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Well, to all of you that “rained on my parade” about the new puppy I do have to admit that it’s been a bit of a storm. The puppy just started sleeping through the night but it was a good two weeks of total lack of sleep and that made for a pretty crazy home w. pretty crazy, sleep deprived people.
Things have really evened out, though. We all know what to expect, including the puppy. We are getting to know each other and a puppy will be a puppy. Her attention goes from one thing to the next in seconds. She’ll start destroying things if she’s bored. She wants to run free and do whatever she wants at any moment.
It got me thinking about the “puppy mind” that some call the stream of thoughts that we experience when we want to calm our mind and meditate. Here we are, trying to be still, and our mind is completely out of control on this thing or that and completely un-tamable.
What to do? Well, first you must notice your mind. It’s the puppy that is trying to get attention. Then, notice the thoughts as thoughts. Something like, “I’m thinking about my job now. These are nervous thoughts about a presentation I’m doing on Monday.” Labeling thoughts and feelings takes some of the power out of them.
Then, if you are going to meditate, simply ask the thoughts to rest for a while. They can play later.
Want to try a free meditation? Visit my Enlightened Meditations site for your free download!
Best wishes for a great long weekend!!
~ Sonia
I think for many people it takes a real wake-up call to decide to get healthy. It could be health or some change of circumstance that makes a person stop and look in the mirror. Following a miscarriage close to 10 years ago, I decided I’d do whatever it took to get healthy and feel good. I changed my diet to “moderately healthy” – now I’m vegan so I still had a journey ahead of me there. I went to a healer who was tremendously helpful, both in energetic healing and as a source of therapy. I went to wellness seminars. I took on a new exercise routine that wasn’t crazy – just an hour of walking the dog per day. I got certified as a Reiki practitioner and took yoga teacher training.
You know what? It helped. I think it really launched me on the journey to wellness. I think the thing that helped so much was that it was a diverse approach to healing. I approached it on different levels. Of course, healing takes far longer than we’d like. Still, I think I really benefited from a “whole person” plan.
If you are at a point in your life where you need to heal or just to investigate wellness techniques and options, the best thing you can do for yourself is to create a wellness plan. This might include the following:
Physical – begin a routine such as walking, joining a gym, taking yoga classes, doing some exercise videos. Ease into it – start at a few minutes a day and go from there. Get a physical & full blood workup. You want to start on a path knowing where you are currently so you can see where you go. Physically, you can actually count numbers to see how you’re new wellness routine is working.
Emotional – Consider coaching or short term therapy. Have a good cry, read an inspirational book. Find a place that you love to go to to think. Know that to overcome many feelings you need to live through them and process them first. Don’t back away from these feelings. Work through them. You can also label feelings if they are too difficult to deal with at the time. You can say, “this is sadness” or “this is anger” Feelings lose their power if you do this.
Mentally – Meditate!! See if you can take a break. Great if you can go on vacation! Sometimes I can get a mental break walking aimlessly around a bookstore or going to a movie. You want to get out of your own head and think about something other than yourself. It’s not taking a break, but you can also research whatever it is that is making you rewrite your life script – example, if you are ill you can learn as much as you can and maybe join a support group, etc.
Spiritual – Take a look and evaluate your spiritual connections. You need that connectedness to feel whole and remember your core beliefs. Do you belong to a spiritual community? Do you believe in God? the Universe? What is your faith? Have faith. You need to have faith.
Financially – Get your money in order. It feels great to face any money issues you have, no matter how unpleasant it might be, and settle up and clear out any debts. You really need to do this before you plan your wellness package. You need to know how much money you have to spend on some of the things you’d like to do. Put money aside for a fund specifically for fun/vacation.
Give it a try! From my own experience… it helped… a lot!
That’s all for now!
~ Sonia
Hopefully the person that said this to me won’t read this post!! I know I’m taking a chance here but I think it’s important that if she feels this way, others might as well. I was telling her that my husband and I are producing guided meditations and she said she’s not interested… she has her own religion. Imagine that! So, let me set the record straight…
According to the Mayo clinic:
Meditation, considered a type of mind-body complementary medicine, produces a deep state of relaxation and a tranquil mind. During meditation, you focus your attention and eliminate the stream of jumbled thoughts that may be crowding your mind and causing stress. This process results in enhanced physical and emotional well-being.
as to the power of meditation:
Meditation can give you a sense of calm, peace and balance that benefits both your emotional well-being and your overall health. And these benefits don’t end when your meditation session ends. Meditation can help carry you more calmly through your day and improve certain medical conditions.
No time to meditate? That’s a tough one – but, how about 5 or 10 min when you get into your car at the end of the day BEFORE YOU START TO DRIVE play a guided visualization. Wake up 10 min. earlier? Concentrate on your breath and how the water feels while in the shower? While at work, stop and close your eyes for 5 min. Personally, I think it’s critical to overall health. So – close your eyes and mull this over a bit – and breathe…
~ Sonia
Get a *FREE* visualization meditation at http://www.enlightenedmeditations.com
Mayo Clinic article:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/meditation/HQ01070
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