Mindful Monday ~ Where to Begin

Now is the time to become aware of what is working in your life and what is not working.  What needs to work differently?  It is important to take the time to look at what is going on inside of you and what you want going on inside of you.

 How healthy are you?

We are always moving on this journey, either towards optimal health, towards life, or away from optimal health, towards death.

Which direction are you moving in?  

So what is your prompt to change your pattern of habits? Or to just review your habits? Do you want to live your best life? Do you want to feel better? Is there something that is interfering with the way you get through your day? Do you have a definable illness? Do you feel different than you did a few years ago?

Well, whatever the reason, now is the time to change it. If you are thinking about it, the time has come to act on it. Make a list of the things that need to change, an inventory of your symptoms ~ the things that are bothering you about yourself ~ things that are bothering you in general......body odor, lack of sleep, irritability, itching, easy bruising, feeling despondent, 30 extra pounds, allergies, etc.

Then make a list of what you would like to see.....the changes in your life that you would like to actualize ~ achieving your ideal weight, feeling happier, being more peaceful, having better relationships, handling difficult situations easier, waking up refreshed rather than tired, eliminating bloating, gas or heartburn.....whatever your issues are. Take stock of what is right and what is wrong ~ this will help you determine whether you are moving in the right direction as you make changes.

Why two separate lists?  Well, the vision of what life could be like is a great driving force to make the necessary changes and stick with them.  When things are not going as you wish they would or it gets difficult to actually make the changes, this vision will help you to keep your "eyes on the prize" ~ the prize of optimal health.

So then, why list all the negative things?  Well, as things get better (and they will if you make the changes and the effort), you can start crossing things off your list.  And what a good feeling that is!  And it helps to remind you of what your "issues" were in case they should reappear in the future.  If you have been feeling optimally for a while and then slowly slip back into old habits, those old symptoms will sneak up on you again.  A list helps to remind you that you conquered this before and can do it again!

As you begin this journey to greater wellness, periodically check in to see how your are doing. Check your symptom list.  Has anything gotten better? Worse? Been eliminated?  It is important to remember that in the beginning, things may actually worsen.  Certain symptoms may be made worse by "cleaning" your system out.  Your body has to work to get rid of the junk that was cleaned out and that takes energy.  It also clogs the normal detoxification pathways, so things may back up a little, worsening symptoms.  This is normal.  There's even a medical term for it......Herxheimer reaction.  And the degree of reaction depends on the severity of the problem, as well as your body's ability to manage it.  And sometimes we underestimate the severity of the problem because it snuck up on us so insidiously.

And remember, health is multidimensional.  It is not just physical well being, it is also emotional, spiritual, social, financial and mental well being.  All of these interact with each other.  Each can act as a stressor and cause a response in your body and each response affects your overall health, positive or negative.  So don't forget to include those in your inventory.

So grab a notebook (or a pretty journal) and start your jounal for optimal health.  Start by listing these two things, your symptoms and your vision of the health you would like to have.  Tomorrow we will talk about where to start on this road to health.  And best wishes on your Journey to Optimal Health!  Buon Viaggio!

The First Step

Well, it appears as though I have forgotten this blog.  It (the blogging powers that be) somehow published my first entry with the date I had opened this account.  Not the actual day I published the entry.  That being said, it is still one month since I published that entry.  So much has happened in that month that it was hard to create a rhythm.  So here I am, creating my new rhythm and moving forward.  Dedicated to my health and to helping others to attain and maintain theirs.

So now what is the next step?  Well, the next step is to decide what needs to be done.  In order to do that, you really need to understand what creates your health and what detracts from your health.  So, here's a little snapshot of what affects your health.  This way you can take control of and make good decisions regarding your health and your family's health.

Pure air, pure water, real food, energizing exercise, restorative rest, stillness and inspiration and recognizing the hazards/toxins in your life and removing them.  

Simple.  

It really is as simple as that.  Yet oh so complicated.

