How to focus – the best life tool inside you!

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Teacher

May the focus be with you.

Understanding your focus is your best tool in conscious relating to self, fellow humans and nature. Observe how your focus wanders, track your inner landscape and invite your focus onto the tracks you choose. The old tracks might not lead to what you want!

Trust the journey, trust the unknown. Can you…? The spiritual path of transcending from our human experience as a goal is different to the soul path where we enter fully into our human experience aka ordinary life. Enduring the highs and lows of human life from the heart: compassionate, curious and connected.

Embodying soul. Defining focus. Trusting life.

Shooting an arrow fully embodied and trusting yourself, the arrow(intention) following your focus and the bow as an extension of you, can be a really powerful experience. Playing with the 2 universal energies, the feminine (bow) and the masculine (arrow) will allow you to dive deeper into the mystery of life. Similar with your focus: you can change from wide vision looking focus to single dot laser sharp focus.

Every culture on Earth had similar concepts of polarities and there has always been the mystery, for example the Dagara Cosmology tradition in Burkina Faso, Africa is similar in thought to string theory where it is the theory of everything. Every particle in the universe contains a vibrating string which leads to other dimensions, nothing dies; instead, Tingan (masculine) and Tenbalu (Earth/Mother) are continually reshaping into other forms of matter.

What does mystery mean to you? …and how to keep your focus while life is mysterious…

Kanyini principles (from the Yankunytjatjara people around Uluru) are best expressed as the combination of the two words ‘responsibility’ and ‘love’ being in relationship, caring with no limit – and no timeframe. “That is what we get from Earth Mother; that is what we get from Sun Mother (female energy) and that is what we get from Moon Father (male energy). They look after everything – in the realm of caring by these two mothers, all are brothers and sisters! Family extends to all species and is inclusive of everything. Our Earth Mother is all of our mothers; we don’t just have one mother – everything is Mother.” Earth Mother has a sister, the Sun, and these two are responsible for all beings on Earth – imagine that – you feel utterly secure because you belong to all that there is, and all that there is belongs to you. A belief system (BS) that supported a sustainable lifestyle as far back as we can see today! The focus was on belonging supported by a strong tribal culture.

I found it fascinating and I hope that I can tickle some curiosity in you. I could go on…looking at the dancing Shiva (yoga/Indian tradition) in my logo, the polarities and elements in Chinese traditions ….and there is always the unknown, the mystery, yet each tribe has a certain focus that creates the culture. And as Jung said, our vision will only become clear when we can look into our hearts. The unknown within, if you don’t know your hearts desires how can you know your vision, how can you focus on anything really?

Keeping all that in mind, observe your focus in daily life.

What is your belief system…mindset…. and we could call it focus…! Is it based on Kanyini principles? Your religion, your upbringing? In other words… what makes you tick the way you do every day?

How much effort do you put in (drawing back your bow) to launch the arrow, extending your intention into the future.

Stay with me in this embodiment, aka archery picture drawn in your mind: Aim small, miss small. That’s the basic rule to focus! I suggest to train your focus muscle and keep it flexible.

Are you held back by your BS in any part of your life? (Health, Wealth, Love, Archery…?) The truth is, true transformation is easy when you get your mindset, your focus, right. Sounds to easy to be true? Well, guess what, your mind does not like the unknown naturally. That’s why it is so hard to change… And after working with hundreds of people over the years I’ve discovered that the secret to this lies not in the person only, but in the journey the person goes on.

Tracking your inner and outer landscape is crucial for changing your mindset, success not only becomes easy, it becomes predictable.

Start observing your mind. Aware & Relaxed. Playful & Neutral. And with curiosity.

Finishing with some yoga terms: Where manas(mind) goes prana(energy) flows.

„Das Leben ist wie ein Spiegel: Wenn du stirnrunzelnd hineinschaust, wirst du auch die Stirn runzeln; wenn du ihn anlächelst, wist du einen Segen erwidern.“ William Makepeace Thackeray
Alles spiegelt sich im Spiegel. Jeder Aspekt unserer Wahrnehmung der Realität hat einen Spiegel.
Betritt mit uns einen sicheren, spielerischen Raum, in dem Mitgefühl für sich selbst und Andere sowie Neugier auf deiner Reise zusammenkommen. In diesem Raum werden wir untersuchen, wie wir wahrnehmen – wie sich jeder Aspekt unserer Realität in unseren Beziehungen und unserem Selbstbewusstsein widerspiegelt.
Der gemeinsame Nenner des Spiegelerlebnisses ist, dass Du, wenn Du den Blick wagst, immer das sehen werden, was Du sehen mußt.
Mit einem Spiegel gibt es alles. Alles, was Sie brauchen, liegt im Spiegel. Es bleibt nur noch, den Blick zu wagen.
Das Reflektieren, Spüren, Fühlen und Nachdenken über unser Leben auf dieser einzigartigen Reise ist ein Geschenk aller Elemente, die unseren Weg unterstützen.

“Life is like a mirror: If you frown at them, they will frown back; if you smile at them, they will return a blessing.” William Makepeace Thackeray

Everything is reflected in the mirror. Every aspect of our perception of reality has a mirror.

