Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Coping With Stress

Ok, here's a question asking for a show of hands.

How many of us know how to effectively cope with stress?

I see a few hands go up, but for the most part many are avoiding eye contact with me.  I know... I know...  it isn't always easy coping with stress.

For most of us, we weren't taught how to cope with stress that well.  Our dearly beloved parents often didn't know how to cope with stress in their own lives and that's what they taught us.  It isn't that we should blame them for anything because they did the best with what they had (ok, maybe not all parents did the best, but I'm sure some did).

All too often, we deal with stress by acting as if it is not there.  We avoid it, numb it and disconnect from it.  We look at anyone who acknowledges it with raised eye brows as if they are doing something wrong in life.

We keep ourselves so busy...

Sometimes we keep ourselves so busy that we don't have to acknowledge its presence in our lives.  Sometimes we have a few extra numbing and mind altering substances just so we can continue on separating ourselves from what is going on.

Some of us do very well at shoving it deep down inside of us so we just don't have to look at it.  Humans are pretty good at that.  Yeah, there are days when we need to do that, but so often we forget to flip the switch back the other way and deal with the stress.

Often we avoid and disconnect and numb stress in such an unconscious way that we're oblivious to its effects upon our body ... and our mind.  It is there, but we're in such a busy mode and disconnected mode that we don't see it.

When I've gone into some deep healing moments on the table, one of the first things we do is observe what is there in that moment - what we feel in our body.  There are many times that I don't feel anything until I stop and start to ask the question and notice it.  Then, it intensifies and that is the launching pad for the deep healing work.

Numbing and disconnecting...

Regardless of how you deal with stress, coping with it by numbing and disconnecting is not the best way.  It may be necessary in the moment, but if this continues, it starts to have major impacts on the different systems in the body.  It opens the door for illness and dis-ease.

Learning to be aware of its presence and learning to cope with stress is key to finding a more happier and healthier life.  It may not happen all at once and some of us may require much more difficulty to learning how to do this, but you mind and body will thank you.

If you do nothing and just let it build, at some point it will try to get your attention.  The daily buildup of stress can be just as harmful as traumatic experiences.  Trust me - and I share this from my own personal life - you don't want to go down the road of letting it build and not finding a way to let it go.

Coping with stress is about letting go, but doing so on a daily basis.  We have to find ways to stop and "smell the roses" or life will takeover and we'll be left wishing we had.  There are simple ways and more profound ways to cope with stress, but it all starts by stopping and observing and feeling in  your body.
http://mindbodythoughts.blogspot.com/2015/09/stress-aches.html

After that, your body and  your mind will guide the way if you allow them.  They will show you things that you may not have realized, but it all starts with observing and feeling the stress within your body.

I leave you with this question - what will you do today in learning to cope with stress and letting go?  How will you allow yourself to feel it in your body, so you can let it go from the cellular level?

#stress




Blog Post And Images (c) 2017 by Don Shetterly
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Monday, February 27, 2017

Is Anxiety Impacting How You Think?

(by Survive, Thrive And Conquer, Matt)

Every Sunday morning, I do a weekly reading on my Periscope channel. We interactively read through a book, and discuss how we can relate it to our lives. These are of course books to help us in everyday life, whether we are an abuse survivor or not.

I thought I might take this column here that Don has so graciously given me on his blog, and start a monthly series on a topic that millions of us struggle with. Anxiety!

Just the thought of Anxiety can make the hair on the back of your neck stand up, send shivers down your spine, and pretty much make us as uncomfortable as possible. Which is precisely what Anxiety lives for, making us uncomfortable and being stuck.

Let’s chat for a bit about Black and White thinking, or in other words, thinking in extremes.  Is anxiety impacting how you think?

Anxiety loves it when we live in these extreme thoughts. Everything is either completely one way or completely the other way. This is just the type of mindset that promotes self-shame, and keeps us from loving ourselves, and embracing all the good that we are.

Healing happens in the gray area...

