Synchronicity... Life Really Is Fascinating...

Have you ever had one of those moments where you literally step into the 'flow' of life? Where the strangest things happen in perfect timing. You say something and then a few seconds later what you have said appears before your eyes? The long weekend has been like that for me. A couple of my friends were literally astounded. I was walking along with two friends talking about Glasgow in Scotland, that is 456 miles from where I live. A second later a Glasweigen chap walked past and started playing the guitar as he walked backwards. He sang about being a Glasweigen, took a bow and then toddled off. There were no other people around my friends and I at the time. We could not believe it and laughed so hard because it was so surreal.

Well the weekend continued in this manner: I mentioned to my brother that I wondered whether my bestfriend was back from holiday and a second later she text. He just looked bemused because I had just mention the synchronicity conversation too. I also have a chap at work who I have a laugh with. We think we are living in the Truman show. He works in a different department and basically no matter what time I decide to go for a break or lunch I will physically collide with him. We find it bizarre and hilarious. We have decided we have psychic bladders. Well I was telling my two friends about this situation and one of them said well next you will see him out of work... After I left my friends I was on the way back to my car and stopped off at a coffee shop. As I left the coffee shop - yes you guessed it - I collided with him. We could not believe it and found it astounding. I said I am going to have to check behind me all the time from now on.






Of course these situations got me thinking because a lot of years ago I wrote a book (Labyrinthine) about synchronicity and timings. An androgenous being called a 'Connector' linked timings for people's lives and their fate. Unfortunately people started using their will to defy death, which caused tremors in the field. Those death defying people created numerous repercussions for other people's lives. This book came out on audio this year and one reviewer gave it a 1 star rating which did not do much for sales, as you can imagine.  After that I accepted that maybe people were not into synchronicity and that synchronicity itself did not want the world to read about it. I accepted defeat, did not take it personally and carried on writing my next books. Over the last year I did not think that much about synchronicity. Instead I had been heavily involved in work and 'making' things happen with my books. I was 'forcing' and 'willing'. I don't know about you but I am impatient and want everything now. This whole allowing things to unfold actually bored me... I know - naughty. I just don't see the point of waiting around for things to take place. Instead I prefer to go out there and get them.

HERE IS THE LINK TO LABYRINTHINE ON AUDIO. If you want to read a really rubbish review then please enjoy it: http://www.audible.com/pd/Sci-Fi-Fantasy/Labyrinthine-Audiobook/B011MZKFF6/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srTtl?qid=1459194665&sr=1-1#publisher-summary  

 

The above all ties in with a conversation I had with one of my friends on Friday. She is quite wafty and very 'connected' to life. She is amazing at creating things without even trying. She said to me that I was constantly planting seeds and digging them back up to see if they were growing. Admittedly she is right. She said it is time to just leave the seeds to germinate and allow life to show you when you are in the flow.... And guess what? This weekend was filled with all the lovely things that she talked about. However, the question arises then if these things just come to you - then why do you need to do anything?

If you have any answers I will be interested to hear your perspective:)

You can find my books at the following link: Ruby Allure books on Audible:

http://www.audible.com/search/ref=a_hp_tseft?advsearchKeywords=Ruby+allure&filterby=field-keywords&x=0&y=0

AUDIBLE BOOK AVAILABLE HERE:

LINK TO BUY ON AUDIBLE:

http://www.audible.com/pd/Self-Development/A-Short-Course-In-Creative-Writing-Audiobook/B012OVUKE8/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srTtl?qid=1443260320&sr=1-1

LINK TO PAPERBACK ON AMAZON.COM

A Short Course in Creative Writing
by Ms Ruby Allure
Link: http://amzn.com/1517234832

THE LINK TO THE OCEAN CALLINGS: http://www.audible.com/pd/Sci-Fi-Fantasy/The-Ocean-Callings-Audiobook/B01C4OOOEW/

What Happens When You Reach Your Goals?

What do you do when you reach your goal? Do you dance? Do you celebrate? Or do you do what most people do - and set another goal? What is the point of setting yourself a challenge unless you get some satisfaction from it? It is funny that I write this now because I was recently having a discussion about this subject. Many of my friends who are athletes feel lost without a goal or a challenge. They say that when they have a goal / event they will push themselves beyond their comfort zone and go on a journey to better themselves. In some cases they are able to reach their true limits and see what they are truly capable of.

