Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.
- Marcus Aurelius
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Spirituality:
Whoever approaches Me walking, I will come to him running; and he who meets Me with sins equivalent to the whole world, I will greet him with forgiveness equal to it.
- Mishkat al-Masabaih
* * * * * *
When we take one step toward God, God takes seven steps toward us.
- Hindu Proverb
(Thanks to Eknath Easwaran, "Words to Live By" (Nilgiri Press, 1997) http://www.nilgiri.org)
- Mishkat al-Masabaih
* * * * * *
When we take one step toward God, God takes seven steps toward us.
- Hindu Proverb
(Thanks to Eknath Easwaran, "Words to Live By" (Nilgiri Press, 1997) http://www.nilgiri.org)
LISTS: Ten Rules for Being Human
by Cherie Carter-Scott
1. You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it's yours to keep for the entire period.
2. You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called, "life."
3. There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial, error, and experimentation. The "failed" experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiments that ultimately "work."
4. Lessons are repeated until they are learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can go on to the next lesson.
5. Learning lessons does not end. There's no part of life that doesn't contain its lessons. If you're alive, that means there are still lessons to be learned.
6. "There" is no better a place than "here." When your "there" has become a "here", you will simply obtain another "there" that will again look better than "here."
7. Other people are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects to you something you love or hate about yourself.
8. What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.
9. Your answers lie within you. The answers to life's questions lie within you. All you need to do is look, listen, and trust.
10. You will forget all this.
1. You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it's yours to keep for the entire period.
2. You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called, "life."
3. There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial, error, and experimentation. The "failed" experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiments that ultimately "work."
4. Lessons are repeated until they are learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can go on to the next lesson.
5. Learning lessons does not end. There's no part of life that doesn't contain its lessons. If you're alive, that means there are still lessons to be learned.
6. "There" is no better a place than "here." When your "there" has become a "here", you will simply obtain another "there" that will again look better than "here."
7. Other people are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects to you something you love or hate about yourself.
8. What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.
9. Your answers lie within you. The answers to life's questions lie within you. All you need to do is look, listen, and trust.
10. You will forget all this.
LISTS: 12 Steps to Boost Your Health for Life
by Joshua Rosenthal, Founder and Director of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, http://www.integrativenutrition.com/
I've spent over 25 years observing how people eat and what they eat and it's fascinating. What I've noticed is that people are confused and frustrated. One month there will be a study claiming the health benefits of eggs and the next month there will be a study claiming it's a bad source of cholesterol.
I'm going to give you the non-frustrating approach to healthy eating and living. An approach that will be easy to follow for the rest of your life. It's based on two little theories that have helped my clients, over 9,000 Integrative Nutrition students and their clients.
Bio-individuality
For several years I followed a macrobiotic diet and I counseled and taught others to follow these principles to improve their health. I experienced improved health so I truly believed my clients would too. I got very mixed results. Some people experienced better health, but not everyone. So I began to experiment. Some of them got better if they ate more raw foods, while others got better if they ate less raw foods. I realized that one person's food is another person's poison.
Primary Food
When I was experimenting with my clients on different ways of eating I came across people who experienced improved health by leaving a dysfunctional career or falling in love. It was fascinating! I realized that there's more to health than the foods we eat. Yes, it's good to eat your vegetables, but relationships, career, spirituality and exercise is food for the soul.
These are the two "big concepts" that I've found have the largest impact on my clients and students.
However, there are also a lot more detailed concepts you can play with. But remember, in the spirit of bio-individuality, these are not hard-and-fast rules that work for everyone. Try your own take on them and see if they might be useful for you.
1. Drink more water: There is no right amount of water to drink, but generally the bigger and more active you are, the more you should drink. By increasing the amount of water you drink you can significantly reduce cravings, aches and pains and increase your energy.
2. Practice cooking: You might hate me for saying this, but cooking is a fundamental step to healthier living. By making your own meals you know what's going into them. Meals don't need to take hours to prepare and involve multiple ingredients. Here are some simple recipes to get you started.
3. Increase whole grains: Trust me it's not these types of carbohydrates that have led to the obesity epidemic, but rather the processed goods like doughnuts. Whole grains are some of the best sources of nutritional support and provide long-lasting energy.