There’s a concept that is important to embrace as abuse survivors, “healing happens in the scary middle”, the gray area. That’s where loving ourselves happens too. That middle or gray area where we accept ourselves, flaws and all, and stop trying to figure everything and everybody else, out.

  • Stop beating ourselves up because we didn’t get that promotion.
  • Stop thinking that we are doomed to a life of solitude and misery because we went through a divorce.
  • Don’t beat ourselves up because somebody was rude to us, and it must be our fault. We must have done something wrong.
  • If our children make a poor decision as a teenager, it doesn’t mean that we are a terrible parent.

I’m sure you can think of countless situations in life, recent or past, where you blamed yourself for something that wasn’t your fault. That extreme thinking of, “there’s no logical explanation other than I must have done something wrong”, is unbelievably toxic to our self-esteem.

Anxiety loves this, because Anxiety itself is toxic. It uses every trick in the book to make us feel like we have to be at fault, we are broken, we make all the wrong decisions, we are unlovable, etc. Then it feeds on that and just keeps growing and growing until we finally say, enough is enough.

There’s a thousand and one reasons why people are the way that they are, and every day circumstances can change how we react to a given situation. Life is fluid, it’s always changing. Think of this example:

Your coworker, who is normally easy going, talkative, friendly, and helpful suddenly snaps at you out of the blue.  You’ve never known them to act this way, but for some reason today they jumped down your throat when you came to ask them a work-related question.

Many times, our default reaction is, “well I must have done something to them”. Then we start to worry about what we did, why we did it, and how we can fix it…and we don’t even know what “it” is, but it must our fault.

Anxiety is just loving life at that moment, because we spend the rest of the day questioning ourselves and beating ourselves up for something we can’t control.

Once again, there are countless reasons why your co-worker snapped and very few, if any, have anything to do with you. Yet we are so used to blaming ourselves, that it’s just a default response.

Living in extremes, thinking we must be to blame and that we are always the reason for someone’s else’s actions is so self-defeating and just continues to give Anxiety power.


http://mindbodythoughts.blogspot.com/search/label/SurviveThriveConquer

If there’s one lesson that can be very hard to learn, but so yet so important, is that we can’t control anyone else’s actions. You’ll never be at peace by trying to please someone else or fix something. Nor will you be at peace in trying to figure out someone else’s intentions.

All you end up doing is blaming yourself, shaming yourself, and living in the extreme world of you being all wrong, all the time.

That my friends, is no way to live.

I encourage you, to step back, look at a situation from a high level, rational mind point of view. Doing that gives you perspective on what is really going on, not what Anxiety tries to make you think is going on.

If you would like to join Matt on this chat, just watch for his announcement around 10:30am on Sunday mornings.  @SurvivingMyPast


-Matt (SurvivingMyPast.net)



 





Matt is a regular columnist on Mind Body Thoughts.  He writes Survive, Thrive and Conquer monthly column.  This article is written by Matt.

To learn more about him and see all his other articles, go to Matt's Page, Survive, Thrive And Conquer.





Blog Post And Images (c) 2017 by Don Shetterly and Matt
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Sunday, February 26, 2017

Remember The Good In Mental Health Struggle

Sometimes the simple things become difficult things in healing.  One of the difficulties I've found in struggling with mental health issues is remembering the good.  It is easy for my mind to shift into negative mode and forget all the good stuff.

Even if I remember the good, the mental heath struggles that I face can render them invisible to my consciousness.  Sometimes I could be reminded a million times and I'd still forget the good parts of life. 

It does help for someone to keep reminding me. I'm sure they probably get to the point of frustration, but that's the way things work at times.

I'm sure I'm not alone either because mental health issues tend to change the brain chemistry and make it difficult to process and access things that others normally could.  I'm not saying it is permanently that way, but often it presents challenges to the mind in physical ways.

When I was paralyzed, my memory went.  Basic things were difficult to remember.  Remembering the good was definitely a struggle because the horrible moments I was facing tended to crowd the good stuff out.  Even now, after many years of healing work, sometimes the horrors still try to overtake the memory screen of my mind.

