morning routine
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Each day have an evening routine
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Each day goal setting and reviewing
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Daily affirmations to reaffirm my goals
What resources do I have?
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Access to inspirational videos and audio
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A growing library of books
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Access to online learning courses
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Learning opportunity’s at work
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Beautiful local countryside
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Lots of time to do everything in
What yields and befits am I going to get?
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Abundance
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A new improved map of reality
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A calm mind
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An enhanced ability to learn new things
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An enhanced ability to incorporate new things into my life
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Joy
April 2017
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The best health ever
Momentum
February 2017
How am I going to maintain momentum?
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Staying positive
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Observing and tracking my progress
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Visualisation
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Sharing my progress with others
How am I going to build and increase momentum?
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Learning new ways to do things
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Learning new things
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Keeping a calm mind
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Tweaking any areas that I observe which are not functioning correctly
What support might I need to keep moving towards my vision?
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Constructive feedback from other people
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Access to more courses
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Access to more books
Appreciation
February 2017
What can I appreciate about myself?
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Self-motivation
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A desire to improve
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A desire for change
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A belief in myself
What can I appreciate about other people and the world around me?
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Each day is filled with new opportunity’s to learn
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No matter what is going on around me nature stays filled with wonder
How do I feel supported at the moment?
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By been open to change I’m attracting new learning opportunity’s
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Keeping a positive outlook is helping to bring people toward me who can help me achieve my vision
Reflection
February 2017
What is the current situation?
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Overall positive and enjoying the new learning opportunities that are coming my way
April 2017
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Finding out my cholesterol is very high has made me become very reflective on my life and I've become much more observant
What is going well?
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Sleeping
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Learning
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Staying positive
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My abundance journey
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Goal setting
April 2017
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learning more and more about health
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Observation of my own needs
What is challenging?
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How to integrate everything I plan to do without it becoming just another stress bomb
April 2017
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How as a society people have become indoctrinated into certain beliefs about health
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Choosing to follow the latest research about cholesterol which goes against people's beliefs about cholesterol
Pause
February 2017
How can I recharge my batteries?
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Get even better sleep (which I’m working on)
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Observe nature
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Massages
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Sit in the sun (writing this in February is but a dream)
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Even more meditation
April 2017
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Read novels
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Photograph nature
How can I make times of rest and quiet a built-in part of my design?
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My “breathe” design is doing just this
How can I rejuvenate myself?
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Watching, listening and reading inspiring stories
April 2017
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Exercise
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Eating a ketogenic diet