In Flow with Natalie

In this episode, through a couple of personal stories and observations, I share my views about how hugs and laughter can make our lives, and our relationships, more meaningful.  I also talk about the health benefits of laughter, and the value in taking some time to pay attention when we give or receive a warm embrace with someone we care about.   Although a light-hearted topic, I invite you to tune in and consider how hugs and laughter play a role in your life, and whether you may just want to pay a little more attention to how they show up!

Some links to articles on the topic (as mentioned in the episode):
https://mensa.org.uk/the-science-of-laughter/

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-relief/art-20044456

https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/01/health/science-of-laughter-scn-wellness/index.html

Thanks for Listening!

I appreciate you taking the time to listen.  If you enjoy it, please follow the show,  and review it. If you think someone else may enjoy it, please share.

I welcome you to follow me on my Instagram, where I also share my photography and positive thoughts for the day!  

@inflowwithnatalie 

"My wish for you is to live in positivity, health & harmony" 

This meditation is to help those who may be experiencing significant pain, where there is a feeling that you cannot overcome it.  If you tuned into Episode 16, released with this meditation ("On the Loneliness of Pain"), I explain how we can feel alone in our pain, and also how our thoughts can consume us in times of pain. 
At times when the pain is so intense that your thoughts are consumed with it, you may  find that the experience of pain can become heightened.

  This guided meditation is intended to take you to a place where, through focused breathing, and bringing your mind to a place where you can become an observer of your pain - as if it is a visitor, but it is not you -  you can discover that your thoughts are not you, and you are not your pain, you may be able to experience a little respite from the extreme pain experience.   

While your pain experience is real, being open to a practice of meditation that can help you to see your pain in a different way, and to perhaps even take you to a place where you can recall other pain free times, you may also be able to rewire some of those pain signals in your brain, and maybe this may help you become more aware of how your thoughts can play a role in the experience of pain, and how you can change your thought patters to help perhaps alleviate it a little. 

 I hope this helps.  

A note on my meditations: I have been creating these guided meditations for myself, based on what I have been learning through this journey of self-awareness.  And I have decided to share them for anyone else who may find them helpful. 

Thanks for Listening!

I appreciate you taking the time to listen.  If you enjoy it, please follow the show,  and review it. If you think someone else may enjoy it, please share.

I welcome you to follow me on my Instagram, where I also share my photography and positive thoughts for the day!  

@inflowwithnatalie 

"My wish for you is to live in positivity, health & harmony" 

Pain can be incredibly lonely. And sometimes, it's not just the pain itself - but the thoughts and stories that we tell ourselves about how our pain is affecting our lives and the lives of those around us.  Sometimes those stories can heighten our  pain as well. 

In this episode, I share some of what I've learned about creating a little space around those thoughts. And about how being honest about what we are feeling, and realizing that while our pain may exist, we are not our pain can help us move through it in a different way. 

A separate meditation for those experiencing pain is being released with this episode.  

I welcome you to join me.

Thanks for Listening!

I appreciate you taking the time to listen.  If you enjoy it, please follow the show,  and review it. If you think someone else may enjoy it, please share.

I welcome you to follow me on my Instagram, where I also share my photography and positive thoughts for the day!  

@inflowwithnatalie 

"My wish for you is to live in positivity, health & harmony" 

In this episode, I share something I recently came across that I had written about  25 years ago, during a time in my life when I felt very alone -  a time of sadness, when I frequently carried feelings of grief,  loss, along with a little uncertainty about my life.  The poem came from a place where I took the time to reflect on how I was feeling, and I learned that from that reflection, I found  gratitude  for my life, my well being, and even for my ability to  experience sadness.  

I thought it was worth sharing. I hope you enjoy it.

Natalie

Music accompanying the poem brought to you by my talented nephew Justin Drapeau 
[email protected] 

Thanks for Listening!

I appreciate you taking the time to listen.  If you enjoy it, please follow the show,  and review it. If you think someone else may enjoy it, please share.

I welcome you to follow me on my Instagram, where I also share my photography and positive thoughts for the day!  

@inflowwithnatalie 

"My wish for you is to live in positivity, health & harmony" 

This Meditation is released along with Episode 14, "Stop Worrying About What Other People Think, and About Everything Else! My Thoughts on How LIfe Is Like a Dream".  Feel free to check out that episode, where I share thoughts and tools on how meaningless our worries, are and how to stop that cycle!

THIS MEDITATION:

This meditation is an opportunity for you to take a little time with yourself, to clear your thoughts of the worries that may often fill your mind, and to take a few moments to be honest with yourself. Maybe to think back to a time where your mind was never filled with these kinds of thoughts, when you enjoyed every little moment without the fear of what you needed to think, or do.    This is also a time to think about the strength that can come from within when you begin to practice awareness in identifying the moments those thoughts begin to enter your mind, when you begin to recognize  that those thoughts are separate from who you are.

When you learn to let go of their hold, release them or simply observe them without attachment, you will  find peace and strength and confidence in who you are and how you think, leading you to discover the pure bliss of consciousness and the true essence of your being, YOU,  as you are meant to be.
 Please join me.

Thanks for Listening!

I appreciate you taking the time to listen.  If you enjoy it, please follow the show,  and review it. If you think someone else may enjoy it, please share.

I welcome you to follow me on my Instagram, where I also share my photography and positive thoughts for the day!  