4. Increase sweet vegetables: People forget that these exist and they are the perfect medicine for the sweet tooth. Instead of depending on processed sugar, you can add more naturally sweet flavors to your diet and dramatically reduce sweet cravings. This is a great sweet vegetable recipe.
5. Increase leafy green vegetables: These are seriously lacking in the American diet and they are most essential for creating long-lasting health. More specifically they help eliminate depression, improve liver, gallbladder and kidney function.
6. Experiment with protein: The majority of Americans eat way too much protein and mostly in the form of animal meat. Try other forms like beans or soy.
7. Eat less meat, dairy, sugar and processed foods; consume less coffee, alcohol and tobacco: Did you notice I said eat less instead of don't eat? If I told you not to drink coffee or chocolate you would want it all the more. By increasing your whole grains, vegetables and water you will naturally crowd out the more processed items.
8. Develop easy self-care habits: People get so wrapped up in their busy lives that they forget to take care of themselves. This can be something as simple as a relaxing bath and as nice as a day at the spa.
9. Have healthy relationships: I call love the ultimate superfood. A loving, supportive relationship can nourish your soul. What's more is when you feel love and happiness you are more likely to eat better. Reach out to that one person who makes you feel loved and nourished.
10. Find physical activity: You don't need to spend hours at the gym. What gets you moving?
11. Find work you love or a way to love the work you have: So many of us spend 8 hours a day in a job that is unfulfilling and end up stressed out which leads to a slew of health problems. Ask yourself if your job is aligned with your values.
12. Develop a spiritual practice: Some people freak out when I tell them this, but it's really about connecting with yourself. You don't need to start going to church or praying every day. Maybe being spiritual means taking a walk in nature. Finding a spiritual practice can help you slow down and appreciate the non-material things in life.
This is the most laid back health program ever, but it really works. You don't need to follow the steps in order and you can do one step a week. Pick the step that you are most interested in trying. Have you wanted to try a pilates or yoga class? Go for it! Maybe you've wanted to experiment in the kitchen.
I also recommend that you don't do it alone. Everyone has someone in their life that also wants to improve their health. Who is that for you? You can be each other's supportive coach and hold each other accountable for making the small changes to improved health.
I look forward to working with you on this journey to improved health and happiness.
Published July 24, 2009 01:34 PM TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc.
I've spent over 25 years observing how people eat and what they eat and it's fascinating. What I've noticed is that people are confused and frustrated. One month there will be a study claiming the health benefits of eggs and the next month there will be a study claiming it's a bad source of cholesterol.
I'm going to give you the non-frustrating approach to healthy eating and living. An approach that will be easy to follow for the rest of your life. It's based on two little theories that have helped my clients, over 9,000 Integrative Nutrition students and their clients.
Bio-individuality
For several years I followed a macrobiotic diet and I counseled and taught others to follow these principles to improve their health. I experienced improved health so I truly believed my clients would too. I got very mixed results. Some people experienced better health, but not everyone. So I began to experiment. Some of them got better if they ate more raw foods, while others got better if they ate less raw foods. I realized that one person's food is another person's poison.
Primary Food
When I was experimenting with my clients on different ways of eating I came across people who experienced improved health by leaving a dysfunctional career or falling in love. It was fascinating! I realized that there's more to health than the foods we eat. Yes, it's good to eat your vegetables, but relationships, career, spirituality and exercise is food for the soul.
These are the two "big concepts" that I've found have the largest impact on my clients and students.
However, there are also a lot more detailed concepts you can play with. But remember, in the spirit of bio-individuality, these are not hard-and-fast rules that work for everyone. Try your own take on them and see if they might be useful for you.
1. Drink more water: There is no right amount of water to drink, but generally the bigger and more active you are, the more you should drink. By increasing the amount of water you drink you can significantly reduce cravings, aches and pains and increase your energy.
2. Practice cooking: You might hate me for saying this, but cooking is a fundamental step to healthier living. By making your own meals you know what's going into them. Meals don't need to take hours to prepare and involve multiple ingredients. Here are some simple recipes to get you started.
3. Increase whole grains: Trust me it's not these types of carbohydrates that have led to the obesity epidemic, but rather the processed goods like doughnuts. Whole grains are some of the best sources of nutritional support and provide long-lasting energy.
