For Those Among Us Weathering Storms...
Angie--Jon, Andrew and Dad
Heather--Chuck, Kelley and Bethany
Ami and Shane
Sharon--and Shane
Ellen (madaline)--and Tom
Sara and the WHOLE gang in Cincy
DEIRDRE--Coen and Megin
I know there are others...I can't think of them all, but if you can, please add. This is just a little post to help us send out good vibes, prayers, thoughts, whatever, to those who are going through tough times right now.
Some suggestions for reinstating calm...I hope these help someone, even if it's just one person.
Quote:
Suggestions for Instant Calm
1. Breathe deeply
As you breathe in, sense your lower abdomen rising. Slow your breathing until the breaths come 8 - 10 times a minute. Listen as each breath goes in and comes out.
2. Move slowly
Calm people move, speak and breathe at a relaxed pace. Consciously slow down these actions and you will become calm.
3. Relax your face
Relax the tension that gathers in the facial area, with this simple facial exercise:
Raise the eyebrows (relaxes the brow muscles), place your tongue against the roof of your mouth (relaxes the jaw muscles), then smile (relaxes the cheek muscles).
Remember it takes more muscles to frown than to smile.
4. Massage your feet (reflexology)
You can find the reflexology points that help to relax by pressing your fist in the hollow of your foot. Slowly press up as you breathe out.
5. Have a lavender bath
Add 5 drops of lavender oil to a warm bath, turn off the lights, and listen to your breathing, or add some background music--whatever helps you to relax.
6. Write down your worries in a Journal or letter
Getting the worries out on to paper helps the anxieties to vanish when you are able to see the problems in their true perspective. (**VENT HERE!!!)
7. Listen to the quiet. Quiet your mind
One suggestions for helping to quiet the mind is to concentrate on your breathing, focus on the breath as it goes in and comes out. You may want to add a word "Peace," "Calm," "Serenity," "Center" as you breath out.
Music can help to quiet the mind. Choose music that will ease you into that state of mind, that is pleasing and soothing, and you can get lost in. I find head phones most helpful, so you can listen to what you want, as loud as needed without bothering anyone else, especially in the middle of the night.
8. Press on your wrist (acupressure)
Apply a downward pressure to the acupressure point inside of your wrist - in line with your middle finger, two thumb widths from your palm - as you breathe out. Another helpful point is the 'fleshy' area between the thumb and the first finger, hold pressure here. It also works (sometimes) for headaches.
9. Walk or any Exercise
For many walking is the most relaxing exercise of all, but any exercise will help you work off stress. Do it whenever you feel tense. I find running or dancing with uplifting music playing in the head phones to be helpful when I am stressed.
10. Apply total effort and concentration to the task at hand
One of the best ways to forget your stresses and anxieties is to direct your total concentration to the task at hand. It's also the most enjoyable way to work, to eat, to exercise, to write, to experience nature, or to fully experience sexual relations.
|
More...
Quote:
Suggestions for Attaining Calm
1. Waste some time
Hard-working people never waste time on frivolous, fun filled activities. Yet, for hard working people, any time spent this way is far from wasted.
2. Pretend you believe
Regardless of what you know, by pretending to be absolutely calm and relaxed, you will fool your subconscious into believing you are calm and relaxed.
3. Worry when the time comes
Most worries are future based. They revolve around things that, in most cases, will never happen. Concentrate on the present and the future will take care of itself.
4. Single out Simple Pleasures
Approach something with your full attention and an open mind, and you'll find pleasure and complexity in it. A bunch of grapes, a glass of water, a field of grass or a sky of clouds. All of such things can lead to calm.
5. Jettison the Past
There is seldom any rational reason for having regrets about past deeds or events, because the past does not exist in any way other than in your memory. When you recognize this lack of reality, you can be calm.
6. Steal 30 Seconds
When you're tense, go somewhere quiet--even the bathroom will do in a pinch--and take thirty seconds to gather your thoughts, and work out how you're going to become calm. They could be the most useful thirty seconds in your day.
7. Levitate
Stand straighter and taller than you believe feels natural, with an imaginary thread attached to the top of your skull lifting you a few millimeters above the ground. The higher above the ground you feel, the closer you will be to feeling calm.
8. Paint the Town Green
Plants pour oxygen into the environment while soaking up carbon dioxide and pollutants. Keep plants where you work, sleep, and live and you'll enjoy more oxygen. The more oxygen you can get, the calmer you will become.
9. Play a calm role
Pretend you are calm: adopt the characteristics of a calm person, pretend that others see you as a calm person, and in no time you'll be a calm person.
10. Control only what you can control
Be rigorous in differentiating between what is achievable and what is a waste of time. Then devote your energies only to those tasks you can achieve (pass on the others to someone else).
11. Plan your worries
Put aside a certain amount of time each day--at the same time each day--which you devote to sorting through your worries. When the time is up, STOP WORRYING.
12. Know when to withdraw
There comes a time in every struggle when determination serves no purpose and becomes an end unto itself. Knowing when to move on to the next issue is a skill possessed by many calm people.
|
More...