With regards to the goals you need to have a reason or a motivation - it becomes your why. When I have competed at rowing my why used to be the medal and the unity of a team. That amazing feeling of crossing the line and winning. Now, and this may be maturity, my rowing has taken on a completely new form. The love for rowing and my new 'why' in rowing is precision in stroke and mastering unity within a team. I don't actually care about the win because we have won and had the small moments of elation. That elation was short lived and resulted in the next goal or race; whereas now the rowing enables concentrated focus with sustained feelings of elation. What is even more satisfying is  rowing at your best ability for a continued time period. Maybe this is another goal or a form of goal, yet what do you do when you have reached all your goals? Is life a continual chase of goal acquisition or could you be without a goal? Does being goal-less become the goal in itself?

Success is a strange phenomenon. We are fed so many messages to go out there and achieve. To set huge goals of money, experience, career or beauty. Yet maybe it is more about the journey and who we become through our challenges. Maybe that is where we need to focus rather than goal after goal after goal. After all, doesn't life happen between goals?  Why are people so scared of not chasing something to be better?

So my question still remains: What happens when you reach your goals? What do you do when you have achieved all that you have ever wanted to achieve? Is this the time where you find satisfaction in existence and just be? Is that why goals have been so important? Is it the fear of essentially just being and existing?

You can find my books at the following link: Ruby Allure books on Audible:

http://www.audible.com/search/ref=a_hp_tseft?advsearchKeywords=Ruby+allure&filterby=field-keywords&x=0&y=0

AUDIBLE BOOK AVAILABLE HERE:

 

LINK TO BUY ON AUDIBLE:

http://www.audible.com/pd/Self-Development/A-Short-Course-In-Creative-Writing-Audiobook/B012OVUKE8/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srTtl?qid=1443260320&sr=1-1

 

LINK TO PAPERBACK ON AMAZON.COM

A Short Course in Creative Writing
by Ms Ruby Allure
Link: http://amzn.com/1517234832

THE LINK TO THE OCEAN CALLINGS: http://www.audible.com/pd/Sci-Fi-Fantasy/The-Ocean-Callings-Audiobook/B01C4OOOEW/

First Review on The Ocean Callings

http://www.audible.com/pd/Sci-Fi-Fantasy/The-Ocean-Callings-Audiobook/B01C4OOOEW/

A very creative book. Great imagination., February 21, 2016

By 

LMS#YOM - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ocean Callings (Kindle Edition)

This author not only has a very vivid imagination but also the wonderful ability to be able to transfer her thoughts in such a simplistic way onto the page that the readers are very quickly involved in the storyline.

Set it in a small coastal town in Scotland you enjoy the sights, sounds and scenes not only set out on land, but also above and below the sea. You are taken on a mystical journey which is filled with a mixture of humorous, tense and sometimes scary moments. You soon warm to the characters of the book; the old-fashioned tight-knit network of the local community, and the modern banter and pranks from the younger new residents to the area.

This book allows the reader to escape reality but then realise that in life there are always consequences from decisions and actions we take. I found it to be funny, gripping, and warm-hearted. A good read.

THE LINK TO THE OCEAN CALLINGS: http://www.audible.com/pd/Sci-Fi-Fantasy/The-Ocean-Callings-Audiobook/B01C4OOOEW/

Why Master the Mundane?

Why Master the Mundane?

Is there something wrong with ordinary or mundane? If so why is that? Why does everything have to be spectacular, amazing or phenomenal? In this world of ‘instant’ there is the constant need for stimulus. That endless search for stimulation overrides the gentle moments that take place in the ordinary. In the meantime our endeavours need to be posted for the world to see them. The validation comes from likes and external sources. Wow! So you want to spend your next eighty years in that constant motion with the need for people to like pictures of the next spectacular thing that has been done. We must be aware that we are conditioned by society yet one of the subliminal messages suggests we should always be working and aspiring. There are a couple of clever catch phrases you may recognise ‘you can be anything if you have…’ and ‘treat yourself.’ This is all consumerist propaganda to make you buy pointless items to keep an economy in motion.  Of course being satisfied and content does not make you buy.

