Happy 2015 everyone and welcome to the next phase of life! The school holidays have gone very quickly – right now, there is only a week or so to go. Then it will be time to make time and begin the process of moving towards some of the goals many of us have put into place for this year. Personally, I am very excited to be able to share my completely overhauled website and logo with you. This beautifully designed and fresh looking site was put together by my friend and fellow yogini, Jennine Rouget of Peach Creative. Many of the gorgeous images were taken by Sophie-Elinor Brown, my partner, Nev Jones, Sally Dunwell (of Sally Dunwell Photography) with the not-quite-so-special probably snapped by Yours Truly!
It really had to be done. My previous website was perfectly functional but tired looking and my IT man, was the only one with the techy skills to keep it looking fresh. And as we all know, although a busy other half will always nod and agree to do something for you, it umm, generally only happens when it happens. Which means it often doesn’t!
And so, the bullet had to be bitten. It is difficult to make decisions such as these when you have a family to think about and financial obligations. I had been spoilt because my IT man had always done this stuff for me. However, it’s also important to be able to move forward and to not always have to rely or wait on someone else who is pretty busy with their own stuff. It is quite empowering. I no longer have to ask my other half to help me out with (much!) of my web stuff. Phew.
I would love to know what you think so please tell me how it feels navigating your way around. It is most definitely a work in progress and we intend to add bits and pieces as is appropriate.
Now, talking of spending money, have you noticed how our priorities can be quite unusual when it comes to what we deem is OK to spend our “spare” cash on? For one example, if we are grocery shopping we might decide that if priced at $5, an avocado is way too expensive, but yet we tend to think it normal to spend $4.50 on a cup of coffee or a takeaway ice-cream. We might also happily spend $50 or more per week on alcohol (three bottles of wine), $70 or more on a hair-do, buy far more clothes than we can actually wear and purchase tons more towels and sheets than we can actually use. I write this because of the opportunity we have to spend a whole weekend with a lifelong Master of Qi and to begin to learn how to harness the internal, energetic power (that we all possess) in order to create positive, healthy change in our lives. Change that could result in us having to spend less money in the long term on things like body work, super foods, remedies and the incidental things that (for a short time at least) give us a buzz and “make us happy”.
But yet, some of the feedback I had when I announced this workshop was regarding the cost – $270 for the WHOLE weekend (that’s 14 hours of life-changing tuition).
Of course, I understand that $270 is a lot of money from the family coffers. However, as previously stated, it is also possible to spend $150 in a day and not actually, really know what the hey it was we spent it on! In fact, I reckon if we are truthful, this happens regularly.
Let me also put it another way. When I was in Sydney I paid $25 for an OK yoga class. The last time I was in Newcastle it cost me $20 for another OK, one-hour yoga class. These are studio classes where sometimes, the teachers have only recently qualified from the minimum amount of training required to facilitate a class. It’s also fair to say that certificates and degrees are not much more than proof of intellect compared with the profound wisdom that is gained through years of knowing and actually “being” what it is we purport to do or teach. But again, we may not consider this a big deal necessarily because we expect to pay this amount. As with the ice cream above, we think nothing of it. But yet, on the other hand it is hard for us to determine actual “value” when so many things are not quite up to scratch. We expect and want to purchase things cheaply without necessarily considering the quality.
I can’t quite be sure but do wonder if it is because when we spend money on things, we like to “see” something tangible. However, this year, having realised how quickly the past 15 have flown by (don’t the Olympics seem like yesterday?), it is my goal to spend my money a little more wisely. To make sure I have some amazing, life-enhancing experiences and to really think about where some of that wasted cash actually does go so that I can make this a priority.
So please trust me when I say that $270 for a fourteen-hour workshop with an experienced life-long Master is an incredibly valuable investment if you want to feel better and if you truly believe that health is the most precious thing a human being can actually possess. Did you miss out this time because you were umming and ahhing and trying to make a decision? Doh! Well there is a lesson in there somewhere! But, if you will have him, I am sure he will be back.
So, please join me on a more experiential journey this year. Let’s make an intention right now to not sweat the small stuff quite so much and to work towards doing some really cool things! Don’t miss out by thinking too much. Namaste all, enjoy 2015 N x
The Master: Zhen Hua Yang