http://www.contemplatum.co.nz/blog/ The latest Blog feeds from www.contemplatum.co.nz en-us Tue, 11 Aug 2026 06:57:02 +1200 Rocketspark http://www.contemplatum.co.nz/blog/post/168278/how-are-you-feeling-today/ A simple question, but it can be a tricky one to answer without using blanket descriptors such as ‘good’, ‘not bad’, ‘stressed’ or ‘fine’. Why is it that we find it difficult to pinpoint or name the emotion (or emotions) that we are feeling? I think it comes down to a number of factors, which I will briefly explain here.Firstly, there are many emotions to pick from.We have 17 different key emotions that we can feel - yes, that’s right 17!  So it’s no wonder that det... Tue, 04 Aug 2026 14:10:54 +1200 http://www.contemplatum.co.nz/blog/#post168278 http://www.contemplatum.co.nz/blog/post/165978/a-bucketful-in-winter/ With winter now here, I’m thinking about how to work with this season in harmony, rather than resent it or wish it gone.  I have always been a hot weather, summer kinda girl!!There is a feeling of hunkering down, grounding to the earth and taking strength and sustenance from it.  I recognise that slowing down and coming back to myself is what might be most helpful and nourishing during these colder and darker months. I welcome this yet retract slightly from it as well.  Man... Mon, 08 Jun 2026 09:52:55 +1200 http://www.contemplatum.co.nz/blog/#post165978 http://www.contemplatum.co.nz/blog/post/163185/morning-roll-call/ I scanned my emotions this morning.  But not for how I’m feeling now.  I scanned them in reflection over the past couple of days (maybe even longer back) to identify the emotions I had felt, and to check in with the insights they were giving me.I suppose it’s more like an inventory or roll call.  Making sure they were all present, had all been attending my inner world, as well as my conscious and awake one, so that I didn’t miss seeing, acknowledging and learning from each o... Tue, 07 Apr 2026 16:00:42 +1200 http://www.contemplatum.co.nz/blog/#post163185 http://www.contemplatum.co.nz/blog/post/162900/the-romance-of-sleep/ I still really enjoy my sleep, and at times cannot get enough of it.  A bit like the pull of an exciting new romance, where you never want to leave the other person and you can’t get enough of them, this is sometimes how I feel when I awake from sleep – the longing to return, or the craving for sleep’s loving, warm and tender embrace when I have been away from it for too long.Now however, it feels like sleep is an obstacle, getting in the way of the many things I must complete, or wan... Mon, 30 Mar 2026 15:22:31 +1300 http://www.contemplatum.co.nz/blog/#post162900 http://www.contemplatum.co.nz/blog/post/159840/she-is-where-i-belong/ My body is my home.  It was given to me by my mother, carefully grown from within her.  A joint project between her and my father.At some point she handed over the keys, giving me full ownership.  Or maybe I took them, feeling that I was now ready to take full responsibility for the care, maintenance and upkeep.I learned a lot of things in relation to how to look after my home.  Many things were helpful, essential even.  Many, as it turns out, were not so helpful or even... Wed, 04 Feb 2026 11:39:55 +1300 http://www.contemplatum.co.nz/blog/#post159840 http://www.contemplatum.co.nz/blog/post/158860/the-light-and-dark-of-doubt/ I have observed how my level of self-confidence, my self-belief, self-assuredness, impacts my energy and feelings of lightness and brightness.  When doubt creeps in, it brings a heaviness with it.  A heaviness that likely wants to anchor me to the known and to the safety of what I have done, and not failed at. I sense that it does this out of protection and therefore is a component or facet of fear.  It’s an alertness to the new, to novelty, to change - to the unknown. &nbs... Fri, 16 Jan 2026 11:27:42 +1300 http://www.contemplatum.co.nz/blog/#post158860 http://www.contemplatum.co.nz/blog/post/158555/breaking-the-tyranny-of-time/ Even during this holiday time of year and at this time in my life, with no external timelines placed on me and no need to be anywhere or do anything, I find or catch myself hurrying and covertly rushing.  Rushing to get the current task completed so that, what?  I can get onto the next thing?  I can have this thing done so I no longer have to be with it or in it?  I don’t get pushed over by the queue of things to do that will be piling up behind me (at least in my head... Thu, 08 Jan 2026 12:11:12 +1300 http://www.contemplatum.co.nz/blog/#post158555 http://www.contemplatum.co.nz/blog/post/158531/tick-tock/ ... Wed, 07 Jan 2026 10:43:50 +1300 http://www.contemplatum.co.nz/blog/#post158531 http://www.contemplatum.co.nz/blog/post/156451/the-unknown-and-anchovies/ When you are about to walk 830 kilometres across Spain it is understandable that you start questioning your fitness and physical ability to complete such a mammoth challenge.  My training had been pretty consistent, gradually increasing my walking distances and my hill work.  But with only three weeks to go until we started walking the Camino del Norte, the opportunity to complete whatever training was needed to get myself physically ready, and confident that I could do this walk,... Sun, 23 Nov 2025 14:45:28 +1300 http://www.contemplatum.co.nz/blog/#post156451 http://www.contemplatum.co.nz/blog/post/155992/walking-the-camino-dont-forget-to-pack-your-anxiety/ It was two weeks until we would be winging our way to Paris, starting our three-month exploration of Europe and six weeks of walking the Camino del Norte.  There were still a few things to do - well actually tens of things to do!  It was now feeling very real, and my excitement was growing.My anxiety was really talking strongly to me, and I was listening keenly.  It was letting me know that all the underground thinking, planning, ideating and mental arranging I had been quietly do... Mon, 10 Nov 2025 21:31:15 +1300 http://www.contemplatum.co.nz/blog/#post155992