A Life In Flow with Angela AC

16/05/2023

Love that this knowledge is becoming more accepted in the mainstream

When something traumatic happens to us, is the memory stored in the body or the brain? New research suggests it’s both.

30/03/2023

Home is where my body is. Where is home for you?

I’m currently roadtripping, camping amongst the rainforests and coastline 🌊 between Sydney and Melbourne, packing up and repitching our tent every 3-4 nights.

It got me thinking about where and what home is.

For me, home is a feeling.

Do you know that feeling of being in a plane 🛬 at the end of a long journey away, as it slowly descends and comes to land on the tarmac of your home city?

Or perhaps that moment when you’re on holiday 🏖️ and you finally feel yourself fully let go… your shoulders drop, you stop thinking about work and you truly relax.

Or when you get home after a busy day 😌, change into your comfy clothes and can take your bra off? 🙌😉

That’s what connecting with myself feels like. My body is my home.

Here’s a process you might like to use to find home in your body. Lying on your back, on a blanket on the floor or ground…

Take a few moments to get comfortable, making any little adjustments necessary, repositioning a bit like parking a car.

Then tune in, scanning your whole self to see what’s there. Like a slow motion photocopier, take a snapshot of the way your body is making contact with the surface beneath you.

Notice where your attention is naturally going to in your body - perhaps spots of tension, and let your attention radiate out from that spot to the rest of you, softening that tension in the process.

Listen to your body and breath with curiosity and without judgement, like closing your eyes and quietly listening for sounds of birds, the wind and anything else that’s there whilst out in nature.

Allow your thoughts and breath to slow down, like a light feather gently drifting down and coming to land on the earth.

Let me know in the comments how you go and what the experience is like 💙

23/03/2023

Embracing Life's Rollercoaster: Finding Presence in the Now 🎢✨

Lately, I've been pondering the idea of presence and what it means to be truly alive, open and awake to the NOW. 

My late Ah-Ma (Chinese Grandma) taught me a valuable lesson about living in the moment. She loved traveling and rollercoasters 🎢, so we once visited the Gold Coast for some theme park adventures.

Watching rollercoaster riders, I noticed three distinct types of people: those who reluctantly ride, eyes shut, wishing to be anywhere else; those who brace themselves, clench their teeth and endure the ride; and those who lean into every twist and turn, hands in the air, savouring the experience 🙌.

Not clinging to the safety of the past.
Not racing to the end.
But being alive and present to what is right in front of you, right now.

As a Capricorn, I'm always working towards something, but I've found that loosening my grip on plans and goals can lead to delightful, serendipitous moments 🌟 In these instances, I truly feel alive and present.

Share a moment when you felt truly present in the comments below, and let's explore what it would mean to experience more of that in our lives 💫.

15/03/2023

❤️‍🔥🌊 Embracing all of me: A Story of Climate Activism and Self-Care

Have you ever felt like you need to hide parts of yourself, thinking they don't belong in a certain space? I know I have. But this video inspired me to change that. It made me realize that it's okay to share the different parts of myself, even if they don't fit with what people expect from me. https://www.tiktok.com//video/7205536938319826181

One of the many stories that make up who I am is my journey as a climate activist. Just before the world shut down with COVID, Australia was ravaged by the biggest bushfires seen. It was my giant wake-up call that climate change is well and truly here. I disappeared down a rabbit hole of research, and since then, I’ve been immersing myself in the world of activism and advocacy.

But activism and advocacy burn out is REAL. Most don’t last beyond a couple of years, and unfortunately, climate change is not going to be “fixed” within this time. So I need to ensure I am here to do what I can for the long haul.

This has looked like creating space to acknowledge and hold my own climate grief, cultivating relationships with my beloved nature “sit spots” by the river, and learning to be compassionate with myself. I’ve also been reminding myself that there are other parts of me and infinite ways I can contribute and be of use.

For me, the committed practice of listening and tending to my wants, desires, and needs are what make A Life In Flow. Having a heart burning both fiery and gently, with rage and love, who constantly feels the pull to do more, more, more as well as the desire to feel anchored, calm and considered.

Embrace your authentic self, and don't be afraid to share the different parts of yourself. You never know who you may inspire along the way.

15/03/2023

🔥🌊 Embracing all of me: A Story of Climate Activism and Self-Care

Have you ever felt like you need to hide parts of yourself, thinking they don't belong in a certain space? I know I have. But this video inspired me to change that. It made me realize that it's okay to share the different parts of myself, even if they don't fit with what people expect from me. https://www.tiktok.com//video/7205536938319826181

How does erupting rage 🌋 and sacred anger ❤️‍🔥 fit in with A Life In Flow 🌊?

One of the many stories that make up who I am is my journey as a climate activist. Just before the world shut down with COVID, Australia was ravaged by the biggest bushfires seen. It was my giant wake-up call that climate change is well and truly here. I disappeared down a rabbit hole of research, and since then, I’ve been immersing myself in the world of activism and advocacy.

But activism and advocacy burnout is REAL. Most don’t last beyond a couple of years, and unfortunately, climate change is not going to be “fixed” within this time. So I need to ensure I am here to do what I can for the long haul.

This has looked like creating space to acknowledge and hold my own climate grief, cultivating relationships with my beloved nature “sit spots” by the river, and learning to be compassionate with myself. I’ve also been reminding myself that there are other parts of me and infinite ways I can contribute and be of use.