4. Increase sweet vegetables: People forget that these exist and they are the perfect medicine for the sweet tooth. Instead of depending on processed sugar, you can add more naturally sweet flavors to your diet and dramatically reduce sweet cravings. This is a great sweet vegetable recipe.
5. Increase leafy green vegetables: These are seriously lacking in the American diet and they are most essential for creating long-lasting health. More specifically they help eliminate depression, improve liver, gallbladder and kidney function.
6. Experiment with protein: The majority of Americans eat way too much protein and mostly in the form of animal meat. Try other forms like beans or soy.
7. Eat less meat, dairy, sugar and processed foods; consume less coffee, alcohol and tobacco: Did you notice I said eat less instead of don't eat? If I told you not to drink coffee or chocolate you would want it all the more. By increasing your whole grains, vegetables and water you will naturally crowd out the more processed items.
8. Develop easy self-care habits: People get so wrapped up in their busy lives that they forget to take care of themselves. This can be something as simple as a relaxing bath and as nice as a day at the spa.
9. Have healthy relationships: I call love the ultimate superfood. A loving, supportive relationship can nourish your soul. What's more is when you feel love and happiness you are more likely to eat better. Reach out to that one person who makes you feel loved and nourished.
10. Find physical activity: You don't need to spend hours at the gym. What gets you moving?
11. Find work you love or a way to love the work you have: So many of us spend 8 hours a day in a job that is unfulfilling and end up stressed out which leads to a slew of health problems. Ask yourself if your job is aligned with your values.
12. Develop a spiritual practice: Some people freak out when I tell them this, but it's really about connecting with yourself. You don't need to start going to church or praying every day. Maybe being spiritual means taking a walk in nature. Finding a spiritual practice can help you slow down and appreciate the non-material things in life.
This is the most laid back health program ever, but it really works. You don't need to follow the steps in order and you can do one step a week. Pick the step that you are most interested in trying. Have you wanted to try a pilates or yoga class? Go for it! Maybe you've wanted to experiment in the kitchen.
I also recommend that you don't do it alone. Everyone has someone in their life that also wants to improve their health. Who is that for you? You can be each other's supportive coach and hold each other accountable for making the small changes to improved health.
I look forward to working with you on this journey to improved health and happiness.
Published July 24, 2009 01:34 PM TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
What works for you?
to help you feel rested, alert, present, thinking clearly and creatively, feeling embodied?
Sunday, May 22, 2011
an excerpt from "Staying in Your Own Business", from Chapter 1 of the book, Loving What Is, by Byron Katie
To think that I know what's best for anyone else is to be out of my business. Even in the name of love, it is pure arrogance, and the result is tension, anxiety, and fear. Do I know what's right for me? That is my only business. Let me work with that before I try to solve your problems for you.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
You're Not Going Crazy . . . You're Just Waking Up!
The challenges in your life and heart may make you feel as though you're "going crazy." Your soul is beginning to shake things up, question your reality, and guide you to a higher level of consciousness.
To facilitate this transformation, however, your ego-based life first must be dismantled. A new life can then be rebuilt on a firmer, more secure foundation - a foundation in Spirit.
At first you will feel like you are losing your mind and the life you once knew. It's okay though . . . it's all good! You're not going crazy . . . you're just waking up!
There are two methods, or paths, by which a soul chooses to "wake up." We either create a crisis that brings us to our knees, or we simply decide that it makes sense to move on to a new way of living.
At some point, your life falls apart, crashes, stagnates or becomes unfulfilling. This is an unavoidable process. ("you can run, but you can't hide").
The soul transformation process consists of five primary stages (going from "dark night of the soul" to the "light at the end of the tunnel"):
1) dismantling
2) emptiness
3) disorientation
4) re-building, and
5) a new life.
It's letting your "old" self die so that your "new" self can be born.
It's as though your psyche is a chalice, or cup, that needs to be emptied of old toxic materials so it can be re-filled with the fresh waters of life, or new opportunities to live life with more love, peace and purpose.
You get to choose the hard way - or the easy way (listening to your soul's guidance).
A new life that resonates with your highest good is "a future without a trace of sorrow, and with joy that constantly increases."
- Michael Mirdad (adapted)
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