You may wonder where this has come from. Well one of my big things to understand this year is contentment and satisfaction. On the journey to satisfaction, over the last couple of weeks I have been on couple of meditation retreats. It had a rather profound affect. When you remove all the external expectations you have space and time to reflect. In that time of reflection it became apparent how fast life is. Without the constant bombardment of advertising there is time to appreciate yourself and be with who you really are. It was during this time I recognised the ordinary. I know, I had been so busy with work, aspirations and writing that I had not noticed the ordinary. In the quiet time I saw that the mundane was actually beautiful. I realised the underlying issue was that the mundane became boring because I was over-stimulated. The irony is that wherever you are, it is you that you that you are taking to the situation. So by enjoying the meditation and being in deep relaxation my perspective shifted. No matter where I was, depending on my inner state, determined how I responded. Now imagine you are in a peaceful tranquil state experiencing life rather than in a fast state of inner anxiety. It is funny how your inner state completely changes everything. Since the retreat I have been amused by my work environment, which at times falls into utter chaos. When my state was internal chaos the situations would make me stressed. Now that I am doing the regular meditation, the situations that erupt no longer affect me in the same way and I now can see calm and effortless solutions. In addition, I can now fully experience the situations rather than ‘get them done’ and move onto the next random event. Of course it is early days; however, the endless need to aspire, chase and be fast is something we all become caught up in. It is as if everyone is trying to out busy each other through fear of not appearing to live an exciting life. Everyone is rushing but where to? Death?

Have you realised the big secret that the economic world does not what you to know? The best experiences are with friends, family and take place in the quiet moments between chasing ideals. When you realise this you then wonder why you bother chasing. When you step into your stillness and experience each day for that day you open up a whole universe of beauty in the mundane. That is why, in my opinion, it is worth mastering the Mundane.

 

You can find my books at the following link: Ruby Allure books on Audible:

http://www.audible.com/search/ref=a_hp_tseft?advsearchKeywords=Ruby+allure&filterby=field-keywords&x=0&y=0

AUDIBLE BOOK AVAILABLE HERE:

 

LINK TO BUY ON AUDIBLE:

http://www.audible.com/pd/Self-Development/A-Short-Course-In-Creative-Writing-Audiobook/B012OVUKE8/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srTtl?qid=1443260320&sr=1-1

 

LINK TO PAPERBACK ON AMAZON.COM

A Short Course in Creative Writing
by Ms Ruby Allure
Link: http://amzn.com/1517234832

Why do you do what you do?

So this week has been another fascinating week because I have been re-evaluating my motivations for doing what I do. Why on earth would anyone spend hours of their life writing books and posting blogs if it wasn't for money? And that is it... That is why people think that I am bizarre - I don't write to make money. I write because I love writing and that is where the intrinsic and the extrinsic values come in. The extrinsic are the values applied to having a feedback or a response. The intrinsic are the internal values where you simply enjoy a task for creativity or the act of doing it. When my books sell I am excited that someone has the opportunity to share an inner landscape with me.

So let me ask you why do you do what you do? Do you do things because there is money or approval involved? What is it that makes you more happy:doing something for money or simply because you enjoy it? Isn't there a pleasure in simply enjoying a creative process and creating something you are proud off? If you fancy sharing that creation then it is out there for others to enjoy. I admit in years gone by I had those heady illusions of becoming the next J.K. Rowling, most writers do. One has to have a dream and have a fantasy or a delusion every so often. Mine can be somewhat frequent and we won't go into the one about doing a headstand on a paddle-board (I am actually working on that).

So let me ask you honestly: does doing something for money and approval make you happier than when you do something just for the sake of doing it?

Let's consider baking a cake - don't you do that because you love it or have a cakey urge? I would guess you like creating it and then sharing it.  How does that change when the financial dynamic comes in? Will you only make a cake if money is given to you? It is strange how society has developed that something only has worth if you make money from it. Yet you can't make money from being happy. Isn't happiness worth more?

The whole doing something purely to make money is a hard lesson I learned in my late twenties when I had my own photography business - I lost my love of photography because I had to make money from it. I had to take on work that I did not love and spend hours making photographs that I did not enjoy making. When you have been in that situation for a few years then something shifts - you realise that you work in something you enjoy to earn money whilst keeping your passion on the side because you enjoy it.

Admittedly there are people who make money from their passion and I celebrate them. Yet for me when money was assigned to creativity it became like mental constipation. I was having to mentally force rather than simply enjoy a creative release. I wanted to spend my time creating the books that I loved and explore the stories I desired to write. Now the irony about all this is that my books do make an income; however, they were already created and the income is a by-product from doing what I love.

With all of this in mind: what is it that really motivates you to do what you do?

My audio books can be found here: http://www.audible.com/search/ref=a_mn_mt_ano_tseft__galileo?advsearchKeywords=ruby+allure&x=0&y=0

How Close are you to Burn Out?

