1. Welcome!

Welcome to the first edition of Mindful Memo!

Each Sunday open Mindful Memo for your fix of feel good, mindful recommendations, reflections and inspiration.

Today it feels right to share why I am here and how I ended up in your inbox this morning!

After completing meditation teacher training, I didn’t leap into holding meditation circles or share my passion online for mindfulness. Publicly I didn’t feel confident in my knowledge, even though I wanted to be turning up so badly! But privately I was developing a deep love for the practice of mindfulness that I’m now so excited to share with you.

This practice has seen me through some rocky times as I entered my forties.

When I was 38 my forties couldn’t come soon enough. 38 and 39 felt like limbo to me. Almost like 17 felt when I desperately wanted was to be 18 and living my adult life.

But then I turned 40. I was still me, just older.

I was still dealing with the same bullshit stories of not being good enough, earning enough, doing enough etc etc blah blah blah. Honestly I was sick of myself and the shit talk. Maybe this feels familiar for you too?

So I started digging deep.

First I went regularly to see my kinesiologist and then my pyschologist. I meditated and journaled with more passion then ever before. I also stopped meditating and journalling for long periods when it didn’t feel like my safe place anymore. I slept well and then slept like shit. Somedays I treated myself with love and respect and then others I said the meanest things to myself. I questioned my relationships. I questioned my choices. I wonder where my place was in the world.

In these first three years of my forties I’ve had to exercise my resilience muscle over and over, as life goes on life-ing and tossing grenades. All the while becoming more acutely aware of ‘my stuff’, my triggers, my old wounds, my patterns of behaviour. Throw in a hysterectomy and you know, the start of my forties has been a wild time!

And that brings me to today. Sunday the 2nd of June 2024. And this is what I now know: by ‘doing the work’ I’ve realised I will always be ‘doing the work’. It seems so obvious now, but I honestly thought I had myself pretty much worked out until the last few years.

But I also know now, I have the inner tools to continue creating a life I love!

The gift I didn’t expect when I did meditation teacher training was the one I was giving myself. Going through the process of learning about different types of meditation, how to guide others, the importance of journalling and developing a regular practice, I have given myself the tools to deep dive into who I am.

I don’t want to live life afraid of what others think. And I don’t want to live life being so mean to myself. Because damn it, I’m 43 now. I’m ready to move on from that torment.

You might be feeling this stuff too as you reach milestones and the years seem to tick by faster and faster?

I’ve been journaling with this question a lot lately: X is my vision/goal/dream, what am I afraid of?

I allow the fears to come up and then I write my rebuttal. Kind but to the point.

i.e. FEAR: It’s hard work, I’m not disciplined enough for hard work. REBUTTAL: You completed a health science degree that you hated. It was so much hard work. You can do something that is hard work, BUT joyful!

And this is my joyful-hard-work-dream, to write about navigating life mindfully. To share what I have learnt and to learn from others. To share my favourite tools for a mindful life with less shit talk.

And to turn up for you when you need a safe place.

Lately I have found myself wanting to notice my life, I don’t want to be a bystander who wakes up and wonders what I’ve done. And mindfulness is my salve for that.

Thank you for joining my mailing list - for some of you it was literally years ago and you’ve heard nothing from me until now. Please know there are no hard feelings if you choose to unsubscribe.

But if you do choose to stick around, I plan on popping into your inbox each Sunday morning with musings about meditation and mindfulness, plus my top three discoveries for the week; think a podcast ep that expanded my thinking. A new meditation I think you’ll find useful. A recipe, book or TV show that is bringing me joy.

Keep scrolling for this weeks three gems.

Libby x

1. Endel
   This app is the soundtrack of my slow restful days, but also my WFH days. I’ve been using it for maybe 18 months now and it does something to my brain that just helps me slow down and keep focused.
   Endel uses AI tech to adapt the soundscape to your needs, which sounds wild, but I’m so into it! It takes into account your location, the time of day, the weather and even your heart rate if you wear a smart device!
   Try Endel with this free code! 14 days of science-backed sounds to help you focus, relax, and sleep.

2. Chris Corsini
   My favourite person on Instagram. On the first of every month you will find me refreshing and rechecking until Chris drops my Aires tarot reading for the month. If you don’t already follow him and you love star signs, tarot and witchy business, you must!

3. The House That Joy Built
   This may not be a new recommendation for many of you, because well, you may very well have found me via this amazing book by my best friend Holly Ringland! Nothing humble about that brag, ha! I mean what an honour to be mentioned in a book this stunning.
   Even after reading Joy in draft form and then listening to Holls narration, I still go back time and again to randomly open her to just the right wisdom I need to hear in that moment.
   Creating and showing-up is hard, everyone deserves my bestie in book form cheering them on!
   Highly recommend The House That Joy Built if you are someone who dreams of showing up in the world as a creative, but feel blocked or held back or not good enough. You are good enough and the world needs your art and your voice.