Seeking Wholeness

Happy New Year!

At this time, a week after the celebration of Christmas, we find ourselves gearing up for one more round of parties, celebration, and perhaps some deep reflection and quiet contemplation.   And we carry on a tradition of making , what many people call, New Year’s Resolutions.

I was pondering this word on the night of the solstice- when the light begins to return for longer periods than the darkness- and it dawned on me (no pun intended!) that the evening of the solstice felt more like “New Year’s” to me than anything.  A new year was beginning for me that night, as the darkness would be given less time to linger, and the light would be filling our days moreso.  What a great way to think about how we are moving into a new chapter in our lives.  The chapter of 2010-

But the meat of what I got to pondering, on that cold, crisp night here in Minnesota, where I live… was the word “resolution”; what’s with this making new year’s resolutions stuff?  I find there is a lack of feeling and motivation behind this word, resolution.

I wondered how many other people hear that catch-phrase and imagine the plethora of topics that are common in our country:  eating healthier, going on a diet, losing weight, getting in shape, paying off debt, quit smoking, quit drinking, quit this, quite that, stick-to-this, follow-through-on-that, etc.  These things can sound like such a CHORE!  And then it hit me:  the very word itself, resolution, implies there is something to be resolved, and if something is to be resolved, then we must first have a “problem”.

Well, I don’t like the word problem. When we take into account the Bigger Picture, I feel that here, there are no problems.  A problem is a matter of perception.  They are just a sign-post that something is simply out-of-whack in our mind and our heart, and thus is spills forth into our outer lives.  So we must bring it into the light, where it will be TRANSFORMED, brought back into alignment, and returned to us as a fresh perspective, a right outlook, a new energy that will fill us and point us in the direction of where we would like to be going.

After all, nothing can truly be destroyed, extinguished, or ended.  ALL is energy, ever changing, in a state of flux, shifting and moving and altering form as it naturally evolves or as we come along and perceive it and project our energy onto it.  So it’s not that bad habits need to be cut out of our lives- in fact, this can prove to be quite difficult!  Going “cold turkey” just usually doesn’t work that well.  But if we offer it to the Light, it will be transformed and shifted in the way that is most effective and perfect for us.

We are not here to resolve our lives or “fix” the world- WE ARE HERE TO TRANSFORM IT.

And Oh!  What a grand opportunity that is.

May you know that you,

right here, right now,

are FULLY  EQCUIPED to do just that-

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It is sad how people experience stress during the holidays, but things don’t have to be this way!

The shopping, driving, mailing out greeting cards, going to the post office, budgeting, traveling and seeing relatives. Sounds familiar?

I want to tell you now, that you can change this. You do not have to be stressed. In fact, you can be happy and make a bunch of other people happy.

You do not have to navigate crowded malls, get stuck in traffic, drive long distances, deal with airports and air travel, worry what gifts to buy, wrap gifts, mail gifts, send cards… nothing! Yes, you can simply say “no”.

Many alternatives to the commercialized, stressful, costly and polluting norms exist. Consider finding a bunch of friends that are close to your heart and locale (in your same state or region) and spend time with them.

Give people good words, give good wishes, give hugs, give love, give smiles, do good deeds, be extra relaxed, open doors for people, plant trees, etc.. The sky is the limit. You do not have to venture into these pesky malls.

You have the power to save money, save the environment, save yourself from headaches and have a greater more positive impact this season by being a better friend to yourself, to others and to nature.

Yes, YOU have to power to keep things simple. To say no. To start new traditions. To be unique.
Consider giving a donation to non profit organizations, give the Gift of Microfinance , be selfless, serve others, or make some good food and invite people to eat.

Consider spending time alone in meditation, in counting your blessings, in reflection, in prayer, in adoring Nature or a candle’s flame. Take a walk on a trail, go alone or take a loved one, if it’s cold bundle up and go out, adore the snow, adore the sky, adore the trees, spend time with your God or Nature.

Make the new years, Christmas, solstice or Yule a time to be good, truly good to yourself, to nature and to other people.

If you celebrate Christmas, this year remember that Jesus said “Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” and “sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

Rid yourself of materialism and stress, keep things simple, honest, spiritual; you will be happier and make others happier while saving a bunch of trees, reducing your carbon and waste footprint and feeling better than ever for having done what you KNOW is right, not what you are told is right.

Remember, you are not alone.

Blessings, Love & Wisdom

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I’ve been reading the book: Molecules Of Emotion by Candace Pert. I have a chapter left to go, and I am very eager to read it.

I have to say, the more you read the better this book gets. The first half is more of a biography, and is a very good foundation for the later parts of the book, it also gives you an insight into the life of a scientists in the lab. The last few chapters have a different taste and are loaded with information, names and useful references.