How close are you to Burn Out?

One of my friends says tooth-pick, chop stick and then 5 foot plank. Why? Well what she is referring to is the signs and subtle messages that give us a clue that something is going on in our bodies. The tooth-pick is ‘a bit of a niggle’ - you notice something but you choose to ignore it because you are soooo busy. In fact, what you might do is ignore any signs until later. That is when the chop-stick makes the signs more obvious, yet still you might just keep trudging on. It might be a pain, a headache or a whole host of tension and that is when the plank smacks you in the face and forces you to stop! Flu? A Migraine? Worse?

 

I am sure that you have noticed that life is getting busier and there is more information to process in all directions. We have emails, calls, texts and deadlines blasting us from all directions and we are always expected to be available. Why is that? Why have we accepted such a precedent? So how long can a nervous system and brain maintain such intense activity without bursting into flames? The answer is different for the individual. Some people are more resilient while others simply drop to the ground when a phone rings. The point that I am trying to make is how one needs to constantly pay attention to the body and how you are feeling. You may simply numb yourself and continue like a martyr. The problem with that is you build up fatigue and that fatigue resides in your body. No matter what you do your energy levels get lower and lower until that dreaded plank hits you with an illness that will stop you leaving your bed.

So…. I am all about solutions and finding easy ways to fit wellbeing into life. So this week I went on a Transcendental meditation course with the meditation trust. I will make this clear, I am not a wafty lettuce sniffing type who wears floaty scarves and belly-dances down the street with my underwear on my head. Although that does sound fun. I might try it sometime and see how the world responds to my new found knicker-head-wear and general jiggling. Anyway, I digress, so I went on this course because my brother recommended it. My brother is a university lecturer, academic and complete rationalist. So when I saw the drop in his shoulders, the general air of relaxation and the decrease in his anxiety then I knew that type of meditation was a good thing.

 

Before I go any further, I have to mention I do meditate. However, I often wander off into a self- amused plane for 20 minutes and then realise I ended up being lulled into thought by giggling at my own jokes. What I needed was a way to stop the inner distraction and TM solved this for me by providing a specific mantra that I could use. Now I don’t know about anyone else, but I often get bored during meditation, woops – it is the truth. There are far more interesting things I could be doing. The mantra combined with the cyclic rhythm enabled me to enter into a very relaxed state. The thing is it was while in this relaxed state that I realised how fatigued I was. After each meditation I would literally pass out and sleep! I did this continually over 3 days. I also had rapid dreams which could be compared to mental Tsunamis or a mental wildebeest stampede. I was astounded. When I talked to the instructor about it he said it was quite usual for people in high powered jobs to respond that way. It was then that I realised that I had probably been close to burn out. My tooth-pick signs were general grumpiness, feelings of general negativity (I am not a negative person) and tiredness, even though I had an excellent diet, sleep well and exercise regularly. The chop-stick signs were – a sty on the eye, a tooth abscess and tension in my shoulders. Luckily I got on this course before the plank came in and smacked me one! Now I am not saying that Transcendental meditation is for everyone; however, it is a great tool to have for life. It enables you to enter deep relaxation and cope with the external stresses of the world and personally found that my energy levels have improved. I will be honest I did not go to the main Transcendental Meditation group instead I went for the Meditation Trust who are cheaper and very grounded. The point that I am trying to make here is that one needs to pay attention to the signs their body is sending them because I honestly had no clue that I was as fatigued as I was. The thing is I was fatigued to the core and there was no escaping it. It then made me think that if I am like this and I do yoga, eat well and exercise then what are other people like? If anything, I hope this article will remind you to notice the signs and find ways to truly relax until to you are forced to rest by a large piece of metaphorical wood colliding with your face.J

 

 

You can find my books at the following link: Ruby Allure books on Audible:

http://www.audible.com/search/ref=a_hp_tseft?advsearchKeywords=Ruby+allure&filterby=field-keywords&x=0&y=0

AUDIBLE BOOK AVAILABLE HERE:

 

LINK TO BUY ON AUDIBLE:

http://www.audible.com/pd/Self-Development/A-Short-Course-In-Creative-Writing-Audiobook/B012OVUKE8/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srTtl?qid=1443260320&sr=1-1

 

LINK TO PAPERBACK ON AMAZON.COM

A Short Course in Creative Writing
by Ms Ruby Allure
Link: http://amzn.com/1517234832