What Have You Learned Today?

We go through our days and do we stop to account for them?  Do we ever stop to think, what have I learned today?  Its almost like we just go from one day to the next, doing this task and that task without stopping to notice what we have learned.

The days do get busy.  I will grant you that.  Sometimes it is hard to find time to stop and reflect.  The kids need this ready for the next day.  The boss is emailing us late at night with a question that he needs answered.  We've got household chores to do, bills to pay, groceries to get, and many other things to finish.

Yet, if we don't stop and take notice of our day, we're missing out on so much.  We are giving up a big part of our life's experience that we will never get back.  When that day is done, there is no way to go back and redo it once again.  You either grab it while you have it, or you can just cross it off of your day calendar.

Opportunity...

Stopping to focus on what you have learned today gives you the opportunity to gain so much more out of your day.  It allows you to be a participant, rather than an observer going from one moment to the next.  It gives you a chance to embrace tomorrow with more knowledge than you have today.

Possibility...

Stopping to focus on what you learned today helps you to see the possibilities that lie ahead.  It helps you find the answers you seek to moments and experiences and situations in your day.  Without stopping to reflect, you miss those moments and they could end up becoming a key piece of your life's puzzle.

My question to you today is "what have you learned"?  Please leave a comment below and share your reflections of what you have learned today.

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2016 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

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Facing My Fears

Mile High Bridge At
Grandfather Mountain

Facing my fears is never easy to do as I am sure others experience similar moments.  While fears have been plenty in my life, I always keep trying to face them down!  It is the only way I know to keep moving myself forward, even if my knees are shaking so badly that I can barely stand.

Among my fears, one of the ones I struggle with is the fear of heights.  I'm not going to tell you that this recent experience cured me but it went a long ways to helping me do something which I was not comfortable doing.  I believe the little successes and experiences in life build up to the change we desire for our life.  It isn't always about the rockets red glare and the fireworks going off that signify a change.

Traveling to Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina, I knew they had a mile high swinging bridge.  Finding out that this is not a free-swinging bridge made this task easier, the bridge was not stationary by any means.  As we drove up the steep mountain side road, my anxiety level was already high.  I could feel my fingers digging into the steering wheel and I tried hard to not look down.  The road was rather steep with hair pinned curves.

Possibility In My Dreams

Some days my mind creates vivid story book movies of what life could be like for me. Some days I feel as if I'm dreaming with my eyes wide open.

In all reality, I don't believe these things are fictional movies of fantasy. I have a suspicion that they are a glimpse of my life's purpose, yet to be created into existence.

As I think on these things, I become excited at the possibilities. These dreams make me feel complete and fulfilled. They seem so real and so close to the touch that I am shocked when I wake up from my dream state.

Of course with any dream, there are many steps required to put everything into action. Some of these steps involve miracles of walking on water or climbing the highest mountain peaks. It is all too easy to become frustrated at the difficult tasks of unknown proportions that stand in the way. It is much to easy to be side tracked from the voices that surround my journey.

In the end, I must keep the faith and keep the eye on the goal. For if I lose site of the goal, I may find myself lost in the desert thirsting for water. My path and my purpose may not always be clear, but my hope is to not lose site of the way.


Further Reading:
1) Hope & Possibility Through Trauma - (Book Review Post 05/20/11)
2) Your Possibilities Are Real (Blog Post 03/02/11)




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Blog Post & Images (c) 7/8/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

If any part of this post is used or shared, a link back to this site is required.
http://mindbodythoughts.blogspot.com/
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Your Possibilities Are Real

Just think of all the possibilities there are in your life today. Dream of them, touch them, feel them and imagine all parts of these possibilities. In your moment of possibilities, see them coming to completion in spite of any obstacles that may seem to stand in your way. Imagine, them as if they were already here in your hand, your heart and your mind. See them with every ounce of energy you have and all the hope you can find. For your hopes and your possibilities are already real.



Blog Post & Images (c) 3/1/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

Charting The Course Of Life

When you are met with resistance at every turn in your life and in many of life's daily events, than one must scratch their head, evaluate and see if a new course needs to be charted. - Don Shetterly

Discover New Lands

I can only forge ahead into the seas,
Knowing that my ship will sail on,
Looking to the stars and moon
As I move to new worlds beyond. -
(c) 2000 by Don Shetterly



Taken from the poem, New Worlds by Don Shetterly from his book, "A Journey Through Words"
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Broken Windows Or Openings

When I saw the picture that Marilyn Mott Brown posted on her Facebook page, I could not help but ask for permission to post her picture and write about it. (note: this picture is being used on my blog page per Marilyn's permission).

