Living A Fulfilling Life

Simonette will highlight some of the ways you can inquire and begin to understand the disconnection you might be experiencing with your true self and body image. You will keep a journal to record your insights and exploration, noting your hunger levels and emotional states over the next 30 days. There will be instruction followed by gentle meditations to enjoy and assist you in embracing your whole body. This is an important contributor to leading a fulfilling life.

Emotional Nourishment We all have many different hungers and needs; most people try to satisfy their emotional needs with food, alcohol, or sex, but mostly food. For women and young girls, this brings up a whole lot of damaging self-beliefs and ideals around beauty, health, and worthiness. Enjoy your body is essentially a guide to help you re-create your self according to healthy, practical and inspirational ways of nourishing your emotional hungers. I have discovered through my own journey and when assisting others with this important recreation of Self that the common theme is to get rid of those strong feelings of guilt and shame. This means freedom to live a sensually nourishing life and become creative about feeding your emotional hungers. The guided meditation is based on tapping into the power of your imagination for creating new connections and associations. This is facilitated by listening regularly to these positive visualisations about your body, sense of self, and gratitude for what you have. Changes in your way of being need to be more than psychological; we need to take action in our world and see if our new ways actually work. The new becomes embodied through lived experiences. Neuroplasticity allows for stronger connections to be formed. Keep coming back to your kind intention to love yourself and make wise choices. Your own journey is an inspirational study, and it is never too late to enjoy your body.

Spend time writing in your journal reflections about how you feel about all the different parts of your body: note down the parts you love, accept, or dislike, and even hate. Then reflect on when you have enjoyed your body with pleasure from touch, or the experience of Awe looking at an amazing view. Reflect and record as many of these pleasurable times you have experienced. Remember to hold a caring and kind attitude toward yourself. No doubt knowledge around nutrition is important, but this program is more around the psychological aspects. How accepting or rejecting are you about your physical form?

Improving your Self-Talk with body-affirming statements. Simonette will guide you to make more positive statements about yourself. Following this will be a deeply nourishing guided meditation to focus on your whole body relaxing.

Parental Practices and Social Conventions influence and embed certain emotional connections with food and drink. These early learnings can still be operating at that unconscious or autopilot level. So, when we can be as present and mindful when we are eating, this can assist us in rewiring our eating habits. Mindfully eating is the key to shedding a lot of unhelpful associations.

Position yourself comfortably as you listen to lesson 6, where Simonette will guide you into a guided metaphor to release anything that is not serving you. Shedding Shame - Snake and the Moon cycles of renewal: Shedding your shame visualisation. Metaphors are a transformational language that stirs us in our emotional depths and helps to open the blocks that our defences can build. Let the flow of experiences bring newness. In Australia, we have the World Heritage Listed Blue Mountains region, where there are hectares of native trees, including a wide variety of gum trees; I refer to the stringy bark trees. The bark on these trees can be appreciated as nature's work of Art; the colours, shapes, and texture of the bark are mesmerising. The bark reflects the tree’s DNA potential interacting with the environmental changes in temperature and the movement of the seasons. The cycle over many years and centuries – these are ancient landscapes. The trees shed the top layers of bark slowly over time, revealing a shiny, smooth layer underneath… the smooth bark glistens in the moonlight. We too have our textured layer of protection, in the form of defences and habits that have built up over many years. Good, bad, ugly, happy, lovely experiences that have built up over time. We have a variety of ways to protect our more vulnerable, soft, shiny selves. When we meditate regularly, we are shedding through insight and through self-discovery. Vulnerability is the key here to building strong and meaningful relationships with others. We are part of nature, the ecosystem; watching the cycles and tending to your emotional landscapes is important and will assist you to rejuvenate and maintain this viable ecology. Enjoy this guided meditation to shine your light from within to encourage you to confidently shine brightly whenever you want to.

Relaxation is not a luxury—it is a gift you give your body and mind. Every moment of stillness allows your nervous system to rest, your mind to become clearer, and your well-being to flourish. Simonette guides you into a whole-body relaxation session. There is nothing you have to do; simply position yourself comfortably and follow the suggestions to relax in a truly nourishing way. Regular relaxation practices such as body scan, body focus, yoga-nidra, and vagus nerve breathing are important practices for overall well-being and goodwill toward yourself. Relaxation that is nourishing and restorative rather than numbing or dumbing down. Enjoy and listen to lesson 7 whenever you have the opportunity and inclination.