Good stuff creates health, bad stuff takes it away.  Not quickly, but slowly.  So slowly that we often don't even realize what it is that is making us feel bad.  So slowly that sometimes we don't even realize that we are not feeling our best.  We consider minor inconveniences ~ aches, pains, getting winded easier, the dull throb in our heads, the bloating, the unexpected gas, the dizziness or fogginess in the head, the cramping in our guts, loss of enjoyment, crabbiness, etc, etc, etc ~ as normal.  We get acclimated to each diminished feeling so slowly that one day we wake up and realize that we are not the same person.  We don't feel the same.  We can't do the same things.  We don't look the same.  We are different.  Somehow less.  Not less in the eyes of God, but less in the life force we have inside of us.  Less less able to live up to our true potential, less able to fulfill our mission in life.  And somehow, we've come to accept this as normal.  In the words of Joel Salatin (or rather the title of his new book) ~ "Folks, this ain't normal".  He is talking about chickens and family farming, but the parallel exists for what we are accepting as normal ~ because we have forgotten what normal really is.

We don't know what the good stuff is or what the bad stuff is.  We don't know what normal is or what abnormal is.  We have come to judge things, or decide on things, based on society's perception, society's judgement, society's decisions.  We decide on things based on convenience.  We decide things based on ease.  We decide things based on the experts and what they advise us.  We have stopped thinking about things on our own.  We blindly trust what is fed to us.  "They" wouldn't hurt us.  "They" wouldn't recommend something that could be harmful.  "They" would take "it" away if "they" found it to be unsafe.  Well, who are "they", anyway?  And what do "they" base their recommendations on?

It is good to ask those questions.  Keep asking.  Find the answers that make sense to you and your life.  Don't listen to any one expert, even me.  Make your own decisions.  Pay attention to how it all fits in with what you are experiencing.  Stop and learn to listen to the wisdom of your body.  It will tell you what is right.  But you have to stop long enough and listen well enough to really hear what it is saying to you.

Welcome!

Welcome to this space.  A healing space.  A space dedicated to health.  For discovering what it is.  For claiming it, reclaiming it or rejoicing in it. 

A space where we can journey together......with each other.
On the road to true health.

You see, health is greater than the absence of identifiable dis~ease.  It is more than just not feeling bad.  It is more than just "not breaking down".  


It is living optimally.....to our highest God-given potential.  

It is not just surviving.......it is thriving!

Many of us have been so disconnected with how we can really feel
that we no longer know what health is.
Or what it feels like.

Many of us have been so far removed from real food that our bodies crave the processed, food-like substances that are so prevalent at the supermarket.

Many of us are just happy to get through the day without any aches and pains.  Or embarrassing gastrointestinal issues.  Or embarrassing, inconvenient or dangerous forgetfulness.  Or a host of other inconvenient and uncomfortable things that can happen to us or to our bodies.

Many of us just hit the pillow at night exhausted, not just tired.  Only to have trouble falling asleep.  Or to awaken in the middle of the night.  Or to sleep fitfully.  Or to awaken much too early.

Many of us are so busy that we can't seem to take the time to figure out what is really wrong or how to change any of this.

So, we leave it up to the "professionals" to tell us what is wrong.  And what we should do about it.  Well, there aren't any professionals that are experts on my life.  Other than me.  Or you in your life.  We are the ones who should make the decisions about our own health and our own lives.  And take responsibility for those decisions, as well as their outcomes.

This life is a gift.
A beautiful gift.
Given to us to use wisely.
Not to suffer needlessly.

How will we ever live up to our mission in life if we are not living up to our full potential??

I hope you will take this journey with me.  A journey to discovering what true health is.
What creates health.....
and what takes it away......
What it is for each of us.
And what it is for our families.

Because what ultimately creates optimal health for me
may be somewhat different
than what creates it for you.
We are all born and gifted with inherent strengths and limitations.
Unique to only us.
Areas in our lives that only we can discover.
Join me on this journey and discover what influences your inner landscape.