Good in with the bad memories...

For me though, if I remember something good that happened to me while growing up, there are other horrible events that happened within those good moments.  So, my mind really struggles to separate the two out and sometimes it takes more processor power than I can muster up in those moments.

It took me awhile to really get some of my memory back online and I still struggle with it today.  However, it is getting better and often times I can remember those good times in my past, while not letting the bad times take over.

Memes and happy thought sayings don't do much for me.  In fact, they just turn my mind into a mess, more than they help.  I know people think these are great and if they help, then I am happy that they do for you.  For me, it is just another avoidance that gets in my way.

http://mindbodythoughts.blogspot.com/2016/04/walking-through-muck.html

It does help though when I have people close to me that share and remind me of the good moments during the mental health struggle moments.  They are authentic and not just trying to fill the void with words, so it helps.  They do it out of compassion and from the heart, not just as a way of making up for their own loss and struggles in life.

No matter what you've been through in life, there are good moments.  They may be buried in the rubbish of what remains, but they are there.  Sometimes we have to look a little harder for them. 

Try to focus on those little moments as much as you can and cling to those when the footpath feels like it is crumbling below your feet.  Sometimes, holding on to those little things, no matter how small they may be, helps you hang on just long enough to find your footing.





Blog Post And Images (c) 2017 by Don Shetterly
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Saturday, February 25, 2017

Tomato Plants Teach About Stress

I've been trying to do something I've never done and finding out this is a learning process.  This is the first time that I've tried to grow tomato seedlings from little seeds.  I really had no clue how to do this and so I just jumped in with both feet.  Of course, the tomato plants are teaching me well!

Since I am growing them close to where I work in my home office, I keep a constant eye on them.  While they were doing quite well, I've been noticing that they aren't able to stand straight up as they grow taller.  At first, I thought they were just stretching for the light, but today I noticed that it was more than that.

Going to google and doing a search, I started to see conversations about plants doing "legging" as they called it.  If a plant was not getting enough sunlight, they would tend to grow taller and move anyway they could towards the light.  I believe that is what is going on with my plants and right now, I've got them outside on the patio getting as much sunlight as they so desire.

It got me thinking though about stress.  Here is an opportunity for me to learn as the tomato plants teach me about stress.

Of course, we may not always recognize how much stress a plant goes through, but in this case, I think not having enough sunshine or light is stressful on the plant.  The plants need water, food, and sunlight to grow.  When one of those is not in enough supply, it creates stress on the plant.

We don't fully see stress...

As I apply this to the mind body, if we have stress in our day which most of us do, it has an impact upon us.  Often we don't fully see the stress and often we are so numb and disconnected that even if the stress is pointed out, we never see it.

To me, at its basic level, stress is the result of not having what you need at that moment even if it is a perceived lack of something.  In this case of the tomato plants, it is the lack of light or sunshine.  I realize, this is greatly simplifying what stress is, but I think it is at the essence of it.  To fully describe it, would take another blog post.

It doesn't necessarily mean someone or something is bad to you, but that in its basic form, what is needed is just not available.

We overcompensate for stress..

In this case, the tomato plants try to overcompensate by growing in different directions and trying to grow taller as if to get more daylight.  We too, as humans, do the same thing.  We overcompensate every day by numbing, disconnecting and doing things that take us away from our mind body connection.

The way for us humans to come back is by stopping and observing the felt sense of our body and where we are.  It is about stopping to feel what we know in our minds with where we feel that sensation within our body.  It is about stopping to feel a sensation in our body and then allow it to connect with our mind through the felt sense.

Make changes to find balance...

I know that stress is often perceived as something that is bad or you are weak if you are stressed.  I've heard all of it in life.  If we look at stress as being something that we either perceive to not have in this moment or are lacking in our life, than the corrective action would be to make changes to balance this back to normal.