Quote:
Mindful Moments Improve Health
Imagine a day, despite a bevy of stressful events, when you are able to maintain a clear head and sense of balance. Do you feel that even days without an onslaught of stress prove difficult to feel grounded? Today’s woman is striving to “do it all” and, in the process, forgetting to take care of herself. Juggling family, work and other obligations leaves little time for her to self-nurture. Sue Patton Thoele, author of The Mindful Woman, has a message for all women: A few mindful moments can help you restore that coveted calm and balance in your life as well as open your heart to happiness. Here are a few ways to practice mindfulness every day.
You might be thinking there is no way you could possibly fit one more activity into your day, especially if it involves taking time for yourself. But, even the busiest of women have the ability to embrace mindfulness and will reap the benefits of doing so!
Mindfulness is more than just filling your head full of thoughts. It is about intention. Mindfulness is being aware of yourself and your surroundings, consciously and kindly focusing on life as it unfolds and being present in the happenings. Mindfulness can happen in moments, giving you the chance to include it into your daily activities. By truly living in the moment (even if its just occasionally, at first), you will experience a wonderful array of health-promoting benefits for both your mind and body.
Practice Mindfulness – Even if you do have a busy life
1. Begin with breathing
Patton Thoele says, “The first thing you ever did for yourself was breathe. And consciously focusing on your breath remains the epitome of self-care throughout your entire life. Breath is both starter and sustainer.” Breathing is an essential pillar of overall health.
Practice: Before getting out of bed, intentionally focus on your breath. Take at least seven deep, conscious breaths and thank each breath for faithfully sustaining from the first moment of your life until now. Incorporate deep refreshing and calming breaths throughout your day. You will feel more energized, more relaxed and more appreciative of your body.
2. Look, listen and feel
Intentionally taking in your surroundings and yourself, you can begin to see beauty in the world around you and within you. “Pausing to take note of what you are seeing, hearing and feeling is an incredibly important touchstone for mindful living,” explains Patton Thoele. She adds, “A few 60-second check-ins a day can make an amazing difference in how you feel and can lay the groundwork for building mindful habits.”
Practice: Experience life with all of your senses. You can sit with your senses, eat with your senses, move with your senses, do everything with your senses. It takes conscious effort to hear, feel, see, smell and taste the many things you experience every day. Practice breathing while opening yourself up to sense everything around you. You will move yourself from “sleep living” to mindfully living, enriching your life no matter what you are engaged in doing.
3. Take Timeouts
They worked when you were little and they can work to reduce your adult levels of stress now. When you were young, your parents gave you timeouts to give you a chance to calm down, defuse your anger or have some time to think about why you are getting the time out. As an adult, you can use timeouts as reward, rather than punishment, but still benefit from the calm and introspection they provide.
Practice: As soon as you feel your energy waning, take a five to ten-minute timeout to breathe deeply, feel calm, and engage your senses. Thoele Patton recommends refreshing yourself with at least three short, rejuvenating timeouts throughout your day. You can put your hand over your heart and feel it beating – and feel the beats slow down as you let the wave of calm comfort you.
4. Accept the Many Facets of Your Personality
Have you ever noticed that you change personalities to fit a mood or occasion? Patton Thoele refers to these as subpersonalities, and she encourages you enjoy all of them, even the ones you would rather not have. She says, “We are always choosing between personalities…and accepting and understanding your subpersonalities gives them an environment in which they can heal, transform and express the positive qualities inherent within them.” Every aspect of yourself is inherently valuable and worthwhile.
Practice: Become acquainted with one subpersonality this week and give her a name. Then explore what she wants and needs from you and what purpose she serves. Then to the best of your ability, give her what she needs – in essence, you will be giving yourself what you need.
5. Tame Your Monkey Mind
Mindfulness helps you feel grounded and focused because it allows you to calm your mind when its on overdrive. In order to stop the stress of thinking and doing too much at once, it is important to notice that your thoughts and actions are overwhelming you. This state of overload prevents you from experiencing inner peace or the beauty that could be present in the current situation.
Practice: Focus on a single thought and stay with it for a few minutes. Explore its purpose, meaning, and usefulness. If you feel yourself drifting to other thoughts, start over and stay with one thought only. This helps to eliminate the mental chatter and tames the wild monkey mind. You will eventually feel much more centered because your mind isn’t buzzing with a myriad of related and unrelated thoughts.
As Thich Nhat Hanh says, “Mindfulness doesn’t cure all, but it always cures. It corrects the mind’s natural tendency toward dispersion, diffusion, and agitation, redeploying mental energy toward insight, clarity and wellbeing.”
A few minutes of mindfulness can make a world of difference in how you feel and act. You will ultimately bridge your mind and body and experience increased energy, inner spaciousness and clarity, and become much more self-intuitive. You will be able to experience life fully and, in doing so, live a much more enriched and fulfilling existence.
|
PEACE
Kathy
__________________
dx 1/06 fNHL gr 2 stg IIA; 4/06 PET shows more than CT, stg III/IV; 6/06-Clinical trial Rituxan; 8/06, 11/06, 6/07, 12/07-NED; 6/08-one node at 1.8cm; 7/08-4 more rounds of R; 10/08, 7/09-remission continues! Dance with life and leave a brilliant light behind...
|
07-23-2008, 07:21 AM
Similar Threads
Linear Mode