For most of us, if we had to write a paragraph about this picture and how it relates to our life, I'm sure each one of us would write something different. So let's do a quick exercise. Before you continue reading, why not write a paragraph about what this images means to you in your current life. And then when you do that, take a look at it and read what you wrote from an Observer's mindset. Now compare the two thoughts and contrast them. You might be amazed at the insights you receive from doing this and whatever you write is your truth. It is what you need to probably hear for your own life in this moment. It could be the next epic adventure in your own story book and be a life changing event or it might lead you to the next morsel of information that will help you move in the direction you need to go.

So before I share what it means to me, make sure you write your paragraph first and then come back and read what this means to me. Ok, are you writing? No cheating now. Write yours first.

Ok, if you did as directed and wrote something, please feel free to comment and share what you wrote. I'd feel honored as well as all my readers would to see the various insights. Who knows what I may learn as well from what you write. And what you wrote is just as valid as what I wrote. Please don't compare mine to yours. Each of our writings stands on its own.

So here's what I wrote: ..

The minute I saw this image, I thought - wow - what a story for how life sometimes looks. An old rustic shed with wood that shows every grain and fiber. It has weathered the storms of life and appears that even through the years, it may be leaning a little but it is still standing. The door is slightly ajar and may all most be off its hinges from the winds of time and the many times it has been opened. The tools and belongings just inside the windows are varied and act as if they were placed in that particular order for whatever reason which remains a mystery to the viewer of this picture. Two of the four opposing window pains have been knocked out as if the window was meant to be that way. The way Marilyn took this photo, it leaves so much of the image as a mystery. There is no way to know for sure exactly what is around the narrow view of the picture unless you were standing there. This gives possibility of so much more than what the picture shows.

And as I think about all of this, isn't this a good representation of life. We sometimes see all our faults just like an old shed barely standing there with the door hanging open and the windows broken out. Yet, we often fail to realize that we're still standing strong despite the winds and storms of time. We have the tools and responsibilities and pieces of our life organized in a way that works for us in that moment even if we have some broken out windows. And as we look through the broken out window panes, we stare in to the darkness of the shed, wondering what is in there and what we have not become aware of in our lives. It reminds us of how much we have not yet discovered. The narrow view of the pictures shows to me, that there is so much more about us than we can currently see and if the photographer moved just an inch it would reveal so much more. In many ways, that is how our own lives come to be, because if we saw everything in this moment, it would take away the excitement and possibility of what lies ahead. In addition, to see to much too quickly, it may overwhelm us as we would not be able to take it all in and understand it.

So for me, this picture says, look at the entire picture and see the beauty. Don't be concerned with each detail of fault that you can see but know that this shed has stood the test of time and through the open windows of my life, may I be reminded to look further into my life and discover all that there is. It is not about what I can currently see but how I can see this image in the context of my complete life.

Health Care

I continue to be amazed at what our country, society and world views as "health care". If you say "health care", the first thing that comes to the mind of most people is going to a doctor for check ups, tests, medications and procedures. Ok, it might include a few other things to a few other people, but mostly that's what is portrayed in this world.

While there is a need for doctors and medicine and health care as described, that is only half of the picture. I know the medical association, the doctors, the pharmaceutical companies do not want you to think otherwise. For if you do, their corporate profits will go down.

Contrary to what 99% of the population thinks, there are so many other things that one can do to take care of their health. Yet, those things are in the minority and somewhat sampled on an occasional basis. And if you do not agree, just take a moment and look around you to see what the vast majority of people are doing for medical care. That is where the proof is to what I am saying.

In order for us to shift the paradigm that we have all fallen into, we have to examine some basic facts.

• #1 Much of our life experiences including our past, influence our present moments. If we do not deal with the past, it will deal with us. That is a plain, pure and simple and a proveable fact!
• #2 We often ignore the true message of the pain or health condition we are facing because it is easier to pop a pill, than to deal in the nitty gritty stuff of our life. Sometimes pills are needed in certain situations but they should not be the first thing we turn to.
• #3 We often make much more out of the situation then we need to because often (I'm not going to say always or 100% of the time) but often there is some emotional, mental or spiritual side to whatever medical situation we are facing. There is more to the picture than meets the eye.
• #4 We often feel solace and comfort in placing a label on the condition we have. However, the danger in this is that now we live up to that label after we find out all we can about it. We may not realize we do this but often labels we put on ourselves or our conditions hold us back more than they help us.
• #5 The mind is extremely powerful in healing our body if we allow it to do this. The placebo effect is now being found through research to do as much healing in physical ailments as the actual drugs themselves.
• #6 As a culture, we have relied on research to provide us with the answers and solutions that we need to either help treat ourselves or our loved ones. Yet, research is a big business with many dollars being thrown around and in order to evaluate the research, we need to follow the money trail. In following the money trail, analysis of the research results can be evaluated more accurately. Research and statistics do not necessarily mean that the conclusions are 100% accurate.
  