If you are interested in researching holistic and complementary health topics or the body-mind connection, the later half of this book is a very good starting point.

Find it on Amazon and read users reviews (rated by 118 readers – got 4starts/5 avg rating as of the date of this article)

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I have a story for you:

Once Upon a Time In a Land Far Far Away, there was a young king who suffered from mood swings.

He would be confident of his decisions and his own greatness, until he got depressed and fell into a deep depression. When this king was feeling blue, he would sit and stare, he would sleep for hours on end, he would do nothing, and he would also become convinced that he was worthlessness and unimportant.

If this king lived today, we would have called him bipolar or perhaps manic-depressive; but this was a long time ago, and back then no one had names for these symptoms. The king was left with no real help, he brought the best herb doctors and they gave him special attention only fit for a king, but his mood swings did not improve much.

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Did you know that fear and excitement are essentially the same feeling, the only difference is the label we give them and our preconceived perceptions of the label.

Think about it. Both feelings are experienced in the belly. How we think about that feeling in our belly determines whether it has power over us or if we get power from it.

Excitement is energizing. Fear is paralyzing.

Be aware of this when you feel that paralyzing sense of fear and consciously turn it into an empowering exciting feeling.

This is how you can turn paralyzing fear into motivating exciting energy every time you face a life challenge.

Do this and you will discover your inner power to always convert challenges to motivations, hard times into growing opportunities, and as a result have a never ending source of motivating energy and a positive outlook on life.

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My opinion on the use of drugs to treat mood-related issues has always been less than favorable. I have seen no reasons to alter the state of my mind with any drugs, ever.

I say, if you have anxiety or depression, this means there is a culprit behind it. You need to deal with the cause, and the emotion will become well balanced again. If you cannot deal with your emotions or thoughts alone seek a friend or a counselor.

You should not want to treat (and i use the word treat very loosely here because you are not treating anything with mood drugs) stress or depression and anxiety with mood altering drugs that rob you from your true self and usually get you hooked for life.

If you are experiencing unbalanced emotions or moods, I guarantee you there is a reason for it, whether it is a spiritual, a subconscious, a cognitive or even a physical reason; there is a reason. The reason may be an imbalance in any/or all of the eight dimensions of wellness (read about the eight dimensions of wellness here) All of these dimensions are interconnected so the cause of your lack of balance probably spans over many of these dimensions.

Do you really want to mask the problem, only to re-experience these emotions once the drugs wore off?  If you take mood drugs you are only dealing with a symptom, not the underlying causes. If you go on mood drugs you are likely placing yourself in an endless loop of drug dependency, stuck, dependent on an outside, manufactured, and expensive medications to keep you well. While, what you need is already available for free, inside of you. You need nothing to be well, all you need is yourself (or a person to talk to), certainly not drugs.

Identify the cause, the imbalances and deal with them, if you do this you’ll see your anxiety evaporate into thin air. Further, you will be empowered by your experience, you will gain experience and you will take control of your life. On the other hand, you could seek refuge in drugs and hide from the real problems.

I find meditation to be a great tool to combat emotional and mood issues. I often tell people: “Say no medication and yes to mediation”. Meditation is one weapon you got, for free, that is inside of you. All you have to do is use it.

Make the move now,

“From Medication to Meditation”

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Hypnosis is a state of relaxation with a state of heightened awareness all induced by nothing more than suggestion. It is perfectly normal and natural. In fact, hypnosis is a state so natural that every one of us uses it sometime every day without even realizing it.

When we daydream we are experiencing a mild hypnotic trance. ‘Motorway hypnosis’ is a term coined for those periods when we drive somewhere and cannot remember it. That’s a form of hypnotic state. This is how you tend to feel whilst in hypnosis. It is very pleasant, relaxing and extremely comfortable. It’s an altered state of awareness. Many people would liken it to a ‘mental massage’.

The theory behind hypnosis is that we have one brain but two minds – one conscious and the other unconscious. Every day after we wake up, we begin running programs stored deep in our unconscious mind – this is the mind that remembers all the automatic stuff like riding a bike/driving a car, how to make yourself feel good OR bad. This ’storage area’ is much bigger than the mind you are using to read this now.

They work together; so that when you are driving and your conscious mind suddenly switches to something bothering you [a coworker, a big presentation/fear of height]; your unconscious mind carries on driving until you arrive at your destination or your conscious mind resumes driving, not remembering how you have just driven. If something dangerous had presented itself you would have avoided it.

These running programs, once formed, have an amazing capability for producing the same results, over and over again. Whether they are good for you or bad! Hypnosis gives you the tools to make these programs work FOR YOU!

