Words that give life to an ordinary day

Have you read what the book of Ephesians says about us? http://tinyurl.com/ldglqjm

I have not been feeling much like a masterpiece, exactly. I have sensed being made new. It was good to be reminded this morning of the bigger picture. 

So through all the change... A masterpiece! Because of grace!

Where are your thoughts taking you? (Part 1)

Our overall state of mind shapes our journey, everyone has a "way they think". Some thought patterns consistently lean toward the positive, some - not so much. When the deep limbic system is overactive, it sets the mind's filter on "negative." Our thoughts are like super powers, to contribute to our good -or our demise. Maybe a little dramatic but not too far off from the truth.

Dr. Daniel G. Amen describes negative thought pattern as being overrun by ANTS, Automatic Negative Thoughts. These are "cynical, gloomy, and complaining thoughts that just seem to keep coming all by themselves".

Thoughts are powerful. They can be the determining factor of our health. Every cell in our body is affected by every thought. Negative thoughts are very limiting. For one thing, negative thoughts play a significant role in in how we feel (a deep limbic function). Every time you have a thought, your brain releases chemicals. These chemicals lead to physical symptoms, such as increased heart rate, headaches, stomach aches, muscle tension. Some physicians think that people who have a lot of negative thoughts are more likely to get cancer.

The problem with most negative thoughts is that they sometimes arrive on the seen unexpectedly.- automatically.  That is why Dr. Amen refers to them as "Automatic Negative Thoughts" or ANTs- invading our lives as ants invade a picnic. More ants = more misery.  Healing the deep limbic system requires a person to heal their moment-to-moment thought patterns.

Stomp out the ANTs before they ruin your picnic!

1. notice them
2. write them down
3. respond by correcting negative thoughts, take their power

Thoughts can lie, making our circumstances seem worse than they are.
Truth is a powerful ANT repellent! Know your thoughts, be sure that they are taking you places that you want to go!

Reference:
ANT Therapy: How to develop your own internal ANT eater...by Daniel G. Amen, M.D.

I love surprises

Ever noticed that you may never see a certain type of car until you suddenly notice one... And then they are everywhere? 

The peach truck at the farmers market... Jasmine oil arriving at my door the day we get back from vacation. Daisies from a neighbor....mint from a friends garden.  An opportunity to help someone I love find comfort and hope that leads to better health. Reconnecting with old friends, making new ones. Happy surprises! I'm looking for them this week. Because I'm looking, I'm going to see them! 

 

Ever see a quote that generates gratefulness? In the midst of feeling a little overwhelmed by the start of classes, postponing my latest unmet career goal and the health/wellness goals that seem so far off...I read this and felt - I have that. Plenty to do, many to love, and much to hope for. It's all good! One step at a time....

think about such things

Last week I heard a talk on affirmations. Speaking positive, changing the self talk to build up rather than tear down. If I'm honest, many of the affirmations about the universe bringing success my way do not bring me comfort, they feel like wishful thinking. I'm also not someone who is inclined to assign God to the successes of my choice. I suppose this is the realist and maybe the cynic in me. I would, however, like to practice the discipline of affirmation. It sounds right and healthy.

I was still contemplating this when this came to me in a scripture passage read out loud when we met with the church. An affirmation that I can believe and hold to. My recent journey with essential oils caused this familiar verse take on new meaning.

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things."(Philippians 4:8 NLT)

So it feels a bit like an experiment.....

If it works, then I'll work on the packaging. Feel better Gene! 

(Flu/virus bomb: oregano, melaleuca, lemon, doterra  in gaurd blend) 

Oil Pulling - Sounds painful, right?!

Thousands of years ago, from the Vedic culture of India (yes, Hindu) came a form of medicine, Ayuvedic medicine (Ayur = life,Veda = science or knowledge). Among many other practices was one peculiar (in my opinion) practice that we refer to today as "oil pulling". 

The modern version of this practice is relatively new, at least in the United States. Basically, you swish around a tablespoon of coconut oil and preference of essential oil in you mouth for 15-20 minutes. If this goes well for you, it is said to have very powerful cleansing and healing affects on entire body. That's right, not just your mouth (Fife).

I am not Hindu because I learn something from their scientific practices. I believe that our Creator, God is absolutely amazing and it is because of this belief that I am also inclined toward believing in the power of His creation. Working as a RN in the medical field, I am always amazed at the things human beings learn and produce in a laboratory - chemical compounds that help us heal. Accepting that the nature that those chemicals are derived from have powerful healing properties apart from synthetic additives is not really that hard for me to accept.  So, I'm giving it a try....

Here goes! Day 1 of oil pulling for me.... 15 min. later, not too bad. I only did a teaspoon, oops. It didn't hurt. Next I'll do the entire tablespoon. This time I used a peppermint oil, I think next time I will try Melaleuca (Tea Tree oil).