You may notice that whenever you’re eating—or about to eat—there’s often an internal chatter going on. Usually, there are a couple of conflicting voices, each reflecting a different need. When I had my eating disorder, I became very aware of these conflicting voices. You can learn to identify these inner conversations and the needs they represent. Some voices may sound critical and loud, drowning out anything positive. There might be a voice that is angry, a voice that is afraid, or a voice that carries guilt and shame. I often think of them as noisy cockatoos—when there’s more than one in a tree, they can be deafening. We need to find ways to quiet these noisy birds so we can listen for what else may be arising. There is also a healthy voice within you—one that supports you. Let’s bring our attention to that wise inner voice. Notice your self-talk in the quiet spaces, and invite your wise voice to speak more clearly. Your wise inner voice is connected to the total of who you are and all you’ve experienced. You might recognize it as intuition, a gut feeling, or even goosebumps on your skin—the voice of your truth.

In my early twenties, many years ago, my sense of value as a woman depended on how “good” I looked and whether I was sexually appealing. I was full of fear, doubt, and anxiety. I had been valued for my appearance, while my other qualities went unacknowledged. It was tragic and deeply sad. I lived through hell and experienced more trauma than I can mention here. I have grown since that time, and gifts have emerged from those lived experiences. Seeking health, finding it within, and sharing it with others has helped me become bolder and more fulfilled with each passing year. If you can relate to any of this, I hope you can hold yourself with gentle compassion and love. It takes time to build yourself up—to feel strong and lovable—and it is so worth it. Life can be a deeply joyful experience: moving from harsh inner critics toward mindful affirmations rooted in loving-kindness. My “guilt trip” was fueled by starving and punishing myself, and by trying to live up to unattainable social pressures and internalized sexual objectification. I learned to believe my value was based only on my physical appearance—that I had no voice, no right to protest, and never, ever to say no. It was an impossible paradox that led to emotional starvation, and I tried to fill the void through behaviors like bulimia, smoking, and sexual addiction. These kinds of self-defeating inner conversations and behaviors around food can reinforce feelings of worthlessness and futility. A mind filled with internal conflict can bury those empty feelings, but it also lowers self-worth—which affects social situations, work, relationships, and every facet of life. Often, no one knows this is happening; it’s kept secret, locked away in a vault. But it’s still there, close to the surface, felt as sensations in the body: panic, anxiety, numbness, dizziness—secrets eating away from the inside, leaving you wanting.

Let’s transform your pain into personal gains—with kindness toward your body. It’s time to review your reflections from the past 10 days. What do you notice about yourself? It can help to develop a caring attitude and support yourself, especially when you’re feeling vulnerable. You can now get creative and design a list of activities that genuinely meet your emotional needs. For example, if you’re feeling lonely, call a friend or join a group to build social connection. Begin to satisfy the emotional need for contact—because eating a Tim Tam isn’t the same as having a meaningful conversation. They may taste good, but you can still be left with the feeling of aloneness. If you’d like, you could invite a friend over and share the Tim Tams together. That can become a positive, nourishing experience—especially if you both slow down and enjoy every mouthful. Now, write a new story about how much you love your body and how you nourish yourself on all levels. Write a love letter to your body—you are moving from harshness and neglect toward gentleness and care.

Epidemic Social Isolation Even if we have 4,000 Facebook “friends,” how many real, face-to-face friendships do we have? How often do you truly connect with the people you care about—every day, every week, once a month, or once a year? Meaningful connection matters. Reaching out, sharing time, and contributing to someone else’s happiness can do wonders for your own wellbeing. Seek out the company of others and co-create activities and friendships that feel ongoing and reliable. Vulnerability is one of the deepest ways we connect. Can you meet another person’s pain with kindness? When you do, you may help them shed their old protective “bark” and reveal their genuine, tender humanity—and they may offer you the same. Start by contacting a friend today and checking in. Connection is one of the strongest protectors of wellbeing.

