I shared the other day, a post about faith. About my faith, and what it means to me. I know that this post reached a lot of people – more than most of the things that I share does. Which indicates to me that a lot of people clicked on this post, and read it. Even if they didn’t “like” it, or comment on it or share it. They read it. You may have been one of these people.

Faith is not a topic that we talk about much. It is often something that we keep hidden or keep to ourselves – for fear oftentimes. Fear of being judged, fear of being laughed at, fear of being ridiculed or challenged.

But for me, there can be no denying the profound impact that my faith in a higher power, in something beyond me, has had in my life. Prayer provides the channel for connection with that something greater, beyond the limits of our thinking minds.

I talk about so many tools that we can use to create really meaningful, sustainable change in our lives – practices like meditation, walking, journalling, visualising, goal setting, daily tracking, drinking water, connection with people and being part of a community…the list goes on.

But I don’t often talk about faith. About prayer. About letting go and trust and surrender. About admitting that we need help, that we can’t / don’t want to do it on our own. Prayer involves a deep humility. It can satisfy our desires, our yearnings, it can fill the deep empty hole of purposelessness.

About how when we pray, we are intentionally connecting with that higher power. We are sharing ourselves. We are asking that power to go to work in our lives, to help carry the load, to strengthen us, to heal, to help us, and in the lives of people we are praying for, in the lives of others.

Over the years I have at times in my life shared a prayer publicly. This has generally been during times of deep challenge or crisis in my life. It has brought me great peace to share, and I know that it has brought peace to those of you who have joined me. But I have also felt that perhaps I was over stepping the mark. That it might upset people, or cause a reaction and I would have to deal with the fall out from that.

And to be honest, I didn’t know if I was strong enough for that.

But now. I am.

Our faith is deeply personal. We don’t get extra points for making a big deal about it.

But when we prayer together, we all deepen our connection.

And as I shared the other day. My faith is a beacon of light, of hope, of encouragement, of understanding, of compassion, of forgiveness, of unconditional love.

And I know how much people are struggling at the moment. And I know this can help.

So, if I talk about walking, and encourage you to go for a walk. You can pick that up and run (or walk lol) with it, or you can just leave it be. When I talk about journalling, and encourage you to journal. You can pick that up, and run (or write) with it, or you can leave it be. The same with sharing a prayer. If you want to join me, please, feel free. But if not, then you can leave it be, as well.

But my work here is to share what I know helps. To share the tools and practices that are good to do, that help transform us from the inside out. I’ve always shared that meditation is the key to transforming our selves and our lives. But I’ve not shared to the same degree that prayer is one of the most powerful tools I have come across.And from this moment forth, this changes.

Prayer gives us something. And it needs to be experienced to be understood. You can’t understand it first. It’s beyond our understanding. We need to believe, first. And when we do. When we can believe first. Then miracles can truly come to work in our lives, and those of the ones we love and care about.

So here is a prayer I would like to share with you today, and if you want to join me, please do. This prayer was shared with me during a time in my life when I just didn’t know how I could go on. But, I did. Strengthened.

Prayer for when I am feeling lost

Lord, I reach out to you for your guidance. Please show me which way to turn. Calm my anxious thoughts, come speak into my mind. Strengthen me as I falter and feel weary. May I feel strength rising up within my heart. Bring clarity into my visions and dreams. I trust that you are with me, no matter where I go, Or what I decide to do. You journey with me always. Amen.

Love always,

Fiona xxx

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It is only through acceptance that things can change.

If we are resisting, rejecting, denying who we currently are, where we currently are, how we are – then we are going to stay stuck where we are.

When we can surrender to what is, that where I am now is where I am now and where I am now is perfect. To accept that for you to change, for things to change, for you to experience yourself differently, you have to accept yourself right now, just as you are.

Right now, just as you are, with all of your flaws, weaknesses, disappointments, all the hurt, the anger, the blame.

The first step is an awareness of what is right now, and then an acceptance of it. The change cannot come without the acceptance.

If you are perfect and worthy enough, right now, if you can completely accept yourself right now, just as you are, then it is perfectly ok to own and admit where you are and how you are struggling.

And through that acceptance, comes a surrender. And through this surrender to the present moment is how you move through it, accepting yourself the whole way.

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Let’s be honest. No-one really likes getting out of bed in the morning.

But getting up early, intentionally, with the right attitude, sets your day up on the right trajectory.

Pressing snooze for half an hour in the morning is not going to make you less tired, in fact, it is probably going to make you feel even worse.

There is a space in the morning that does not appear at any other point in the day.

