The mystery of the unknown

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear all,

I’ve been thinking for quite some time what to write about in my next blog post. I haven’t written one for a long time, and to be honest with you, I wasn’t really feeling inspired to do so. So much has happened in 2021, and I’m literally getting back on my feet again, figuring out what to do next.

Some of you have written to me privately, because you’ve noticed that ‘something changed’, that I’m not writing/content creating as I used to. I really appreciate your kind words and would like to say thank you again.

Yes, I’d love to get back to more regular writing/blogging again. I’ve been writing for years, and in a way, it’s part of who I am and I do enjoy it. What I also love about it is that it inspires others. This also applies to creating any other inspiring content, such as videos, meditations etc.

But at the moment I feel I’m at a crossroads, unsure which path to take exactly. But even though I’m not entirely sure which road I will set upon and where it’ll begin to lead me, I’m excited. I’m excited to just go with the flow.

I’m definitely NOT shutting down Mystic Butterfly. The website is live with all the content I’ve ever created, and I have some big visions for it ??
I may start writing again tomorrow….maybe next week there’ll be another video….some new content, who knows? The mystery of the unknown and the excitement of the new beginnings puts smile on my face.

So I just wanted to stop by today and say these few words, perhaps to re-awaken the writer in me again ?

Have a wonderful day!

Jana x


Inner Conversations

We often don’t realise how much our inner conversations affect our reality. The words we speak are very powerful, but so are the conversations we are having on a daily basis in the privacy of our minds. If you are like me, sometimes an over-thinker, you probably notice the internal dialogue that goes on in your mind. You may be thinking about having a conversation with someone and literally hear what they are saying back to you, before it actually happens. If the inner conversation is neutral or positive, that’s great, but if it’s not, it can make you feel uneasy or down even before having the real conversation.

I believe our inner conversations have a lot to do with what we experience, especially when we have a habit of thinking about negative things or what we worry about. But I’m not going to talk about that today. What I’m going to talk about is how our inner conversations work to our advantage.

Think about how you’d like things going for you

Focusing deliberately on how you’d like something specific going for you it’s a great way to begin. Let me share with you an example: You may be going for a job interview in a few days and you feel nervous. You have all sorts of thoughts and worries on your mind and this is understandable. Being nervous before an interview is perfectly natural and it’s a sign that you care about the job you are applying for and you’d like to get it. However, what you can do to help yourself in this situation is visualising and focusing on how you would like your interview to go. Start by having an inner conversation with your interviewers. Visualise what they are asking you and how you are responding to them. Feel the feelings of how you would like to feel at that interview. What would it feel like responding to their questions confidently and with ease? What would it feel like to be calm and standing in your power? Feel it now. Visualise how you are smiling at your interviewers and having a great conversation with them that flows easily and naturally.

When your mind detours into worrying or thinking that you are not good enough or they’re not going to like you etc., pause and take a few deep breaths. Interrupt these thoughts by choosing to think about how you would like your job interview to go. The more you do this, the more you will train your mind to do this naturally.

I hope the above example has inspired you. The same process can be applied to any situation. Have a positive inner conversation before a meeting, before a date or an exam. Focus on how you want everything going for you.

I fully understand it may be difficult to begin with, especially when you are new to this. Our minds have been trained to think a certain way and it takes time to break an old pattern and create a new one. However, by making an active choice focusing on what you truly want, it can slowly become a second nature to you 🙂


Embrace Your Uniqueness {Recording}

Dear all,

Today, I’d like to share with you a brand new recording where I talk about embracing our uniqueness, our authenticity. Every single one of us is unique in our own way. There is nobody like you and there is never going to be anybody like you. This is how unique and amazing you truly are.

You can listen to the recording at the link below.

I hope you’ll enjoy it.

With love and best wishes, 

Jana x 


Affirmations to awaken the power within you

Dear all,

This week on the blog, I would like to share with you an affirmations video I put together with some relaxing/inspirational music, to help you awaken the amazing power within you.

I personally find these affirmations very powerful and they always put me in a state of positivity and possibility. I hope they will do the same for you too 🙂

You can check out the video at the link below.

With best wishes,

Jana x


17 pieces of advice I would give to my younger self

Last week I asked myself: What advice would you give to your younger self?’ I remembered writing about this quite some time ago, but in that moment I also realised how much my perception on life had actually changed and the numerous personal realisations I’ve had, since that last time I asked myself this question.

As the years are passing, we are persistently gaining new experiences, learning new lessons, and changing our outlook on life. As we’re going about our own unique journeys, we are expanding our consciousness, growing and evolving in so many new ways and seeing life differently than we might have a few years ago. Our priorities change and many of us realise what truly matters in life and what doesn’t. But this can also awaken thoughts such as: ‘If only I knew back then what I know now, how different would my life be? Why wasn’t I thinking this way years ago?’ We all might have had a similar sort of thoughts/questions at some point in life. But, at the same time, we all have to go through this fascinating experience of being a life-long student.