• #7 Fear is one of the most common culprits for making seeing eyes blind and by that, fear rules this world in so many ways and it blinds us to what is really and truly going on. Fear is valid when you are running from the tiger but fear has no place when you are trying to discover the intricacies of your body, the world around you and the universe.
  
• #8 Being with pain is very difficult whether it is your own or someone very close to you. As humans (especially when we have allowed fear to come into our lives), we struggle to be with someone or our self that is in pain. It is a natural part of our biological lives but when it becomes the sole arbitrator of our life or our loved ones, than we have lost site of the possibilities that exist.
  
• #9 Supplements and health drinks and potions and snake oil are widely used in the world by people who believe they will work. Often they cost so much money and while there is much science and research to back up the claims, these products fail to live up to the expectations. Remember the placebo effect? Remember to, that even in these so called "alternative health" means, you need to follow the money trail and evaluate them accordingly. Even with expensive price tags and miraculous claims, these things are not always what they seem to be. Look at them and evaluate them through open eyes that do not close.
  
• #10 Possibilities are endless! Let me repeat that. Possibilities are endless! Be careful, locking yourself into one paradigm thinking that this holds all the answers for you. For when you are thinking this way, you have given up on the possibilities that exist.
  
• #11 The answers we need are within us. In our society we fail to listen to ourselves, our bodies and our thoughts. We fail to connect to that which is within us. Within each one of us is a master healer. When was the last time, you listened to yourself and I mean truly listened to yourself? For when we do not listen to ourselves (to thine own self be true), we give our power up to someone else and we lose so much of the potential that is right within our bodies, our minds and our spirits.
• #12 Consider what is going on in your life the next time you get an ache or a pain or something seems off. Often what is happening in your life will show up in some physical way within your body. Have you ever heard someone say, "my back is killing me" as they over exert themselves without rest, or maybe my "legs are tired/hurt to move" when they are struggling to make a decision of their path in life? Do I need to say any more or is the picture clear?
  

Each one of us needs to evaluate what is best for our lives. If we do not take the time each day to listen to our bodies, to go in and clean out the closets of our lives and to give ourselves rest, than how can we expect to be healthy inhabitants of our own bodies?

Health care is not about procedures and taking pills. Health care is about getting to know your body in every way possible and then listening to your inner self in finding the most potential for your life that you can. There is so much more out there than the advertisements show us each and every day. We've become people with eyes that are closed when we so badly need to open our eyes and claim everything we can.

The potential exists and the possibilities are endless. How much will you close your eyes to? How much will you allow yourself to open your eyes and see?

Colors Of The Wind

I recently heard a song that I just love. It was from the Disney movie, Pocahontas. The song is "Colors Of The Wind". To me, I see it as a song of possibilities in life as if it is talking about all that can be and all that we can be part of. The signature line that just brings goose bumps to my arms is "can you paint with all the colors of the wind?".

So my question to everyone that reads this is, "Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?".

Take a moment and just read the following lyrics. There is power in the overall big picture of these words.

Lyrics to "Colors Of The Wind"
You think I'm an ignorant savage
And you've been so many places
I guess it must be so
But still I cannot see
If the savage one is me
How can there be so much that you don't know?
You don't know ...

You think you own whatever land you land on
The Earth is just a dead thing you can claim
But I know every rock and tree and creature
Has a life, has a spirit, has a name

You think the only people who are people
Are the people who look and think like you
But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger
You'll learn things you never knew you never knew

Have you ever heard the wolf cry to the blue corn moon
Or asked the grinning bobcat why he grinned?
Can you sing with all the voices of the mountains?
Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?
Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?

Come run the hidden pine trails of the forest
Come taste the sunsweet berries of the Earth
Come roll in all the riches all around you
And for once, never wonder what they're worth

The rainstorm and the river are my brothers
The heron and the otter are my friends
And we are all connected to each other
In a circle, in a hoop that never ends

How high will the sycamore grow?
If you cut it down, then you'll never know
And you'll never hear the wolf cry to the blue corn moon

For whether we are white or copper skinned
We need to sing with all the voices of the mountains
We need to paint with all the colors of the wind

Breathe and Know

Breathe in the good

Breathe out that which you don't need.

Breathe in the energy, the strength, the sustenance for your life.

Breathe out that which holds you, constricts you and binds you.

Breathe

Breathe

Breathe

Life has so much to offer, not so little.

Life is about so much more, not what it doesn't have.

Life is about possibility, hope and what can be.

Life is you, us, we, them and everyone in between.

Life is all of together connected so intricately.

Breathe

Breathe

Take it all in

and Know that all is, just as it is for this moment.

Possibility

Possibility is looking towards the sky for limits.



