Inspiration blog
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DO Sweat the Small Things!
A huge component of “mindfulness” is being aware. Taking things in and letting them touch you, feeling them genuinely. Your body is constantly sending messages your way, but a lot of times we get caught up and distracted by other things, so we manage to ignore signs or symptoms that our body may need us to pay attention to. I learned recently an astounding fact: people who are in end-stage renal failure often don’t seek medical attention until their kidney function may be as low as 10%. How can this be? Well, one thought is that we get used to pain and we get used to any circumstances that change slowly over time. Then one day, you realize: I didn’t used to be this tired. I have a family member with late-stage Lyme’s disease, who sensed something was wrong, but for years wasn’t sure what it was. And part of the disease itself caused her to doubt her own feeling that she wasn’t well. She just got used to feeling out of sorts, exhausted, forgetful, and myriad other symptoms. I’m not suggesting mindfulness alone is preventive care, but it can certainly augment it. Don’t let symptoms fester. Don’t just accept pain without knowing its source. Don’t assume that ache will “go away.” A lot of times it will, certainly, but what if it just slowly gets worse, until you can hardly remember what it was like to have a pain-free day, or even hour? Take time to listen to your body. You can do this anytime: just check in. Maybe in the shower, or just after you turn out the light to go to sleep, or while you’re waiting in line at the supermarket. There are plenty of moments throughout our day where we can’t do much except wait. So use that time! Instead of checking email or social media, take two minutes to run down how your body is feeling: head, eyes, neck shoulders, heart, lungs, stomach, legs, feet, etc. Top to bottom, see where any aches or pains are and try to think when they began to bother you. If you can’t remember how long you’ve had that ache or pain, it’s time to address it. At the very least, continue to monitor it and be aware of how you’re feeling, physically. At the very least, this kind of mindfulness practice has zero negative side effects!
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I will use the excuse for my tardiness that it's important to be flexible in life. And sometimes, it can be difficult to put myself in the mood to think more "mindfully." Which is probably when it is most important to do so. When I'm looking for inspiration, I look to what other people are doing and what they've thought about in regards to mindfulness and similar issues. I found a great interview in the Harvard Business Review from 2014 about mindfulness and how it can be utilized in the working world (more specifically, the world of "business," vague as the term is).
You can find the article here if you would like to read it: hbr.org/2014/03/mindfulness-in-the-age-of-complexity I will be on time next week! Thank you for your patience in the meantime. By: Denell Nawrocki, MA For most of my life I felt like I needed to DO THINGS in order to make things happen in my life. I always seemed to force my way through situations and circumstances, MAKING them happen the way I wanted them to. This always left me feeling depleted and unwell. Even if I was getting what I wanted, it never seemed like enough. My heart was never full, and my mind always wandered to the next thing. When I began down the path of self awareness, meditation, and nature connection, I slowly began to realize that I had been doing it all wrong. The Earth creates and produces some of the most INCREDIBLY BEAUTIFUL and INSPIRATIONAL things known to us, yet she never FORCES it to happen. It simply happens. There is no force in creation. I began to think about this understanding in relation to 'getting what I wanted'. If nothing in this world is forced (naturally), then what did that mean for me forcing an outcome? What was I doing in relation to the possibilities of what could be? Was my constricted notion of the intended outcome blocking me from the incredible potentials of WHAT COULD BE? I began to change the way I was relating to what I was doing. Where there was once fear and pressure, I replaced with faith, trust and ease. This new way of Being was difficult at first, but as I loosened my grip on the intended outcome of even THIS 'action', I noticed something: Possibilities I hadn't even IMAGINED began to unfold. Potentials that had not even crossed my little mind began to manifest. Suddenly I realized that I was being guided (by my heart) to a state of flow unlike anything I had known prior. And soon after this, I began to receive that which I had always longed for- monetary stability, self love, positive body relationship, a clear understanding of my direction, community. This may seem like a catch 22 but what I have learned is that in order to RECEIVE that which you ASK FOR AND TRULY DESIRE, you must LET IT GO and OPEN YOURSELF UP TO THE POSSIBILITY. There is a non-action associated with the action. It is one of the most difficult things we as modern humans can do (what! NOT be in control?!), but the rewards of LETTING IT ALL GO are tremendous. I now actively choose to DO NOTHING, and allow my Body and Heart to guide me to the action. When I say DO NOTHING, I don't mean 'do nothing and sit on the couch all day'. I mean 'do not force anything to happen but allow it to be magnetized to you and receive it with an open heart.' I invite you to give this a go, even if just for one day. In the morning, set some intentions for your day, and then allow the soft voices of your heart and body to guide to through Time to where you need to go. You may find that synchronicity and miracles begin to happen. Let go into the flow of life. Forcing it only leads to unnecessary discomfort. ![]() Denell Nawrocki, MA is an Integrative Wellness Coach, Health Educator, Ethnohistorian, and Women's Health Advocate. You can find out more about her and her work at www.generativehealth.org. I was traveling recently, which I always look forward to (even if it was for work), whether it’s to another country or just a few counties away. But after my initial pleasure at the thought that I get to be in a place unfamiliar to me and see new things and people, I remember how frustrating traveling can be. “Hurry up and wait” is pretty much a guaranteed circumstance, as are difficulties making connections, expenses you would never incur at home, and missing the comforts you enjoy when you’re in your routine.
How to mitigate the frustrations of travel, when the stimulation of new and exciting scenery and situations may not enough? I was in New Jersey last week, which, while far from my California home, is still not exactly an exotic trip to a foreign place. Luckily, there were no major travel hiccups, my hotel was excellent, and the conference I was attending was stimulating and informative. But even in that best-case scenario, I still had frustrations such as jet lag which prevented me from sleeping well, a full schedule allowing little time to myself, and environs that prevented me from exploring (apparently the beautiful woods nearby were “full of bears,” so my only option for outside entertainment was a giant suburban mall). And my flight back was a bit more complicated than my flight out, involving a taxi, shuttle, train, and after a short visit to some family in New York, a gratefully accepted ride to the airport. Then I had two stops on my flight before arriving home, which is again, not ideal. What to do when you are surrounded by people and have no choice but to wait, or make your next connection? How to take breaks for yourself when you’re traveling, so you can maintain a peace of mind that can be hard to come by when on the go and away from home? For me, it involves lots of podcasts, music, audiobooks, and physical books and notebooks, so I can create a private space for myself when in public. It’s not that I don’t enjoy engaging with people I meet out in the world, but in an airport or train station--I’d really like to just be invisible sometimes. Any introvert and probably some extroverts will know the feeling. What do you do to create private space for yourself when in public? I’ve been traveling recently, which can be the enemy of mindfulness and keeping calm! I haven’t had time to put together my thoughts on the subject yet, but did find a good article in the meantime:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/30/habits-mindful-people_n_5186510.html Sorry to redirect to another post, but there will be traveling tips for mindfulness next week! |
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