Compassion practice is a beautiful way to exercise your socialising muscle at home. The practice not only improves and grows self-compassion, but it also reduces the stress that we may experience in our everyday interactions with others. In this lesson, you are guided into the mindfulness and compassion practice of directing loving-kindness and good intentions toward yourself and all Beings everywhere. Notice how you feel after this practice and how it calms and soothes your heart.

Emotional intensity isn’t something to fix or fear. It’s energy asking to be met with awareness. When we take TEA Time—Evaluate, Accept—we can turn reactivity into presence. Emotions can crash over us like an ocean wave. We can learn to befriend our emotions: to listen, and to give ourselves safe, meaningful ways to express what we feel—through a conversation with a friend, crying or sobbing, or even letting ourselves yell (in a healthy, contained way) when we’re angry. Emotions are never static. They rise and fall, fluctuate, pass, and change as our experiences change. They can become much easier to work with when, as you notice them in your body, you pause and check in with yourself. Name what’s here: “I feel sad.” “I feel angry.” “I feel frustrated.” “I feel grief.” “I feel excited.” Acknowledging what you feel gives you space to explore it. Your emotions matter—and they can guide you toward important choices and kinder care for yourself.

Emotional Nourishment Exercise: TEA Reflection Reflect on the acronym TEA: - T = Thinking - E = Evaluations - A = Acceptance Now imagine a loud BANG at your front door. You open it, and standing there is Anger—red-faced, puffed up, and intense. You stay calm, take a few deep breaths, and invite Anger to come in and tell you what’s happening. Anger may have something important to offer you. You listen, you acknowledge it, and you allow yourself to understand what it needs you to know. Then, in your mind’s eye, you both share a cup of TEA and place your empty cups on the side table. Spending TEA Time with your emotional experience—however intense—can be revealing. In the process, you can discover healthier ways to express your feelings and meet the needs underneath them.

When we experience the uncomfortable feelings of jealousy or envy, they can point to a fear of loss, a habit of comparing ourselves to others, or a longing for something we believe we don’t have—feeling “less than.” If this is showing up for you, offer yourself kindness and take a moment to acknowledge how far you’ve come. A Buddhist practice called appreciative joy invites us to celebrate another person’s happiness and success. It doesn’t deny your feelings—it simply helps you widen your perspective and soften the grip of comparison. See how you go having a “cup of tea” with your jealousy. These feelings aren’t bad—they’re signals. They often point toward unmet needs, longings, or parts of ourselves that are asking for attention and care.

Grief and loss – Grief is a normal part of life and love and loss. It is a measure of how much we feel, the love and connection with that person, and how intensely we feel. Sadness over the end of a relationship, or loss of a job, not getting the promotion, children leaving home, a whole range of things can cause us to experience grief. Not only can you feel sadness, but there can be a mixture of emotions, guilt, regret, anger, confusion, and complexity. When I think about grief in my own life, it is most connected to? "Grief is a natural response to loss, change, and transition. Whether we are saying goodbye to a person, a place, a role, or a stage of life, grief reflects the depth of our connection and capacity to love." TEA Reflection for Grief When grief intensifies, I can gently take TEA Time: T – Truth What loss is my heart acknowledging right now? E – Emotion Can I allow this grief to be felt without trying to fix it? A – Awareness What do I need most in this moment—rest, support, expression, or stillness?

You are continually growing, developing, and changing—especially as a woman moving through transitions from child to teenager, to adult, and, for some, through pregnancy and birth, and later menopause. The beliefs we hold about these changes aren’t necessarily true for everyone. And even when they’re outdated or inaccurate for our current life, they can still be powerful. See if you can reframe your circumstances by putting a personally meaningful spin on what’s happening. Look for the learning, or the opportunity, inside the adversity. Growth through challenge is often where resilience is built—and where you discover new strengths, interests, and skills. The difference between a growth mindset and a fixed mindset can be astonishing. Learning and growing is a natural part of life. Becoming a learner again might feel awkward or bring up anxiety at first, but it’s worth trying—because with effort and persistence, you can improve. Consider trying something new. Take a tango class, explore a creative art, or choose any activity that helps you feel engaged, expressive, and alive.