Want to know more? Check this out: Oil Pulling, EverythingEssential.me If you try it or are already practicing this, let me know! Fascinating!


Reference:

Fife, B. (n.d) Oil Pulling for a Brighter Smile and Better Health

Retrieved from http://www.coconutresearchcenter.org/article%20oil%20pulling.htm

Chaperoning a large group of Middle School age kids on an extended trip...what should be the goals?
Safety first I suppose. Promote happiness. Kill pathogens (negative attitudes included)!
For this....WILD ORANGE, I love it!

Setting out on the Essential Oil Journey

I feel great, Gene and I have been Ibuprofen free for almost a month! I sleep through the night... Sam is drinking Lemon water (a natural detoxifier) instead of Soda (a very unnatural toxin). Spencer is treating his ADD with an oil blend that he loves - No more Ibuprofen, Sudafed, TUMS, Prevacid...and hoping to say goodbye to Ritalin for good! So far, so good. AND....it smells good too!

My Beginners Daily Protocol:
AM:   1 drop Frankincense, 1 drop Peppermint applied to feet; 2-3 drops "Slim and Sassy" (an oil blend of grapefruit, lemon, peppermint, ginger, and cinnamon) in water or capsule form
- 1 drop Lemon, Peppermint, or Wild Orange in water, throughout the day.
("Slim and Sassy" blend in water throughout the day)

PM: Before bed, Lavender on feet (1-2 drops) or on temples - I like the smell.
Oil Blend (of laurel leaf, peppermint, eucalyptus, tea tree, lemon and ravensara ) "Breathe" on feet or in diffuser at the bedside. 

Headache: Peppermint behind ear, Lavender on the temple (1 drop of each)
Sinus Congestion : Oil Blend "Breathe"

I have so much to learn, and I am having fun learning the science of the oils - it really is fascinating! 

These are all DoTerra Oils only - They are CPTG (Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade). I wouldn't recommend ingesting oil that are not Certified Pure. DoTerra oils are Therapeutic Grade, as many oils from various companies are. They are Certified Pure by third party testing - and that is why I am trusting them. 

One of the 14 things I will do in 2014

I am learning how to use essential oils, personally and then professionally...excited about this new adventure!

It's a conversation...

Today is the first week of Advent. In this season of anticipation, traditionally the first week is a time to reflect on the hope that is ours as followers in Jesus. 

Anne Lamotte says "hope is a conversation". In the face of things we cannot make any sense of, we get only glimpses. 

“We clean up beaches after oil spills. . . . We return calls and library books. We get people water. Some of us even pray. Every time we choose the good action or response, the decent, the valuable, it builds, incrementally, to renewal, resurrection, the place of newness, freedom, justice.”

“You start wherever you can. You see a great need, so you thread a needle, you tie a knot in your thread. You find one place in the cloth through which to take one stitch, one simple stitch, nothing fancy, just one that’s strong and true.”

As the random shooting of schoolchildren, car bombs, disease, and sadness threaten to shatter our inner compasses and our hearts, Lamott reminds us that “hope is a conversation.” What allows us to continue, and occasionally glimpse a momentary goodness, she writes, is “attention, creation, love, and dessert.”

May your week be full of....

Let's keep the conversation going....

BOOK REVIEW ‘Stitches ’ by Anne Lamott By Kathleen Hirsch

GLOBE CORRESPONDENT   

  NOVEMBER 05, 2013

A tardis ride... Saving the Worlds Women

What I really want to do today is celebrate the 50th anniversary of Dr. Who. While I'm envisioning cookies decorated like the Tardis. Bow ties for everyone. Sonic screwdrivers.... there are "more pressing" issues. Sam has band practice. I need to get my hair cut and my hair stylist has apparently abandoned me. I have homework to do. Gene has a meeting that may interfere with the watching of Dr. Who... if we even get the channel that it's shown on... Maybe we should get tickets and go the theater - oh, can't cuz I'm on call tonight.....  Every day, tasks at hand and something more fun to do lurking in the back of my mind. Homework deadlines...

Maybe I can do both....

In honor of Dr. Who, I can think about the challenges of the universe. The Women's Crusade: Saving the Worlds Women, in the New York Times online magazine is our tardis.

“Women hold up half the sky,” in the words of a Chinese saying, yet that’s mostly an aspiration: in a large slice of the world, girls are uneducated and women marginalized, and it’s not an accident that those same countries are disproportionately mired in poverty and riven by fundamentalism and chaos. There’s a growing recognition among everyone from the World Bank to the U.S. military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff to aid organizations like CARE that focusing on women and girls is the most effective way to fight global poverty and extremism. That’s why foreign aid is increasingly directed to women. The world is awakening to a powerful truth: Women and girls aren’t the problem; they’re the solution. (Kristof, 2009)

Let get in the tardis and see what we can do to make the world a better place, starting by being educated about the world around us. I guess I can do both... time travel is a wonderful thing. 

