I have been busy taking care of my own stress the last month. We just returned from a two week vacation to Florida and a 10 day Caribbean Cruise. A cruise is a great way to take a break from daily news, e-mails and cell phones. Oh-of course you can pay fees to use the computers on the ship, but we avoided the internet cafe. My cell phone would have worked had I paid almost $2.00 a minute, but who needs the extra expense. So I used that all as an excuse to let go of daily news and daily technology.
Now I am back and will write more (so much has happened in the week since we got back) but for now,I just wanted to let you know where I have been.
Hope you are all well and can plan to take a break soon. You don't have to go to the ocean. You can simply plan a day or just an outing for a few hours where you let go of the need to check e-mail or use your phone.
We all need time away and then when you come back, it's with more clarity, energy, and perspective.
Stress is the result of our reactions. Stress can be positive and stimulate us to be productive and live a full life. Stress can also be negative, and studies and experience tell us that 75 % of most illnesses have their root cause in stress. Prolonged stress depresses the immune system and exhausts our cells.
The Possible causes of stress are our inability to adapt to change, a diet that is high in sugar and junk food, relationship and communication issues, a workload that feels impossible to complete, workplace demands and environmental pollutants, illness and emotional and physical strain.
Some of therapeutic herbs for stress are astragalus, chamomile, gotu kola, horsetail, St. John's wort, Siberian ginseng, Skullcap, Suma, and Valerian Root. The vitamins we need most when under stress are the B complex vitamins and Vitamin C. (Remember to consult your physician or primary health care provider before taking any herbs or supplements, and be sure to notify them if you are taking anything on a regular basis.)
Be sure to have a stress tool box with techniques that work with your personality. Some helpful ways to counteract stress are by practicing watching your breath and taking slow and deep breaths; exercise, massage, music, reading and warm baths.
For many people it is helpful to have a spiritual practice like daily prayer, meditation or regular attendance at religious services.
Larry Dossey, MD and author of several book including Healing Prayer says he really doesn't feel stress. He loves his life and work, and has learned to practice meditation - he says "you have to sit down, shut up, and pay attention." I will be interviewing Larry Dossey On The Power of Premonitions on Blog Talk Radio Tuesday, February 2 at 4:00 Pm (EST).
What do you do about stress?
One of my favorite books and a must have on your book shelf is a book I ordered after talking to the author George Matejlan. It is a very big beautiful book called The World's Healthiest Foods. You almost feel healthier just reading it. According to the author, the top ten healthiest (nutrient rich) Vegetables and Salads are:
I have added (the best thing about it)
Spinach (High in iron, low calorie and fat free)
Swiss Chard (Low calorie, full of vitamins and minerals)
Crimini Mushrooms (at one time mushrooms considered the "food of the gods" full of polynutrients)
Asparagus ((excellent source of folic acid, B vitamins and great for the heart)
Broccoli (cruciferous vegetables contain sulfur compounds that help the liver detox)
Romaine Lettuce (best lettuce, full of folic acid and chromium, promotes healthy sugar levels)
Collard Greens ( one of the best sources of sulfur for liver detoxification)
Kale/ Mustard Greens (like all the greens is a rich source of sulfur)
Tomatoes (rich source of beta-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, and lycopene=antioxidants)
Brussel Sprouts ( Vit C, A, E, K and folates. Powerful antioxidants and anti-inflammatory).
Remember, you can ruin a good thing by overcooking, loading with butter and oils, or adding bacon or fried meat to a recipe.
What are your top ten? Please provide a resource.
I have been writing about my daily life since 1985. I started by writing on 3x5 cards and eventually put my journals in notebooks and assorted blank books like you get at the book stores. I enjoy the act of using a real pen on paper and writing the words that come to mind. My journals are like a diary, but also includes notes from workshops and reflections on books I've read or movies I've seen.
I started my blog a couple of years ago. The blog seems more official and of course more out there. I feel more exposed and less private, but of course that is the point isn't it? My blog includes self-help articles as well as reflections of my experiences. It takes turning on the computer, going to my blog, sitting down and composing, some quick editing and voila, the words are out there.
I love both forms of writing, but I will always favor my private little journals that follow me through life. I now have over 50 journals that span my life these last 25 years. I can see how I felt as a younger woman, married and raising my three children and now in empty nest continuing my journey.
Writing will always be part of my life in one way, shape or form.
Last night I had a hard time sleeping. That is not unusual for me. I am a menopausal woman and need to go to the bathroom at least once in the middle of the night. And my mind doesn’t seem to stop just because it’s bedtime. My mind is working all day long and often has the most clarity when I am lying in bed in the middle of the night. Rather than focus on how many hours of sleep I am getting, I focus on how many hours of rest my body and mind are getting. Thinking that I need x amount of hours of sleep and then looking at the clock and panicking because I SHOULD be sleeping just creates anxiety. Instead I lie there and relax. Sometimes I count up to 100 forward and then back down to 1, while focusing on my breath. That little exercise often does not get finished. Somewhere around the 35 on the way backward, I am fast asleep. Sometimes I listen to tranquil music on my I-Touch as I count or meditate. Other times that doesn’t work. If I am still partially awake, I close my eyes and pray. Sometimes during those prayers, I may ask for clarity with a question on my mind. I am a dreamer, so inevitably my dreams give me messages. I dream almost every night. There are mornings I wake up and feel like I have been busy all night. I used to record my dreams and have a year of dreams journalled. Other times I actually will keep my regular journal by my bedside and journal insights at night. Although, sometimes the next morning these notes may make no sense, like the comic below of Confucius in the Morning. Other times my notes can be quite inspiring.