There is a level of self-discipline that is involved in getting out of bed in the morning, earlier than what you are now. But this self-discipline creates space, and time and freedom. It also builds something within you.

Taking charge of your mornings – in the first decision of the day – is how you take charge of your life.

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Today's episode marks three years since The Happiness Hunter podcast was first released. And so it felt like a good thing to do to create the space in this episode for you to have an opportunity to reflect on and remember why you started.

... and where you are now in relation to that decision.

Nearly 10 years ago, I made a life-altering decision that I just wanted to be happy. And not long after that, that I just wanted to share what I was learning and discovering with other people. And the over the course of the last ten years, I've hit many challenges, gone the wrong way, got very lost, gone round in circles... yet lots of things have also been done well too.

But every time I get off track, I can go back to why I started, and this helps me refocus and regroup and get back on track.

Do you know why you started? Or do you feel like you are still waiting?

Some questions for you to consider:

Remembering why we started.

It can be challenging, but it's always worth it.

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It is so important that we take (read: make) the time for some quiet, healthy, honest self-reflection.

Otherwise we just meander through life, the years pass by... and then we wonder where all that time went, and nothing much has really changed.

Taking (making) the time to reflect can be deeply uncomfortable, and very challenging. But if we don't, then we deny ourselves the opportunity for something more; we deprive ourselves of the opportunity to grow.

And, by they way, this time doesn't magically appear.

We have to create the space for it.

Some questions for you to consider:

And if you are struggling to answer any of these - send me a message.

Fiona xxx

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Most of our stress and overwhelm comes from too much busy in our head, too many choices, too many decisions- and lots of flapping, huffing and puffing (shallow breathing, not enough oxygen to our brain) and spinning our wheels with all the stuff we have to do RIGHT NOW.

In this episode of the podcast, you'll discover a simple strategy to help you get out of overwhelm and trying to do all the things (and probably not doing any of them well - if at all).

We get things done best when we are present and focusing on one thing at a time. Focusing solely on the task at hand, before moving on to the next thing.

What is the thing that will move the needle for you right now in the most meaningful way? Work out what that is. And then go do it.

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If you weren't your story, who would you be?

Who are we, if we are not the story?

How is that story relevant to today and the life we want to be experiencing?

How does telling that story match up with the new story we are writing for our life?

Pretty much, I can guarantee it doesn't.

But it's an old, familiar story, and we are comfortable telling it.

When we hold on to that story, constantly identifying with the self of old... breathing life into that story every time we remember it, every time we tell it, every time we emotionally connect with it.

How that keeps us stuck in the old story.

Even as we are trying to move forward.

We need to let go of the story.

We need to let go of all the stories we have around the story.

It's time to start telling the new story, and only telling that one. With a nod and a wave to the story of old, but that's it.

Sure, the old story is what got us to here.

But when we keep telling it?

We keep the story alive here.

Let's start telling all the new stories.

Being willing to let go.

To become.

Make sure you listen to this week's episode and see what comes up for you!

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If you think about an area of your life you are struggling with at the moment - chances are you are struggling because your behaviour in relation to that area does not reflect your values.

The challenge we mostly face with this is that we are either: 

a) not clear on our values or

b) are not living our values (consistently) through our behaviour (eg do as I say, not as I do- in other words our actions do not reflect what we say is important)

Following on from the recent episode with Dr John Demartini on Honouring Your Core Values, in this episode of the podcast we are going to be talking about how you can get clear on your values and understand the behaviours that align with them, to help you see your way through your struggle.

Get clear on your values (what you have determined is important). And understand what that means in terms of your action (in actually living your values).

And from that place of alignment, you can begin to turn the ship around.

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As Marcus Aurelius put it: “The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”

Too often we don't take action, because we are scared it will be messy. We don't start, because we are worried that the action we are going to take is not perfect.

But what we want to do instead is begin to embrace the mess and the imperfection, understanding that whatever we do is perfect in its imperfection, and it is in our messy, imperfect action that we learn to overcome the obstacles standing in our way.

In fact, it is the only way.

It’s messy at the beginning and in the middle and sometimes at the end, and that is perfectly okay. 

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In today's episode of the podcast, you'll get to hear from human behavioural specialist and founder of The Demartini Institute, Dr John Demartini. Having authored over 50 books (and counting), over the last 40 years he has worked across the globe assisting and guiding individuals and groups to greater levels of achievement, fulfillment, and empowerment in all areas of their lives.

We cover a huge amount of ground in this episode, and you'll have many opportunities to reflect on how your life is demonstrating your values - and gain some key insights into how you can make your life your masterpiece.

Some of the things we discuss, include:

May you know yourself, and may you be yourself.

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