Step into a safe, playful space where compassion for yourself and curiosity about your journey come together. In this space, we’ll explore how to perceive — how every aspect of our reality is mirrored in our relationships and our self-awareness.

The common denominator of the mirror experience is that if you dare to look, you will always see what you need to see.

With a mirror, there is everything. Everything you need lies in the mirror. All that remains is to dare to see.

Reflecting on life on this unique journey is a gift from all the elements supporting your path.

What to Bring

Weather-appropriate clothing, sun hat, everything you need to be comfortable. Please check the specific retreat settings.
Packed lunch and snacks (up to you), Water bottle – check catering options
A pillow and a yoga mat
Notebook and pen
Towel etc if it is a Summer retreat.
A curious and open mind 😉

Please read the Narrative Yoga Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions before booking for this course. Camping is not available for every event. Please ask for more information.

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It is understood and agreed that Narrative Yoga will not be liable to the Customer, or any agent or associate of the Customer, for any mistake or error in judgment or for any act or omission done in good faith and believed to be within the scope of authority conferred or implied by this Agreement.

Ticket terms and conditions

Tickets are sold subject to the ‘Presenter’ (Narrative Yoga) and any third party vendor’s ‘Terms and Conditions’ of sale, which are available for review at the time of purchase. The ‘Terms and Conditions’ of sale, entry and participants presence at Narrative Yoga events include but are not limited to the following:

1 A change in personal circumstances of the ‘Ticket Holder’ does not entitle the return or the exchange of the ticket. However they can be transferred to another person as long as you notify us at least 48 hours before the event. A $20 handling fee applies.

2 Children under the age of 18 must be advised of their responsibilities by a parent or legal guardian.

3 Children under the age of 12 must be under the care of a parent or legal guardian at all times.

4 Narrative Yoga reserves the right to add, withdraw or substitute any elements of the program or vary the advertised ticket prices or patron capacity.

5 Community standards of behaviour are expected and persons deemed to be behaving in a manner that is dangerous or unacceptable will be refused admission and/or removed from the site.

6 Deposits are not refundable.

Purchase of ticket and/or entrance to Narrative Yoga workshops indicates acceptance of the following warning: The property/venue you are about to enter is a provider of recreational and educational services and activities, where you are further warned and advised that Narrative Yoga and/or the land it is staged on is an inherently dangerous place that may contain all manner of obstacles, risks and dangers, both known and unknown, natural and man made which may result in loss or damage to your property, personal injury or even death. Knowing this to be the case you voluntarily assume the risk of serious injury or death if you choose to come onto the property and do so at your own risk.

Responsibility

Responsibility/Liability Waiver

The decision to take part in the workshops is ultimately yours, as is the responsibility for whatever results come from that decision. The workshop involves the use of body movement, sharp tools and arrows, and facilitator will do their best to make all participants aware of the inherent dangers of their particular workshop and relevant safety guidelines, however you (or you for your child) are responsible for using your own judgement and common sense when doing anything. If you (or your child) do attempt something and suffer injury at the workshop, I will of course do everything I can to help. In the end we are in a natural and often unpredictable environment….if you want a safety cocoon it might be best to stay home.

While I believe in taking full personal responsibility for our actions, all participants will be asked to sign a waiver on entry to the workshop.

Everyone (including the host and their guests, helpers and family) who enter the workshop space does so at their own risk. The Workshop organisers accept no liability for any injuries or issues arising during or from the workshop. You agree to the private and refund policy from Narrative Yoga.

Ticket terms and conditions

2 Children under the age of 18 must be advised of their responsibilities by a parent or legal guardian.

3 Children under the age of 12 must be under the care of a parent or legal guardian at all times.

4 Narrative Yoga reserves the right to add, withdraw or substitute any elements of the program or vary the advertised ticket prices or patron capacity.

5 Community standards of behaviour are expected and persons deemed to be behaving in a manner that is dangerous or unacceptable will be refused admission and/or removed from the site.

6 Deposits are not refundable.

Thanks for a great weekend with the longbow making workshop. I appreciated the mix of longbow expertise with the more meditative elements and advice that could be applied to other areas of life. To paraphrase: Don’t get too hung up on the final product without enjoying the journey. You need to enjoy the journey. If you don’t enjoy the journey, you’re missing the point. It was a relaxing time and I’m proud of the work I completed. I would definitely recommend the longbow workshop to others.

David

Just wanted to thank you again for such an awesome bow making weekend the other weekend. I’ve taken my bow out shooting since and I’m still so impressed with her. It’s an awesome feeling to know that I’m shooting with something I created myself and could make again too.

Jessie

The longbow workshop in Trentham a couple of weeks ago was the best! My son and I enjoyed bonding time in the company of a friendly group of likeminded souls. Best of all, we made something together that we will cherish and look after for a lifetime…reminiscent of the toys and tools of my own childhood. A bonus is the time my son spends daily (!) honing his newly discovered archery skills 🙂 The longbow workshop was a beautiful and enduring experience for us both. Thanks Lars!