Anyway, I guess what I want to say is to relax about not sleeping. You will do your body and mind more good if you think of nighttime as a time when wonderful things can happen while you relax. By letting go of the stress of making sleep happen, just relax and pray, or listen to quiet music, or focus on your breath, or journal until you are too tired to write, or read a chapter of the book at your bedside. I don’t recommend watching television, for a couple of reasons. First of all, there is usually nothing all that inspirational on in the middle of the night, and you are likely to fall asleep with the television on and wake up again with the noise or reminder to turn it off.
Think of bedtime as relaxation time. The whole purpose of sleep is to rest your body and mind after a day’s activities. The goal is rest, relaxation, and release of tension.
It is best to be in bed at the same time each night, and to wake up refreshed each day. Instead of counting the hours of sleep, count the hours you actually were able to release tension and relax.
Two hours of meditation and relaxation is better than eight hours of restless sleep.
When I woke up this morning, after a night of using several of the ideas I suggested, a small but mighty voice said to me “Focus on helping more people.”
I hope this was helpful to you,
Mary
Do you have nature deficit disorder?
One of my favorite places to walk, contemplate, and be in a natural setting is Sharon Woods. Sharon Woods is a 35 acre park with a lake near my home. It is billions of years old and full of fossils and natural streams and waterfalls. When my children were little we would go there to play on the swings and slides and feed the ducks in the lake. When my youngest child was three, I started back to work part time. My assistant and I became friends and started walking at 6:00 in the morning around the lake. That was twenty three years ago. We worked together for three years and stayed friends. She and I still walk at Sharon Woods. We no longer walk at 6:00 AM, but meet sporadically when our schedules gel. When weather permits (anything over 30 degrees) I either walk by myself or find a friend, but Sharon Woods is always my favorite place to bond with nature. In the winter, many of the trees are bare and the ground may be covered with snow, but the lake glistens and the ducks are more sedate. There are small animals joining me on the path and occasionally I will spot a deer. I enjoy all the seasons at Sharon Woods, but at this time of the year, I often miss going there because it is too cold or the paths have not been cleared of snow. My soul yearns for the quite path in nature. There is something about the air, the subtle noises, and the brief nod or smile to others who share the path with me.
Recently in an editorial, I saw the term “nature deficit disorder.” I found out that this term comes from a book by Richard Louv called A Child in the Woods. Nature Deficit Disorder does not only affect children but adults too. I feel I have some of the symptoms like an increased feeling of stress and restlessness, trouble paying attention, and a feeling of not being rooted. I miss my contemplative walks in nature and look forward to the sun coming out this week and temperatures rising. Nature is calling me.
These are some of my favorite things about winter.
Cross country skiing
Snowmen
Shoveling snow to music
Making snow angels
Glistening white
Quiet, stillness, silence.
Icicles
Snow days
Christmas
Lights
Sledding
Snowflakes
Making a fire
Hot chocolate
Warm blankets
Candles burning
Singing
Kids sledding
These are just a few of my favorite things. What do you love about Winter?
We saw the movie Invictus yesterday. This movie about a small segment of Nelson Mandela’s life starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon and directed by Clint Eastwood, had all the makings of a very good movie.
Interesting that there is nothing about Nelson Mandela in our old World Book Encyclopedia (last copyright date 1985). That is telling. Mandela spent most of his young adulthood in prison for fighting Apartheid. Once released, he led the movement for voting reform to allow all races to vote in political elections. This movie begins with the South African presidential election, and he becomes the first black president of South Africa. I thought that an interesting parallel to our own first black president.
The movie takes place in the early nineties and especially the 1995 World Cup Rugby tournament in South Africa. The movie had a lot of rugby playing as the backdrop for healing. Evidently the team was an example of Apartheid, mostly white players with one black player. The team went from being unpopular to being counted on to bring not only a team together, but also a country. Mandela saw the impact of the World Cup on the World and used his power and the team’s skills to remove the walls of color. He influenced the team’s captain to share his vision.
I liked the movie and the message, however I would have liked to see more about Nelson Mandela’s life. If you read in between the lines and scenes you did get that he was lonely, sad, and compassionate. He saw a world of fear, unrest and conflict and wanted to heal it in some way. His healing mission took him away from his family, as happens often with humans on the path to enlightenment. The bigger picture, the larger world, their huge vision of healing, enhances a feeling that the world is their family and their own family will have to survive without them. If family members share in the larger vision, perhaps later they can see that their parent offered something greater than creating a nuclear family but rather creating a world where families are united. Mandela taught love, forgiveness, letting go of fear, and motivated others to think beyond their own body. But in an effort to heal the world in his way, he was also calling out to be forgiven and to be loved.
This movie stimulated me to want to read more about this man. He is now living quietly in retirement.
The title of the movie was based on the poem Invictus.
I'm a life, health and wellness coach, a nurse entrepreneur and Grandma specializing in "Emotional and Spiritual Wellness for Peak Performance."
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