In today’s lesson, you’ll be guided through a gentle practice of observing the content of your mind. You’ll practice one-pointed focus for five minutes, supported by the sound of a soulful flute. This mindfulness practice is similar to mindful breathing, but instead of focusing on the breath, you’ll focus on your “value word”—bringing your attention to the sound of your inner voice silently repeating that word. During the five minutes, you may notice thoughts, feelings, or sounds around you, and you’ll likely find your attention wandering. That’s completely normal. Each time you notice, simply return to your value word. This practice lays the foundation for our next sessions on being present with the senses. More on that tomorrow. For now, simply close your eyes and listen. Allow yourself this time. Simonette will guide you through the practice and bring you back at the end of the session.

During this practice, you’ll connect with your Inner Companion—sometimes called the Wise Self, Higher Self, Inner Guide, or the voice of your soul. Like most of us, you may be very familiar with your inner judge or inner critic, the voice that can feel like it’s running the show. In this practice, you’re invited to validate and cultivate a friendship with your Inner Companion—the voice of your intuition and your truth. You’re encouraged to give this Inner Companion a name, and to form a clear image of them. Begin checking in with them, especially during times of doubt or uncertainty, or whenever you need comfort and support to self-soothe. Enjoy.

Every one of us longs to be understood. Long before we seek advice, solutions, or reassurance, we hope someone will truly listen—take the time to understand us, and really hear what we’re saying and feeling. That can be a rare experience, and it’s also a skill we can develop and offer to others. In this session, you’ll choose a friend to practice deep listening with. It might be an old friend you know well, or someone newer—sometimes it’s easier to try a new way of relating with someone you don’t yet have strong habits with. Deep listening involves slowing down, pausing more, and letting go of the urge to fix or advise. Your role is to listen, and then reflect back what you heard—especially the feelings underneath the words. If your friend responds well, you might agree to take turns, so you also have the experience of being deeply listened to. This simple practice can be surprisingly powerful, and it may transform your friendship into something more meaningful for both of you.

Conversations are often easier when we agree with the other person—we naturally lean into them. But how do we stay in conversation with compassion and curiosity when someone has a completely different worldview or opinion? That takes courage, and it’s worth practicing. We live and work alongside people from many cultures and walks of life, and openness, kindness, and a willingness to learn are some of the best ways to live peacefully side by side. In this lesson, you’ll be invited to think of someone you’ve had a falling out with—someone you may want to repair a relationship with. We’ll practice a compassionate conversation approach, along with a guided visualization to help you set a clear intention before reaching out. The key is to hold the intention to stay compassionate, kind, and curious. This can help you remain grounded in the conversation, no matter how the other person reacts or responds.

Take a moment to reflect on your relationship with the natural world around you. Do you love spending time in nature—gardening, walking along the coast, or being in the rainforest? How often do you make time for it? You’re probably already aware that you are not separate from nature. You are affected by it, and you also affect it. There is abundant evidence that spending time in nature benefits our wellbeing—and you likely know this from your own experience, too: the places you’re drawn to, the holidays that restore you, or the regular lunchtime walk that helps you reset. Practice 22 invites you to reflect on times of change or crisis, when strong emotions were present. Did you find yourself drawn to nature—looking out a window at trees or the sky, stopping to watch the ocean, or gazing toward a distant horizon? Did that time feel comforting or clarifying? Did a resolution arise, a new insight, or a direction you wanted to follow? I know that during transitions in my own life, time in nature—walking, exploring, or simply standing and taking in the view—brought me peace of mind. It gave me space to hear my inner companion and sense the next step to take. My wish for you is to experience nature as a compassionate friend. It will be my pleasure to guide you into this meditation: Nature as your compassionate friend.