I know, it is easier said than done to do this, but I think if we alter how we perceive stress and if we actually recognize it, we've taken major steps to bring our mind and body back into balance.

http://www.growingdonsgarden.com/

To live in a day has stress present.  I'm not sure you can get through a day without some type of stressor upon your life.  Even the smallest of stressors still impact us and if we let those continue, the compensation behaviors we do often build up and come back to bite us in the butt!

Work to identify the stressors in your day and allow yourself to recognize them.  Next, stop and observe what you feel in the body and then allow your mind to connect those things together.  The more you can do this, the more your nervous system stays in balance and there is more resiliency in your nervous system for the larger things that show up in a day.






Blog Post And Images (c) 2017 by Don Shetterly
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Friday, February 24, 2017

Sometimes I Weep For People

Nope, this isn't a happy post, but it is what is on my heart.  Sometimes to make sense of things or attempt to grab on to the last rung of the ladder, I write what is on my mind.

Maybe this is not always what everyone wants to read or hear, but it is how I've written this blog for the past several years.  I share deeply from my heart and my own vulnerability.

Sometimes I weep for people.  Lately, that's been much of the time.  I see so much and I cannot for the life of me understand why humans do what they do to one another.  Here's some of the examples I've witnessed that grind my heart up to not end.

Examples:

  1. Example 1:  We care and we're here for you, but please enjoy our silence as that is about as far as it goes.  I know people mean well, but their actions don't match their words.  I stand in confusion wondering if it is something I did or they are just too busy or they just don't realize what their words mean.  Maybe it is something else, but it is far too complicated for me to understand.
  2. Example 2:  I only will communicate with you if you believe the way I do or talk the way I think you should or follow what I think you should do in your own life.  Of course, they don't come right out and say this but they practice it diligently.  I am at a loss with words and understanding how I have to believe or say things or act according to how others view life.  It just doesn't make sense and unfortunately it happens far too often.
  3. Example 3:  I am one-sided in my viewpoints.  I can't accept your point of view because it is wrong.  I will label you and call you names to prove my point and just constantly say that I know what is best and your stupid.  I'll do this in horrific ways so that you really feel as low as you can feel.  After all, I'm right and you're wrong.  I just tend to walk away from these people because I have no desire to fight with someone that is intent on not listening to anything I say.
  4. Example 4:  Let me show you how wrong you are and I will do it constantly every moment of the day.  Whether it is social media or a blog or talking to people, boy - just let me show you how wrong you are.  It is my responsibility to show ignorance to those who practice is how this type of behavior goes for people in this example.  There's no one else in their minds that holds any truth, but them.  I'm so saddened when I see this happening at a frequency my mind cannot even begin to comprehend.
  5. Example 5:  They've got a one track mind - yes I do, states the ones that do this.  Nothing else matters but their single focused issue or belief or viewpoint.  It is all or nothing.  It is frequent and in your face.  If you don't fully accept their premise and think and talk about whatever the subject is 100% of the time, there's something wrong with you in their eyes.  It is their way or the highway!

All of these things and more are practiced every day by those who don't think they do any of this.  Some are pretty convincing that they are normal and everyone else is wrong.

These things hurt the fabric of our society. It hurts us being human to one another.  It makes us into enemies, rather than fellow travelers on this earth.

No, none of us is perfect and we all make mistakes.  Let's just not go embrace them as the norm while we degrade, tear down and rip apart other people.  It makes me weep for people.  It really does. My heart hurts when I see this behavior.

Respect for one another starts when you stop labeling others and calling them names.  Respect for one another starts when you stop to listen and love another without trying to convince them your way is correct or you know what is best for them.

There is so much noise in our day and if we fail to listen, but keep screaming our point of view - we're only adding to the noise.  We're not doing anyone any good.

If you've not done any of these things ever in your life, then my hat is off to you.  Please write a book and share with the rest of the world how this is done because it is badly needed.  Unfortunately, I think we've all crossed the line a few times and right now in our world, the majority of people are truly crossing the line.