For me, the committed practice of listening and tending to my wants, desires, and needs are what make A Life In Flow. Having a heart burning both fiercely and gently, with rage and love, who constantly feels the pull to do more, more, more as well as the desire to feel anchored, calm and considered.

Embrace your authentic self, and don't be afraid to share the different parts of yourself. You never know who you may inspire along the way.

08/03/2023

Finding balance 🌱 in a world of urgency - How to stay connected to yourself 🧘🏻‍♀️ when everything pulls you in different directions 😫

How do you stay connected to yourself when you feel you're being pulled in all directions?

Since we have accustomed to living with the pandemic, life has sped right back up and everything seems so damn urgent again.

Yesterday I was finally offered a meeting time with a politician I have been chasing in my climate advocacy for weeks. It seemed so sudden and urgent I felt the visceral sense to "drop everything" to attend to this. I heard in my head "all systems go!"

I noted my spike in heart rate, and that mini high I get from the adrenaline rush of "doing something" - especially when it's connected to something I'm passionate about. I take notice these days because I know how addictive it can be and am wiser for the times I've ridden that wave all the way to burn out.

Somewhere in the midst of this I managed to slow down long enough to notice what I was doing and recognise I had a choice. I was creating my own experience. �
🌊

I deepened my breathing, and remembered what I HAD been doing when I got the email - getting ready to head out for a shop to restock the fridge to feed my family for the week. A little mundane maybe, but necessary.�

I took a reality check - sadly this meeting will NOT solve climate change in one conversation. In fact nothing would be changing at all in the next 2 hours. And as tempting as it was to just drop my everyday task to pour all my resources into something more exciting, I knew putting my personal and family needs aside at this moment would have consequences.

I'd be saying yes to the immediate validation of feeling like I was doing something important but also causing myself more stress which usually leads to less connection with my family (hello cranky!). Which is crazy right, because, ultimately aren't they reason why I am doing all this in the first place?

These are my patterns 🌀. It's incredible when you start seeing them and realise you can change them.

I’d love to hear from you in the comments - What's a pattern 🌀 you'd like to change?

16/09/2022

Your little reminder:

✨ It’s ok to want more ease in your life.

💙 You don’t have to do anything to deserve it

🌊 You only need to allow…

🌊🌊🌊

29/08/2022

Is your me-time at the end of the day? Or the end of the week? If this works for you, great! But I’ve come to recognise it doesn’t work for me. I’m spent by then, why should I get only get my leftovers?

So instead I get up early, and I fill up at the START of the day. I get my best self first and you know what? It ends up benefitting everyone else in my life too.

I've extended this to how I approach my week as well, and have declared my Mondays Me-Day.

It’s so important you make regular space in your life to connect, love up, revel and luxuriate in your YOU-ness.

Write a list of the things that make you feel happy. When do you feel your heart fill to the point of overflowing? What are those things that make you happy sigh? Big and small.

It could be sitting outside in your backyard with your favourite beverage, lighting a candle and feeling grateful, walking in nature, dressing up for YOU, journalling, treating one of your senses, singing your heart out to your favourite song, moving your body in a way that feels good. It doesn’t need to be big, it just needs to be intentional.

What makes your heart feel full?

21/08/2021

GOD, THIS IS BEAUTIFUL! TAKE THE TIME TO READ IT ❤️
As someone who writes often, I naturally appreciate epic writing when I see it. This morning, I came across this written piece of art and it moved me deeply, so I had to share it with all of you! Not only are these words true theatre, they also act as sound advice ❤️

my brain and
heart divorced

a decade ago

over who was
to blame about
how big of a mess
I have become

eventually,
they couldn't be
in the same room
with each other

now my head and heart
share custody of me

I stay with my brain
during the week

and my heart
gets me on weekends

they never speak to one another

- instead, they give me
the same note to pass
to each other every week

and their notes they
send to one another always
says the same thing:

"This is all your fault"

on Sundays
my heart complains
about how my
head has let me down
in the past

and on Wednesday
my head lists all
of the times my
heart has screwed
things up for me
in the future

they blame each
other for the
state of my life

there's been a lot
of yelling - and crying

so,

lately, I've been
spending a lot of
time with my gut

who serves as my
unofficial therapist

most nights, I sneak out of the
window in my ribcage

and slide down my spine
and collapse on my
gut's plush leather chair
that's always open for me

~ and I just sit sit sit sit
until the sun comes up

last evening,
my gut asked me
if I was having a hard
time being caught
between my heart
and my head

I nodded

I said I didn't know
if I could live with
either of them anymore

"my heart is always sad about
something that happened yesterday
while my head is always worried
about something that may happen tomorrow,"
I lamented

my gut squeezed my hand

"I just can't live with
my mistakes of the past
or my anxiety about the future,"
I sighed

my gut smiled and said:

"in that case,
you should
go stay with your
lungs for a while,"

I was confused
- the look on my face gave it away

"if you are exhausted about
your heart's obsession with
the fixed past and your mind's focus
on the uncertain future

your lungs are the perfect place for you

there is no yesterday in your lungs
there is no tomorrow there either

there is only now
there is only inhale
there is only exhale
there is only this moment

there is only breath

and in that breath
you can rest while your
heart and head work
their relationship out."

this morning,
while my brain
was busy reading
tea leaves

and while my
heart was staring
at old photographs

I packed a little
bag and walked
to the door of
my lungs

before I could even knock
she opened the door
with a smile and as
a gust of air embraced me
she said

"what took you so long?"

~ John Roedel (johnroedel.com)