@inflowwithnatalie 

"My wish for you is to live in positivity, health & harmony" 

In this episode, I share my thoughts on how to break free from the cycle of those needless worries that are often filling your mind, by learning the power of conscious or mindful living.  I share thoughts on how most of our worries are about what other people will think about us, fear of judgement by others.  I explore the senseless nature of worries, and how they prevent us from fully experiencing life. And, I  offer some practical thoughts on how  becoming more  conscious of the present moment, will help you to address worries as they creep into your thoughts (as we often live with these thoughts without even being aware of them).  I also touch on the fleeting nature of life, comparing our life experiences to dreams.... moments that may be forgotten shortly after they have passed,  illustrating just how senseless it is to worry about the thoughts someone else may have about you, not to mention, that you are often incorrect in your thoughts about what others may even be thinking!   
Tune in to find out how to change your focus from what others think to what truly counts - your inner peace and happiness!   

As usual, I am also releasing a separate meditation today with this episode, so if you enjoy my meditations, please check that out as well!  
Thank you! 

Thanks for Listening!

I appreciate you taking the time to listen.  If you enjoy it, please follow the show,  and review it. If you think someone else may enjoy it, please share.

I welcome you to follow me on my Instagram, where I also share my photography and positive thoughts for the day!  

@inflowwithnatalie 

"My wish for you is to live in positivity, health & harmony" 

This Meditation is being  released with Episode 13 (The 3AM Club: Finding Calm and Getting Back to Sleep).  In Episode 13, I share personal stories about my sleepless nights,  and how I found ways to calm my mind, and  accept the wakeful moments, which has helped me to drift back to sleep.   I explain in that episode why I created this meditation.  

This meditation will help you relax, find an inner sense of calm, allow you to accept your sleepless moments without judgement, so you can find peace with it, relax, and fall back to sleep. The meditation includes a short form of yoga Nidra (not in the traditional format), to help relax your body.

I hope you like it!  

Intro guitar: Natalie MacDonald

 

Thanks for Listening!

I appreciate you taking the time to listen.  If you enjoy it, please follow the show,  and review it. If you think someone else may enjoy it, please share.

I welcome you to follow me on my Instagram, where I also share my photography and positive thoughts for the day!  

@inflowwithnatalie 

"My wish for you is to live in positivity, health & harmony" 

In this episode, I share my sleep(less) stories, from the perspective of a 50 something female, who has learned all too well what 3 AM looks like, while all the world seems to be asleep.   Having tried everything, I recently found a couple of ways to ease myself  back into sleep, which I share here.   I also share my experience with  that 3 AM witching hour, that seems to happen - no matter where we are.  Practising awareness, and accepting these quiet wakeful moments without judgment, can change how we look at sleeplessness, allow us to still our minds, and ease us back into slumber.  I also share a bit of fun with howler monkeys! 

I created this episode to explain the purpose and focus for my  "Mediation to Ease You Back Into Sleep", also released the same time as this episode.  I create these mediations for my own use - as they help me in those moments, and my reason for sharing them is in the hope that others may also find them helpful.  
Join me.

Intro guitar music: Natalie MacDonald
Howler Monkeys sounds: the local howlers in Manuel Antonio, during my stay (thanks howlers!)

Thanks for Listening!

I appreciate you taking the time to listen.  If you enjoy it, please follow the show,  and review it. If you think someone else may enjoy it, please share.

I welcome you to follow me on my Instagram, where I also share my photography and positive thoughts for the day!  

@inflowwithnatalie 

"My wish for you is to live in positivity, health & harmony" 

Often our decisions are made by listening to our thinking minds, which comes from past programming that can often be misinformed.  In Episode 12, I share my thoughts on why we may want to rethink those "should do" messages coming from our thoughts, and instead start to become aware of how our heart feels.  We can trust in our hearts, and if we can become aware enough to learn how to listen to our heart when it calls to us,  we may find the answers to the questions that we may be asking ourselves. 

 This  meditation provides a few quiet moments to spend time with your heart, to begin the practice of listening to your heart.  Join me . I hope you enjoy it! 

Thanks for Listening!

I appreciate you taking the time to listen.  If you enjoy it, please follow the show,  and review it. If you think someone else may enjoy it, please share.

I welcome you to follow me on my Instagram, where I also share my photography and positive thoughts for the day!  

@inflowwithnatalie 

"My wish for you is to live in positivity, health & harmony" 

In this episode, I talk about how telling ourselves that we should do  something, usually means we are resisting it.  If you really want to do something, you don't usually need to convince yourself that 'you should'.  When we are resisting something, it may be a sign that we are doing something in opposition to our heart.  I share my thoughts on how when we rethink those actions that come from our thinking minds (which are often misinformed by past programming), we may be able to hear the messages from our hearts.  We cannot always trust in our logic, our thoughts; but we can trust our heart.  I share thoughts on how we can practice listening to our hearts, to find the answers to the questions we may be asking ourselves.  A meditation follows that provides some quiet moments to spend time with your heart, to begin the practice of listening to your heart.  Join me .

Please note: these episodes begin with personal stories and reflections on the topic, almost always followed by a meditation. I usually release the meditation separately within the week after the episode is released so you can enjoy the meditation later on its own.  

If you enjoy this, or any other episode or meditation - or if you think someone you know may enjoy it, please feel free to share it, and perhaps follow the show!

Guitar/intro music: Natalie MacDonald
Meditation background music provided by:  [email protected] 

Thanks for Listening!

I appreciate you taking the time to listen.  If you enjoy it, please follow the show,  and review it. If you think someone else may enjoy it, please share.

I welcome you to follow me on my Instagram, where I also share my photography and positive thoughts for the day!  

@inflowwithnatalie 

"My wish for you is to live in positivity, health & harmony"