Bring your new skill of deep listening into an even wider relationship: listening to what nature may be asking of you. Compassionate ecology is an approach to life that recognizes we cannot truly flourish unless the natural world is cared for and tended. Everything is interconnected—insects, animals, birds, fish, plants, trees, fungi, forests, and our shared global humanity. Now bring your attention to your place within your own ecosystem. How might you give back and tend the relationships you have—with one another, and with the natural world? Begin simply by spending time locally. Sit under a tree. Take a walk and find a place to pause. Speak gently to your garden or even your pot plants. Take your time, and stay open and curious to what is right in front of you. Deeply listen. Notice what you can hear, smell, taste, see, and feel—holding the intention of compassionate listening: “I care. What do you need? How can I help?” Notice what arises in you. You may feel awe, sadness, joy—or you may receive a quiet sense of direction. The more you practice and honor what nature is showing you, the more you may recognize your interdependence. How can you care for, and deepen, your relationship with the natural world?

We grow together, and throughout the life cycle we often revisit familiar situations, people, and life events. A fulfilling life is cultivated through small daily choices that, over time, transform the landscape of your life. In Practice 24, you’ll be invited to contemplate: Where have you grown most over the past year? What qualities are beginning to blossom within you? What would you like to cultivate next? A home practice for you is to plant something—perhaps a vegetable, flower, vine, or herbs. Choose a young plant so you can tend to it and watch it grow through the seasons. Notice how changes in temperature and light affect it, and offer it your attention and care.

Spend some reflective time listening deeply to your inquiry about your life path. This might relate to a vocation, a calling to service, a side hustle, or a deep longing to express yourself creatively—as an artist or musician. It could also be a role of service and protection, such as an emergency responder for people, animals, or the land; a firefighter; a builder; an interior decorator; or a landscape gardener. Let’s uncover and connect with how you want to live and contribute. Simonette will guide you through this deep listening practice. When the session has finished, please journal whatever you connected with, and keep it somewhere safe so you can return to it in the following sessions. Question: When you listen deeply to your life, what feels like a meaningful calling for you at this stage? 1. What I love — I feel drawn toward the people, places, and activities that bring me alive. 2. What I can offer — I sense that my experiences, strengths, and gifts have something valuable to contribute. 3. What the world needs — I feel called toward something that matters beyond myself and supports the wellbeing of others or the living world. 4. What is emerging — I’m curious about what life is inviting me toward now, and willing to follow where that sense of purpose leads.

Creative Expression: Allowing Something New to Arise Choose one creative art form or opportunity that interests you. You might paint, draw, write, photograph, sing, dance, make something with your hands, work with natural materials, garden, cook, or explore another form of creative expression. Begin without deciding exactly what the outcome should be. Allow yourself to play, experiment, and follow your curiosity. Notice what begins to emerge as you engage with the process. A colour may suggest another colour. A shape may inspire a new form. A word may lead to an unexpected idea. Something you didn’t anticipate may begin to take shape. What new possibility is arising through your creative expression? Creativity gives us the freedom to imagine and explore beyond what we already know. In this way, creativity becomes a source of innovation. Innovation then invites reciprocity. You respond to what has emerged, and your response creates something further. The process becomes a living exchange between you, your creative expression, and the world around you—creating a life that reflects who you truly are: a compassionate creative, and a co-creator. In this practice, you’re encouraged to choose a creative form and express playfully, without attachment to the outcome. You might paint with watercolours, plant seeds for a veggie garden, take a dance class, write lyrics, or sing. Choose what calls to you, and permit yourself to have a day of play. Creativity opens the door to new ways of thinking and doing—inventing, creating, letting go, and flowing with what’s here. Discovery: I may uncover an idea, feeling, or possibility I had not expected.

Visioning gives your imagination permission to explore the future you would love to co-create. When you hold a clear, meaningful vision, it can focus your attention and open you to opportunities, people, ideas, and pathways that help make it possible. Your calling points to what matters most to you. Your intention gives direction to how you wish to live and contribute. Together, your calling, intention, and vision can become a guiding thread—helping you recognize opportunities and take steps toward a future where you, your relationships, your community, and the living world can flourish. As we do this, we remember we’re moving beyond individual wellbeing and into care for the wider community and ecosystem we are deeply connected to.