A hypnotic state is not is sleep, it is not unconsciousness. Nothing can be done to you without you allowing it; you won’t be made to bark every time you pass a dog or cat. For hypnosis to work you must want it to happen, expect it to happen and most importantly allow it to happen.

Some people question if they are in a trance because they don’t experience a mystical transcendental journey; the truth is the depth and state of trance is different for everyone.

However everyone can experience a hypnotic state, be it at varying levels, and thus everyone may benefit from hypnosis.

Hypnosis is effective in all areas of self improvement, in overcoming fears and phobias, in assisting in health and well-being as well. It can be very successful changing habits, overcoming anxiety, losing weight, defeating depression, to name a few of its applications.

Hypnosis has been used for centuries, and millions of people have been helped in many different ways. It’s also said to be an excellent way of relaxing.

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I was listening to an interview with Eckhard Tolle a few days ago. He mentioned something very simple that, while I knew, I did not practice. He talked about living in the moment, appreciating the present and recognizing that when we seek goals we may be missing on the more satisfying journeys.

Many of us, including myself, are goal oriented individuals. We hop from goal to another and operate our daily lives driven by goals or destinations. When you are like me, it is not unusual to never appreciate where you’ve been or enjoy what you’ve done. When you reach your goal you feel satisfaction and pride, but this doesn’t last long because all you want now is to move on to the next goal.

Seeking goals may get you far in life, but at the same time you risk not being aware of the majority of your life since most of youe life is actually comprised of journeys that you decided to take. Eckhard’s view is that the journey is important, perhaps more important than the destination. My personal view is that both are important, because the journey is part of the quest, part of the destination; they are the “one experience”.

Your life is full of journeys, and destinations. There are some destinations one may never reach, take ‘wholeness’ for example, optimum intelligence, perfection, or even enlightenment. This does not mean that we cannot pursue these goals and partake these journeys; in reality we do seek these unattainable goals. Even if all your goals in life are achievable, most of your life will be journeying. Thus we should use our journeys to enrich and add value to our lives.

I leave you with this question to ponder: Is life all about the journeys, not the goals?

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We often seek to accomplish things, reach places, complete tasks. We do this so often that we never ever notice it when we reach a goal, accomplish a task, or reach a destination.

Here’s a simple trick to help you live in the moment. Simple ask yourself “What’s my relationship now to this moment?”

This question enables me to appreciate what I have done, and where I stand. It helps me calm down, and relax as well. When I’m stressed without being consious of the stress this question takes my mind out of the loop and enhaces my conciousness.

Amazing how one question can change your experience, even if for a moment. Give it a try, ask yourself  “What’s my relationship now to this moment?”

Once you’ve tried this, leave your feedback to let us all know what you thought.

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I recently visited an aunt that I haven’t seen in a couple months, and she made the comment that I looked relaxed and more attractive. No I am not selling myself or bragging here, seriously. The point I’m making is that she, without knowing of my recent lifestyle changes, saw a difference by looking at my face. The way I felt emotionally and physically must have influenced my facial features.

Personally I did not notice the difference, but others have and they’ve pointed it out to me by either saying that I looked more attractive or more relaxed, and that they like it better this way.

I guess, experiencing meditation, mindful meditation, guided imagery, breathing exercises, experiencing life force, or whatever you do to relax, reduce stress in your life or be healthier does have an impact on you face (and on your soul, behavior and body’s posture). It makes you look more attractive!

It does make sense, doesn’t it? Your face will reflect your body or emotional status. In addition, having your body under stress and your facial muscles under constant tension will show on your eyes, mouth, forehead.. It also make sense that all this causes wrinkles.

Have you had a similar experience??

If you have please leave a comment to let me and other know.

Thanks

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Stress is very common these days, this article has very simple tricks to help you let go of that stress before it turns into chronic stress. Enjoy!

1. Be present with whatever you are doing and whoever you are with.
2. Notice something beautiful on a daily basis (e.g., trees, clouds, flowers).
3. Walk, work, and eat at a relaxed pace.
4. Take a short break after meals to relax.
5. Go outside at least once per day and notice nature even if simple, such as the weather, scenery, etc. Allow yourself to enjoy and appreciate nature.
6. During the day, as often as possible, notice and tension in your body (jaw, neck, diaphragm, shoulders, etc.). Breathe deeply and gently stretch and relax any tense areas.
7. If you notice your mind racing or worrying about the past or future, take a minute to breathe deeply and gently focus on something in the moment such as your breath, scenery, birds. Try an emotional shift.
8. Wear comfortable and loose clothing when possible. Take off your shoes when you can.
9. Leave work worries at work.
10. Avoid holding in feelings day after day, avoid holding negativity, release and let go off those feelings before you go to bed.

More to come in future articles

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