Let's not take our deficiencies we see in ourselves out on everyone else.  It isn't their fault that we haven't healed a part of our life or progressed past the thought processes and beliefs we were taught.  Yes, we don't like to admit we do any of this, but it only takes a few minutes to observe it in action just about anywhere you go.

http://mindbodythoughts.blogspot.com/2014/09/are-you-authentic.html

Let's celebrate others and share with one another what we've learned and what we've experienced.  It helps us find our own footing on this treacherous path that is called life.  We need each other to make it in a hostile world.  We definitely don't need to inflict pain upon others that ends up making them weep with sadness.

How can you begin this moment to let your words match your actions and let your love shine through greater than your own ego?


#Authentic





Blog Post And Images (c) 2017 by Don Shetterly
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Thursday, February 23, 2017

Are Humans Really That Hateful

I see a meanness online these days and it truly bothers me.  If you think I should not be bothered by it, then this blog post is not for you.  In fact, I just got called out for caring about what gets forced in front of our eyes every day.  You can't avoid it, unless you just don't go online.

I have to wonder though, are humans as hateful as they show online?  Do they really hate others as much as their words and actions show?  Or is there a major disconnect and the what people show online is different than they actually are?

My next question would lead me to authenticity.  If you can't be the same online that you are in person to your friends, coworkers and acquaintances, then which persona should we believe?  Who really are you?

I think this matters greatly because by treating each other with so much hatred while proclaiming we are great individuals, is extremely harmful to the world-at-large.  Words, actions, and thoughts do matter.  A thought born out of love can really help someone's day while thoughts born out of hate can really incite significant pain upon others.

We can't just sit back and hide our heads in the sand, because it truly matters.  How we treat others is propagated on to other people many times over.  It hurts.  It harms.  It keeps people hunkering down in their caves of anxiety and depression.

How we treat others is what helps this world advance or decline!  I'm sorry if that goes against your beliefs and opinions, but you can just take a look at humanity through the ages and see how true this is. 
http://mindbodythoughts.blogspot.com/2017/01/are-you-part-of-hate.html

The world is difficult enough on our good days and if we can't walk hand-in-hand together towards a better outcome, will this world even make it?  If we stand opposed and fight and nitpick and manipulate with our opinions and beliefs, may the world somehow survive because the odds are against it in this scenario.

Yes, it does matter if we truly understand whether humans are really that hateful with one another.  To ignore this, is being part of the problem that self-propagates throughout online social media.  We had better wake up before it is too late.  In this case, there will not be any do overs.


#Hate




Blog Post And Images (c) 2017 by Don Shetterly
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Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Caring Is More Than Saying You Care

I see far too many times when people just don't even begin to go far enough.  They say they care, but their words just don't show they care.  I'm sorry to be the one to state this, but actions speak louder than words.

Caring is more than saying you care.  It really is.  If you can't listen and try to understand, your words are meaningless.  If you can't take the time to truly show you care, than your words just don't mean much.

All of what I'm saying is what most have probably heard before and it may sound harsh, but it really irritates me and disappoints me when I see people do this.  This is not behavior fitting to a human.  This is not what our civilization should be about.

There are many that are hurting.  There are many that just need a listening ear, a helping hand or someone that will say, "let me sit with you while you tell me what is weighing on your heart".  Instead we give the "I'm too busy" approach and tell someone, I'll call you later.

We give people the "don't bother me" approach because I need to watch my socks dry on the clothesline.  After all, don't they know that my TV programs and my latest social media rants are far more important.

We give the people, "subscribe to my way or hit the highway" approach because God only knows that we're right and everyone else is wrong.  They surely don't know what they want or what is good for them, but hey - that's ok, we know what is best.  What we have to say or how we think is far more important than anything someone else may need in that moment.

Caring is more than saying you care.  It is more than a social media like or share.  It is more than passing a happy thought and meme along.  It is truly showing another you care - in deep and personal ways that really make a difference.

