Alex Matthews wrote this article a couple years ago, but it is as relevant today as it was then and the content is timeless. We can learn a lot from being present, in the moment, not by sailing through life in a mindless stupor as we conquer our "to do" lists.
Alex writes...
I never met my maternal grandfather — he passed away before I was
born. He was a wise, kind man. A devout Christian who also encapsulated,
beautifully, the concept of mindfulness — of living in the
present — with the saying “Today is the best day.”
My mother has often said this to her children. For her, as well as my
sister and me, it has become a sort of mantra, something to aspire to,
to live by.
“Today is the best day,” means appreciating the here and the now and
all the goodness that this contains. It involves acknowledging that we
do not live in the past or the future; we occupy the present, and so we
better darn well make the most of it. Happiness is not a destination you
will reach, but something to be accessed now. We can so easily dwell on
what we don’t have, or what we want but haven’t got yet (or had, but
lost). “Today is the best day,” means letting go of those
preoccupations, turning the focus on what you do have, on your life and
its bounty today.
I’m not making a list of resolutions this year. What I do hope,
though, is that I appreciate, every day — or even most days — that Today is the best day — and that I manage — again, on most days — to do the following:
Make the effort. While some of life is just about
showing up, beautiful things happen — connection, fulfillment, growth
and learning — when you you take responsibility and show initiative.
This applies in all facets of your life — socially, on a sports field,
at the office, at home.
Let go. (Or, as Taylor Swift would say, Shake It Off.)
Experiencing critical thoughts and negative emotions — anger,
frustration — is natural; so is caring about what people think of you.
But holding on to these emotions and perceptions holds you back; they
distract you from your own purpose. Take note, and then let them go.
Live your life; because it belongs to you and nobody else.
Go with the flow. Don’t passively accept the things
in your life, but don’t fight the unchangeable and inevitable either.
Surfing lessons have taught me that getting into a flat panic when
taking a tumble doesn’t do the least bit of good — all the thrashing in
the world won’t get you back above water. Rather, acknowledge your
environment, understand the challenges, and then respond to them. In
other words: float, don’t flail.
Breathe. Something as simple as breathing has the
power to shift your internal emotional landscape and boost your mental
and physical wellbeing. On an Art of Living course, I recently learnt
the Sudarshan Kriya, a daily breathing meditation (with many scientifically proven benefits).
In the few weeks that I’ve been practicing, I’ve found it to be an
incredible tool — reducing anxiety, improving focus and helping to
create a sense of balance. Breathing doesn’t make a shit storm
disappear, but it does help you to step back, and weather it better.
Yoga, with its emphasis on the connection between the breath and
different postures, is another powerful tool to get you to breathe,
bringing bring balance and focus.
Make imperfectly, rather than nothing perfectly. I
sometimes have the near-crippling worry that the words I write just
aren’t good enough. The worry is almost strong enough to make me avoid
writing altogether (a bit problematic, as this is how I earn my living).
I have to constantly remind myself that it’s OK to create things that
aren’t perfect; that it’s better to create something with flaws, than
never attempt something at all. When we create, the sentences that fall
flat teach us as much, if not more, as the ones which sing. We grow by
doing. The more we do, the more we grow. Craft isn’t the end — it’s the
in-between: it’s not a product, but rather a process, and one in which
there should be joy (as Srikumar S. Rao will tell you in this incredibly
inspiring presentation on work, happiness and the present).
Find the original article here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alex-matthews/today-is-the-best-day-a-y_b_6406084.html
Gratitude through natures beauty
Feeling down? Having an off day?
Maybe Louis Schwartzberg is just what the doctor ordered.
Sometimes the very thing we need to lift our spirits are the things that we don't see, the things we take for granted.
Slow down, take a few deep breaths and tune into nature's beauty as seen through the eyes of someone a little wiser than ourselves...
Maybe Louis Schwartzberg is just what the doctor ordered.
Sometimes the very thing we need to lift our spirits are the things that we don't see, the things we take for granted.
Slow down, take a few deep breaths and tune into nature's beauty as seen through the eyes of someone a little wiser than ourselves...
The best chronic pain management technique
Chronic pain is one of the leading causes of stress which eventually
hinders an individual’s ability to achieve and sustain a happy life.
Pain, in all its forms, is the mind’s signal that there is something
misaligned. The uncomfortable feeling that makes moving, coping and living difficult is often manifested as pain.
Acute pain is usually much easier to address, with the physical symptoms present, acute pain can be addressed with medical intervention and a person can recover more quickly. In terms of chronic pain, the feeling of discomfort lasts longer and can be mild to severe, often medical science has no definite answer to its cause, hence, there is no cure.
Such as in the cases of fibromyalgia and the vast spectrum of invisible illnesses that fall under the chronic pain category.
The primary reason FasterEFT is one of the best chronic pain management techniques is because it complements other forms of therapy. It is non-invasive and will not cause any adverse side effects even if applied when you are under medication. Of course, it is always best to ask your medical practitioner.
FasterEFT’s premise of operation in chronic pain management involves the mind and how pain is produced by the mind. It is a mind and body healing modality that is proven to allow an individual manage and eliminate chronic pain by accessing the power of the mind to heal and transform itself and the body.
The following are 3 simple facts about chronic pain:
Acute pain is usually much easier to address, with the physical symptoms present, acute pain can be addressed with medical intervention and a person can recover more quickly. In terms of chronic pain, the feeling of discomfort lasts longer and can be mild to severe, often medical science has no definite answer to its cause, hence, there is no cure.
Such as in the cases of fibromyalgia and the vast spectrum of invisible illnesses that fall under the chronic pain category.
The primary reason FasterEFT is one of the best chronic pain management techniques is because it complements other forms of therapy. It is non-invasive and will not cause any adverse side effects even if applied when you are under medication. Of course, it is always best to ask your medical practitioner.
FasterEFT’s premise of operation in chronic pain management involves the mind and how pain is produced by the mind. It is a mind and body healing modality that is proven to allow an individual manage and eliminate chronic pain by accessing the power of the mind to heal and transform itself and the body.
The following are 3 simple facts about chronic pain:
Read the rest of the article here:
https://fastereft.com/blog/fastereft-best-chronic-pain-management-technique
How memories form and how we lose them
I have been studying the brain, memories, and how our current lives are a representation of what we hold from the past. This is a cute video by TED-Ed that you may find interesting.
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