Today, I’d like to share with you a few pieces of advice I would definitely give to my younger self. However, the purpose of this post is to share with you these few ideas to inspire you. Wherever you might be on your journey right now, it doesn’t matter how old you might be, I believe it’s never too late to begin or to make a change.

17 pieces of advice I would give to my younger self:

  • Spend more time with people you love and fully appreciate these moments.
  • Listen to your inner wisdom, always.
  • Be yourself, you are a unique expression of this universe. There is nobody like you and there is never going to be.
  • Be kind to yourself and look after yourself well: physically, mentally, spiritually.
  • Don’t take anything personally.
  • What has happened has served its purpose.
  • How other people view you it’s only their perception of you.
  • You are worthy of wonderful things.
  • Always follow your dreams.
  • Don’t be so hard on yourself for making mistakes, you are learning your whole life.
  • Believe in yourself.
  • Stand up for what you believe in and speak up when you need to.
  • Be selective who you spend your time with, don’t spend it with people who repeatedly showed you that they don’t care.
  • Make a commitment to learn something new every single day.
  • Go with the flow.
  • Express yourself creatively.
  • Life is a short ride, enjoy it.

Being brave to try new things

Why are so many of us not-so-brave to try new things in life? Whether it’s changing a career, applying to study a new course or speaking up where we normally wouldn’t, why are we so unsure of ourselves? Even though we may not like our current situation, most of us would prefer to stay in that cozy, familiar place, the space of our comfort zone, afraid to make changes. At the same time, deep down, we know we want something better, something different for ourselves, we want to be braver and more courageous. We want to try new things. But at the same time, we may be scared of failure, scared of rejection, have a fear of the unknown and may feel apprehensive taking that first step.

I definitely speak for myself here and have been on a long journey to becoming braver in life. And I can tell you, it’s been an interesting adventure. But ever since I began that journey and I started stepping out of my comfort zone by doing things that I really wanted to do, because I didn’t want to stay stuck where I was, I was able to create change and accomplish some wonderful things.

Being brave and facing our fears doesn’t come naturally to most of us, but by taking the leap of faith and that first little step towards making braver decisions, can be the beginning of something incredible.

I often remind myself, if I never try, I’ll never know. And when it comes to making these braver decisions, they don’t have to be anything big, especially at the beginning. It’s important to start small and steady and praise ourselves for every little achievement while making these braver choices- becoming our own cheerleader.

If you are feeling the that you are missing on opportunities and want to become just a little bit braver, here are a few reminders that can inspire you:

  • Make a habit of trying new things
  • Remember that great things never came out from comfort zones
  • Believe in yourself a little more, you are capable of much more than you think you are
  • Life is about taking chances
  • By every brave choice you make, you build more strength
  • Celebrate every little triumph
  • We are learning our whole life, so learn something new today 🙂

‘It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.’ – Theodore Roosevelt 


‘A walk through the forest’ Visualisation Meditation

Dear all,

This week, on the blog, I’d like to share with you a short visualisation/meditation. I call it: ‘A walk through the forest’. The visualisation/meditation is only 3 minutes long. I made it short to make it accessible for more people. I know how busy everyone is these days and to sometimes find even 20 minutes to meditate can be a challenge for many. So I made it short, so more people can try it and benefit from it.

In the background, you’ll be able to hear some beautiful sounds of nature, which I recorded while walking through the forest recently. I hope you’ll enjoy it.

Make yourself comfortable and let my voice be your guide. When you finish meditating, please take your time getting back to your day.

Happy meditating!

With best wishes,
Jana x


Finding motivation to follow your dreams

We all have dreams. Some may be bigger than others, but we all have dreams/goals we would like to accomplish in life. Whatever they may be, it’s great that they came to us, and I believe, they did come to us for a reason.

I fully understand that after what we’ve been going through collectively, since early last year, it can be quite difficult for so many people to find motivation to follow their dreams. Our ‘normal’ way of living had practically changed overnight. Well, for most of us….Life is not the way it used to be and some people cope with the changes and their personal challenges better than others.

When it comes to our dreams, I believe they’re still here, but for some of us, the motivation to follow them might have somehow faded away a bit. Some days we may be excited about our dreams and work hard towards them, other times, we may get tired of everything and the motivation may not be there at all, especially when life is overwhelming.

So, in this post today, I’d like to talk about some ways how we can perhaps find that motivation again, with the hope that you may find it useful. To dream and to have dreams is beautiful. After all, what would life be without them?

Getting inspired

Getting inspired by other people is a wonderful way to begin. Every time I feel demotivated, I watch an inspiring talk, I read a few pages of an inspiring book or a story of somebody who had overcome a great challenge. This always energises me and gets me excited to carry on working on my dreams. If they could do it, I can do it. Real stories of real people are not only inspiring but they can be incredibly empowering.

Visualising

Another great way to get motivated is visualising that what you’re dreaming about is already here. Closing your eyes for a few minutes and visualising what you would like to see in your life and feeling it within a whole level of your being can be very powerful. This is also a part of a manifestation process which I talked about quite a few times on my blog, and it’s also a magical way of bringing your dreams to life.