(photo courtesy of Don Shetterly, Space Shuttle Launch 3.15.09)

Chiropractic Documentary - Part 3

See the truth about Chiropractic and how much is possible with it. This is part 3 of a 3 part series and is a very good source of information.

Chiropractic Documentary - Part 2

See the truth about Chiropractic and how much is possible with it. This is part 2 of a 3 part series and is a very good source of information.

Chiropractic Documentary - Part 1

See the truth about Chiropractic and how much is possible with it. I've used Chiropractic at times in my life and it has helped greatly. Just like with medical doctors, there are good ones and bad ones. However, Chiropractic has a lot of possibility and potential. I've seen it work many times in myself and in others when medical doctors and medicine offered no relief. This is a part 1 of a 3 part series and is a very good source of information.

Releasing Accumulated Stuff

I'm one of those people who pick a lot up when I'm around other people. Ever since I was a small child, I was always known as a very sensitive person. I can cry at just about any thing or any event that takes place. For a long time, I took on the label of being a cry baby put there by my father and as I learned as a child, being sensitive was not a good thing. That was until a few years back when I finally discovered, being sensitive is a good thing.

Since that discovery though, I have had to come to terms with being sensitive and not letting it completely rule and ruin my daily life. That's been a challenge for me to understand and while I have heard many people share many different ways to deal with this, most of them usually fell in to woo woo dust and landed on the floor. I can not say that I have completely figured it out but I have learned so many things that help me personally and I believe that this is what each person has to find out for themselves. What may work for one person, may not work for all and while there may be underlying themes to each solution, one must find their own solution.

In the spirit of me sharing what works for me, here are some of those solutions I've found.

1. I take time to be outdoors in the sun, among the trees and the birds feeling the wind against my face as I become one with all of these things in that moment. My focus is on connecting with each of these things seeing the shades and deep colors of the tree, the sky and the clouds while hearing as many individual sounds coming from the birds and the wind that I am able to pick up. As I do these things, I lose track of all that I am currently dragging around with me. It is a moment of refreshing time and a reorientation into what really matters in the day.

2. At times I just sit or stand picturing myself connecting to mother earth and it is as if my feet are growing roots that connect deep into mother earth knowing that no matter what hits me during the day or what I experience, that I am connected and grounded to the source that keeps me planted firmly on my path in life.

3. I have various music and meditations that I use at different times. Some of the music and meditations that I use are (including my own relaxing piano music that I create) :

• Don Shetterly - Relaxing Spa Music (Amazon)
• Don Shetterly - Focusing (Amazon)
• Don Shetterly - Dancing With Life (Amazon)
• Don Shetterly - Meditation Music: Healing Angels (Amazon)
• Doreen Virtue - Chakra Clearing (HayHouse.com)
• Jonathan Goldman - Holy Harmony (Amazon)
• Dik Darnell - Following The Circle (Amazon)
• Hemisync - Chakra Journey with the music of Thunderbolt (Hemisync.com)
• Epic Meditations - Guided Meditations (itunes)

4. Another thing I am using is a program called "Holosync" from the Centerpointe Institute. Holosync not only helps you achieve deep meditation but it also helps to balance the many aspects to your life. I've seen many positive results in my own life and feel it is well worth the money you pay for it. You can order a free demo CD at http://www.centerpointe.com/

5. Sometimes screaming can help me greatly but doing so in a very connected way to my body. Screaming alone may or may not help but when you connect it to your body in that deep awareness state, much can be released. One of the ways I do this is by going to my pool and working the water up in a swirl with my arms while I'm connecting my mind and body together. Than I scream as loud as I can as I'm putting my face in the water so no one basically hears me. And I just let it all out. I've done this in my vehicle as well and if you connect everything together, it will move some energy.

6. Getting body work of any kind done on me especially from those who know how to connect body work with the mind is powerful and very effective. We as a society do not do this enough and if we would, our physical, emotional, spiritual and mental health would greatly improve. While the various types of bodywork are numerous, find one that speaks to you and explore it. A couple that I enjoy are:

• Trager - Gentle, rocking movements that while feel very light to a person, the effects of this work go very deep into the subconscious and are much deeper than any massage can usually reach.
• Unified Therapy - Work created by Dr. Canali of the Evolutionary Healing Institute. It is life changing work and greatly helps to rid the body of stored energy thereby freeing your life up to be all that it can be and bringing about deep awareness to your every day life.

Of course there are so many other ways that one can relax, ground themselves and release accumulated stuff. I have just briefly touched on a few possibilities. If something works for you, please feel free to leave it and a link to more information in the comments.

Whatever you do, don't stop discovering yourself or becoming aware of all that you can be. For the more we know about ourselves the great our life's possibilities can be. The more we release all that we have stored within us, the more free we become which leads to greater health, greater awareness and a deeper peace.