Nature shows us the extraordinary value of diversity. A healthy ecosystem is rich with different species, relationships, and ways of contributing. In agriculture, we are increasingly recognising the limitations of growing a single crop repeatedly in the same soil. Diverse plantings, together with animals and other forms of life, can create richer, more resilient and regenerative systems. Each of the parts contributes something different, while the interdependent relationships between them strengthen the whole. Nature shows us the extraordinary value of diversity. A healthy ecosystem is rich with different species, relationships, and ways of contributing. In agriculture, we’re increasingly recognizing the limits of growing a single crop repeatedly in the same soil. Diverse plantings—alongside animals and other forms of life—can create richer, more resilient, regenerative systems. Each part contributes something different, and the interdependent relationships strengthen the whole. Human communities and workplaces can flourish in much the same way. People bring different experiences, perspectives, skills, cultures, personalities, and ways of seeing the world. Diversity expands what a group can imagine and accomplish. When difference is welcomed and respected, it creates opportunities for learning, creativity, innovation, and more effective responses to complexity. At times, difference can also create tension. Someone whose way of thinking or behaving is very different from our own may challenge us or bring up strong reactions. These moments offer an opportunity to practice curiosity, deep listening, and a compassionate heart. Psychological safety grows through everyday acts of respect and care. When people feel heard, valued, and able to express different perspectives, trust can develop—and the group becomes more capable of drawing on the diversity within it. In this practice, you’ll bring to mind someone you find difficult, or someone whose perspective or way of being is very different from your own. With curiosity and compassion, you’ll explore what becomes possible when you listen deeply and make space for difference. Like a healthy ecosystem, a flourishing community makes room for diverse folk. At times, difference can also create tension. Someone whose way of thinking or behaving is very different from our own may challenge us or bring up strong reactions. These moments offer an opportunity to practise curiosity, deep listening and cultivate a compassionate heart. Psychological safety grows through these everyday acts of respect and care. When people feel heard, valued and able to express different perspectives, trust can develop. The group becomes more capable of drawing upon the diversity within it. In this practice, you will bring to mind someone difficult for you, or someone whose perspective or way of being is very different from your own. With curiosity and compassion, you will explore what becomes possible when you listen deeply and make space for difference. Like a healthy ecosystem, a flourishing community makes room for diverse folk.

The Gift of Reciprocity In Practice 29, you’ll be invited to reflect on how you receive gifts from others. Do you allow people to offer you help and support? Or are you usually the one providing the shoulder to cry on, or helping friends move house? Notice what happens when someone goes out of their way for you. Do you feel grateful—or do you feel awkward, guilty, or like you owe them something? In this practice, you’ll be encouraged to open to receiving: to say a wholehearted “thank you” when someone offers a compliment, when a colleague or manager gives you praise, or when a stranger shows generosity. Let your heart open wide enough to be filled. Receiving with gratitude, giving with generosity, and trusting that both belong—this is part of a flourishing life.

There are seasons and cycles in our lives: birth, growth, regeneration, degeneration, decay, and renewal. Let’s remember to bring celebration and ritual into the “big” moments of our life journey. Call in your people—your folk, your crew—to celebrate with you. We can dance under the full moon, or gather around a campfire with everyone bringing food and drink. Sometimes we can plan these moments, and other times we’re blindsided—like when we find ourselves unemployed, or when a pregnancy arrives (welcomed or unexpected). Celebrations are culturally universal, even though they may look different across traditions. We’ve come to the final practice in this program. I invite you to imagine a joyful celebration to wrap up our time together. And remember, you can always return and revisit any of these practices whenever they feel relevant. Looking back over these 30 practices, what gift are you taking with you from this journey? - A new way of being and doing — giving and receiving in a more fulfilling way. - New ideas and perspectives — seeing yourself, other people, and the living world with greater curiosity and appreciation. - A deeper connection with yourself — more awareness of your inner life, your values, and what helps you flourish. - A greater sense of connection with others and nature — a deeper appreciation of relationships, community, diversity, and the living world around you. - A commitment to keep practicing — remembering that flourishing is nurtured through everyday choices, and choosing to keep making time to pause, appreciate, and give thanks. Our journey continues—creative, connected, and rooted in giving and receiving. You are living a fulfilling life. Bye for now, and remember my name: Simonette, from Australia.