I love YOU, I love ME, part 1

It's a challenge for all of us at times to be around others and still be true to ourselves.  This can be in personal relationships, with family, and definitely at work.

How do you stay true to yourself around others?

How do you not?

What does all this mean?  To me, it's simply about accepting ourselves, being true to ourselves...period.

Try taking a little quiet time, to let yourself relax and breathe.  Focus your mind on your belly and breath, a happy image, or a place you love in nature...now...just let yourself breath, breathing in and breathing out...breathing in and breathing out...relax...let whatever sensations and feelings you may be having to just be there...now try the words, "I am loveable"..."I am worthy of love"..."I love myself".

Blessings to you.

A Single Word Can Affect Your Reality!

I have experienced chronic health issues in the past.  Actually for years in my twenties I was extremely ill.  During this time I became very sensitive/allergic to things most of us aren’t, or don’t realize we are.  I had your “normal” pollen allergies, but I also became sensitive to molds, and chemicals, and foods that until that time I never had a problem with.

Now what’s amazing is how this and other experiences we have can change and affect us.  And affect me it did.  I fought and worked like I never had before with such passion to get well, but I also was thrown into a world of survival, literally.  I reacted to everyday things with such intensity that they made me incredibly ill.  My body was in such a state that it simply couldn’t process/detox things we take for granted.  Everything became a threat.

Today I took a supplement that I have taken in the past, and felt for a brief time, extreme tingling sensations, a flushing throughout my body and into my extremities, a speeding up of my breathing.  All of these were automatic responses to what I had taken.  *  They did not last long because I simply allowed myself to feel them, without distress.  I allowed myself to relax and breathe, and noted how my body RESPONDED to the substance.  

After some time I noticed how the word RESPONSE better fit the experience I was having at this time, but also helped me to accept the experience, in contrast to the word REACT, if I had chosen to use that.

How can you see situations in your life differently by using words with different meanings, and what meanings do you ascribe to your words?

Best Regards.

* Note:  These can be responses to other problems that may be serious.  This is not meant to be a medical article offering advice.  If you experience health issues/symptoms, please advise your health professional.

Also note some responses for some or to some things can be life threatening.  In the past mine were, as can be peanuts or any other substance to someone else.

Body Meditation

First, take your focus and become aware of your breath moving in and out of your belly.  Notice as your belly moves up and down with each breath.  Breathing in and breathing out, breathing in and breathing out.  Just for this moment nothing is more important than your focus and attention on your breath moving in and out of your belly, noticing your belly rise and fall with each and every breath.  Continue to focus on this movement for some time longer allowing yourself to relax in the rhythm of your breath, breathing in and out, in and out, noticing your belly rise, feeling your belly fall.

As you continue to focus on your belly rising and falling, imagine it as a wave and your body an expanse of water.  Relaxing your body even more, let the energy spread from the movement of your belly rising and falling out into your body.  Feel your breath move all the way down to the very tips of your toes, rocking you ever so gently into a deeper state of relaxation.

As you continue this way of breathing begin to allow your awareness to move throughout your entire body.  Starting first at your feet, become aware of how your feet feel.  Are they relaxed, are they squashed in your shoes?  Are they warm or cold?  Just allow yourself to become aware of any sensations or feelings you may be experiencing here at this time without judgement.  There is no right and wrong in the experience, there is only the experience.  You do not have to try and push any feelings away or be afraid of them, you are simply observing, noticing, becoming aware of, and breathing.  Breathing in, and breathing out.  If at any time during this exercise you feel overwhelmed, simply go back to noticing your belly as you breathe in and out, your belly rising and falling with each breath.  Use this as an anchor.

Continue to move your awareness now up from your feet into your legs and hips, into your abdomen, organs, and chest, allowing your awareness to expand with each breath as you go deeper into the experience of your body and yourself, breathing in and breathing out.  Notice what happens as you bring your loving awareness to yourself and any areas of tension / stress.  Notice what happens as you give them space.  As you bring your attention and breath to these areas notice your awareness continuing to expand and open.  Opening with awareness and breath, experiencing greater relaxation and peace, breathing in and breathing out.

Take some time to feel this throughout these areas.  Noticing gently, and breathing.

Allow your awareness to move to your spine, your shoulders and your neck, continuing to breath, just gently noticing, relaxing more with each breath, as your attention softens, gently expanding your awareness, opening your self to new sensations and feelings.  Finally allow your awareness to move to your head and arms, expanding, breathing, being.

Now let your mind move to your heart.  This is an area where we experience love and compassion for others and other things.  It's also an area where we receive and accept love for ourselves.  I would like you to just become aware of this area for a while, noticing any sensations or feelings you may have here as you breath, gently.

Now visualize one thing you would like more of in your life at this time.  It may be peace, or healing.  It may be abundance, joy, or healthy relationships.  Whatever it is, allow yourself to become clear on what you really need at this time.  Now see yourself as already having this.  Allow yourself to feel what it would feel like to have this in your life now...and with each breath, allow that feeling to expand from your heart to your whole body, breathing in and breathing out.  Gently allow each breath to expand this thought, this desire, this feeling into each part of your body and being, until you aren't just thinking about what it is you want, you are it...breathing and knowing, I am ...... Breathing and knowing I am ......

Now when you are ready, gently let yourself become aware of your feet as they rest of the floor, the chair or cushion you are sitting or resting on.  Become aware of the place you are in, knowing that as you do, you are bringing this new sense of awareness, and experience with you.  You are that ...... that you brought into your attention.  As you come back into the present moment, know that you can come back to this feeling, this experience and awareness at any time.  This is not something outside of you, it is you, and the more you focus on it, the more you allow yourself to relax into it, the more you nurture it, and the more you nurture yourself.

It does NOT have to be Complicated

I have written a number of short blogs on things we can do to take care of ourselves, everything from nutrition, to exercise, to other integrative approaches; Chiropractic, Acupuncture, Massage, CranioSacral Therapy, etc.  More and more people are integrating approaches like meditation and Yoga into their daily routines, but if this all sounds like a lot, it doesn’t have to be complicated.

A wonderful gift you can give yourself, is taking small meditative moments throughout the day.  Often it’s too hard to take half and hour or an hour to meditate, or do Yoga, but if you take a few minutes a couple of times a day, it can help you not only remain focused, less stressed, open, and also more present.

What does this entail?  It can be done it a number of different ways, and so I will present a few simple ideas.

Breath.  I have written a few blogs on diaphragmatic breathing.  This, in and of itself can be a meditative moment.

Grounding, grounding, grounding.  Take a few moments to feel yourself connecting to the earth’s energies.  You can imagine growing roots into the earth, or you can, with your breath, breathe in the earth’s energies with your in breath, and with your out breath, connect yourself deeper to the earth.

Two simple questions.  “What am I feeling?”, and “Where am I feeling it?”  Allow yourself to simply observe any sensations without judgment, without trying to change them, or without making them right or wrong.  Breathe.  You can say something to yourself like, “I’m ok even if I’m feeling …”

Smile.  Put a smile on your face.  Now take that feeling, and smile in different areas of your body; your neck, your shoulders, your heart, your solar plexus, your head, etc.  Smile, and allow that feeling/sensation to fill these areas with more ease and joy.