Looking forward

"Our life is a short time in expectation, a time in which sadness and joy kiss each other at every moment. There is a quality of sadness that pervades all the moments of our lives. It seems that there is no such thing as a clear-cut pure joy, but that even in the most happy moments of our existence we sense a tinge of sadness. In every satisfaction, there is an awareness of limitations. In every success, there is the fear of jealousy. Behind every smile, there is a tear. In every embrace, there is loneliness. In every friendship, distance. And in all forms of light, there is the knowledge of surrounding darkness . . . But this intimate experience in which every bit of life is touched by a bit of death can point us beyond the limits of our existence. It can do so by making us look forward in expectation to the day when our hearts will be filled with perfect joy, a joy that no one shall take away from us." Henri Nouwen

"Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy that was set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:2

Today's song

Prone to wander, Lord I feel it

Prone to leave the God I love 

Here's my heart, take and seal it

Seal it for thy courts above 

A birthday wish....

By definition a wish is "to feel or express a strong desire or hope for something that is not easily attainable"....

What's bugging me today?

“If you don’t like how things are, change it! You’re not a tree.” – Jim Rohn

I feel it. Something is bugging me. It's time to figure it out, stop thinking about it and do something. I have never thought of myself as a tree, but it's good to be reminded.

“Disappointment to a noble soul is what cold water is to burning metal; it strengthens, tempers, intensifies, but never destroys it.”

― Eliza Tabor Stephenson

no more secrets

"Share one thing about yourself that others may not know." " Share something we don't know" ..."share three things that you want us to know".... these are among the reasons that I don't enjoy group introductions.

One of the 13 changes of 2013, I am going to embrace those ridiculous notions that group leaders have and I am going to be ready! 

I am  a health nut. I obsess about diet and fitness. I keep up with the latest thing in apps  available for tips, inspiration and tracking of diet and activity.  I am the author of a blog designed to promote wellness. 

In 2013, I have resolved not to keep such great secrets.

Today, so not to  be one of those people who go gung ho right out of the gate and then don't have what it takes to finish strong, I have set up small achievable goals. I am thinking up a fantastic incentive program. yesterday I purchased a good pair of shoes. today, I took my vitamins. tomorrow  I 'll go for a walk.... That walk, will begin a lifelong journey of telling the truth about who I am and who I am becoming.

No more secrets, no more surprises. Next time I am asked to tell something about myself that others  may not know, I am not going to have to admit that I am healthy and not too lazy to care for the one body I am given to live this life in.

I may even update and publish that wellness blog, who knows? Did I just commit to health, wellness... weight loss? it's what I meant to do.

One thing that I would like others to know about me... 

It's in the day to day.

Reflecting on the Christmas story this Advent season, I am impressed by how Jesus enters into the day to day.... For Simeon, for the Shepherds, the wiseman, it was just another day, or so they thought. It was in the ordinary that our Creator was at work. Changing everything. Bringing hope, peace, joy, love to the world. May I, may you, be as inclined to embrace the Miraculous when it shows up the day to day.

the music of messes

6th grade

This week Sam is on vacation with a friend. I am helping Spencer make sense of their shared room. Spencer has moved into the walk in closet in effort to create his own space.

As these projects go, the more you clean, the bigger the mess. The only thing that keeps me from chucking the entire mess into the garbage is the treasure found in the sorting.

7th grade

As I clean out Sam's backpack, I learn that buying school supplies is not going to be the daunting task it usually is. His school supplies are still in his backpack much the way I put them at the beginning of the year. I only had to clear out a couple items - a shirt and a french horn book (neither of them his), a couple bags of valentine candy that he never opened and a couple worksheets that he most likely repeated when he thought he misplaced them. So, no trip to Walmart - didn't even have to leave the house and I have school supplies for one.

Each year, teachers give awards at the end of the year. I found these "awards" that Sam received from his teachers. These explain a lot about Sam. They make me smile about all the times I have asked him to not whistle when I am speaking to him, to not tap on the table during dinner... They also tell me why he is often unaware of when his projects are due. While it has not always been the case, I am also glad that along the way there are teachers who can appreciate the music of Sam.

Now, back to work...

Learn to dance in the rain

"Life's not about waiting for the storms to pass...It's about learning to dance in the rain." ~ Vivian Greene

I quote I saw yesterday. It's a good mind set. Given the past 5 months of trial and uncertainty, it is clear that rain doesn't go away on our wishing. It is not something we control. There is so much going on in the midst of a rainy day that can be missed focusing on what can be done once it stops.

It's raining today. We have outdoor family pictures scheduled for today. So, we will take our umbrellas.