Take at least one little step a day towards your dream

And this doesn’t have to be a big step. One small step daily can add up to great results. Forward is always forward. Do some research, make that phone call, send that email, take that one little step towards your dream today.

I will leave you with this powerful quote by Arthur Ashe:

‘Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.’
– Arthur Ashe 

The beauty of the present moment

A few days ago I took a walk to a nearby lake. After being so busy for over a week, it felt so good to be back outside, surrounded by beautiful nature, which always helps me get grounded and feel at peace. Feeling the gentle breeze on my face and the rays of sunshine caressing my cheeks felt rejuvenating. The sound of the birds chirping, especially a little robin I saw sitting on a tree branch, put a big smile on my face. I paused and admired the robin’s beauty for a few seconds until it briskly took a flight to another tree. Hearing the bees buzzing in the background and seeing the colourful butterflies flying and landing on one flower and then on another, felt harmonious and tranquil.

As I got to the lake, there were two swans swimming in the distance, as well as coots, shovelers and many other beautiful birds in the water, as well as flying above. Just standing there at the shore and observing everything that was happening around me made me fully present in the moment, the only place where life truly exists. There were no worries, no concerns, no upsets, just a feeling of serenity. My mind was calm and my soul was at peace. There was nothing I needed. I just stood there and appreciated the spectacular scenery right in front of me and around me. And this is the beauty of being present in the moment. We all need this from time to time. We all need time out from the busyness of life, to switch off and just be in the ‘right here-right now’.

Being fully present in the current moment and letting go of our worries is a wonderful way to be. And this doesn’t only have to be the case when you are spending time in nature. Being present can mean being fully immersed in a creative project, being fully present in a conversation with a friend or a loved one, meditating, exercising, reading a book or enjoying a lovely meal. The idea is to be fully present in the NOW.

So on the way back home, I noticed a squirrel climbing a tree and after it reached almost the top of it, it jumped across to another tree. Looking up at the squirrel, the warm rays of sunlight peeking through the branches were caressing my face again. I felt happy and so grateful for this gift I have given to myself, a gift to be fully present. When I got home I felt rejuvenated, feeling calm in my mind and a peace in my soul.


Letting go of guilt & shame

Guilt and shame: I wrote about this topic quite some time ago and I’d like to revisit it again with the hope that the following will inspire you.

Recently, I had an interesting experience, a self-realisation really, where something from the past was literally thrown into my face (and the ‘funny’ thing is: I did this to myself), and it left me feeling embarrassed, upset, and to be honest, quite guilty. Someone else wouldn’t probably even given to this particular thing a second thought, but for me, it wasn’t something I wouldn’t brush aside very easily at that moment.

You see, in the last few months, I’ve been having innumerable personal realisations. I’ve been aligning more and more to the truth of who I really am, but with that, so many things I’d thought I’d let go of or I’d already forgotten about, started, yet again, coming up to the surface (and with them, sometimes feelings of guilt and shame). I often find that the more work we do on ourselves, the more we think we’re finally on the ‘right path’, suddenly something happens, and there we are again, dealing with something that we thought we’ve already ‘healed’ or let go of.

Well, this is the game of life. Even though we are presented with all of these interesting lessons, some not so pleasant to deal with, I believe we should be gentle with ourselves and with our unique journeys. Life doesn’t come with an instruction manual, but the great news is that we are gaining all these powerful experiences which help us grow and evolve.

Most of us have made some choices in life we may not be proud of. Sometimes we say something or do something, and then we feel disappointed with ourselves. This happens even more often when we are hurt, feeling lost in life or are upset about something. We act and then we regret. We can’t take it back. We may say to ourselves: Goodness, I’m such a fool! Why did I gossip? Why did I do that? Why did I judge? That was so mean! Why did I…….?’ you fill in the blank. But at the same time, we also have a choice how we view our actions. We can either blame ourselves forever, or we can learn from them and move on.

I believe acknowledging the choices we’ve made, owning them and working towards embracing them is a powerful way to begin. After all, we are always learning, our whole life, so I’d like to invite you to relax into this knowledge and stop being so hard on yourself.

So now, let’s go back to the story mentioned at the beginning…

Later on that day, I opened up about the guilt I felt to my boyfriend. He reminded me of something very important and it was profound. He said: ‘You’ve made a mistake, but deep down, you know who you truly are and that’s all that matters.’ And he was absolutely right.

So, after worrying for some time, I decided to look at that whole past situation from a different angle, and this brought calm to my mind and peace to my soul. I felt more at ease and began to let go of the unpleasant emotions I was feeling.

After all, our mistakes or whatever we may feel guilty or embarrassed about, are only lessons. And we are allowed to make mistakes. We are allowed to change our minds about something or someone. We are allowed to let go of the old, even though it may feel painful for us and others. We are allowed to get fed up with the way I’ve been, start again, and strive to become the person we truly want to be. We need to be first true to ourselves, so we can bring that version of ourselves to the world too. And if we fail to do that, if we slip, we can try again and again.