Caring should not be the exception to our day like it is now.  Caring should be the norm.  Listening should be second nature, but instead we chatter along in our days, screaming and ranting online and to each other as if that is superior to listening.

http://mindbodythoughts.blogspot.com/2016/03/actions-speak-louder.html

If we can give caring to one another in this world, our human race is doomed.  We cannot sustain all that life requires without caring for one another.  The kingdoms of this planet will never prevail when caring is nothing more than an after thought.

So, what do you do each and every day in your own life to show people you care?  As you answer that, be brutally honest with yourself that you are showing caring in the way that you say you do.  When you do this, the entire world will benefit from your caring and there may still be hope for us all.

#Caring




Blog Post And Images (c) 2017 by Don Shetterly
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Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Avoiding Healing

If you're like me in my own healing, you've probably done some avoiding of what you needed to do.  It is easy to avoid healing in our lives because this path is not easy.

Healing is sometimes long and treacherous.  Sometimes it is exhausting.

The only thing is, if we avoid healing in our lives, it will come back up and bite us.  Our body and our mind will work to get our attention and the more we avoid it, the more it will increase.

I know from experience that avoiding things in life, numbing and disconnecting will only take you down a path that isn't pretty.  For me, it took me into a conversion disorder where I was paralyzed and almost on my last breath for good.

It isn't easy to heal, especially when you've been through trauma or child abuse or been molested and raped as a child.  These experiences harm people in so many ways and to get your life back is an exercise in exhaustion at times.  I know, I've been there.

Be real in our healing...

We just need to be honest with ourselves in our own healing and be real with what we are doing.  Are we avoiding healing through various ways, or are we truly going in and doing what we need to be doing.

There are many ways to avoid healing and even if I tried to list all that I could, there would be many more.  I think at a subconscious level we understand when we are avoiding what it is that we need to do, but often times it doesn't rise to a level of consciousness and awareness.

http://mindbodythoughts.blogspot.com/2016/09/subconscious-disconnected-by-numbing.html

So, how do you avoid healing or how have you done this in the past?

What are your ways that you numb and disconnect, rather than take a long hard look at what is truly taking place on your healing journey.


#Numbing





Blog Post And Images (c) 2017 by Don Shetterly
  • Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
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Monday, February 20, 2017

Manifesting – the Aladdin’s Lamp of our Earth Existence

(by A Happy Medium, Amanda)

We all remember the story of Aladdin, the poor boy who finds a lamp with a genie inside, ready and waiting to grant his every wish. I’m sure a lot of us have even lamented about not having our own genie. What would you pay for a force that would grant your every whim and wish?

What if I told you that you already have it?

You do. It’s the Universe.

“Wait a second, Amanda,” you might be saying, “if I had access to a genie that granted my every wish, I wouldn’t be living this life. Get off the crazy train.”

The Universe is a field of infinite possibilities, and you have the power to manifest anything you would like by your own intention and attention.

I offer you two lessons that are easy to remember:
  1. Where your attention goes, energy flows; and,
  2. What you resist persists.

Have you ever noticed that when someone buys a new car, or you decide that you want a certain make of car, you start to see them absolutely everywhere? That’s a great example of manifestation.  I still remember when my Aunt bought a new Jeep. I hadn’t seen it, I’d only heard about it and all of a sudden I was seeing Jeeps everywhere!

I read a really interesting book on manifestation by Pam Grout called E2 in it, she lays out a number of experiments for playing with this field of infinite possibilities and your own ability to manifest the things you want in your life.

You can test this theory in a lot of ways. You can decide today you are going to see green cars. Make the intention in your mind when you wake up tomorrow and see how many green cars manifest.  For me,  I find the most effective manifestation comes when I either journal or I talk to the Universe when I am driving.

When you are driving, your literal mind is busy driving and your creative mind is open to send and receive information between you and the Universe. January has been a really quiet month for readings. I think that this is because people are paying their Christmas bills and maybe don’t have the money right now for readings. Anyway, I was having this conversation with the Universe last week asking where my clients are. I literally said, “Okay Universe. I want to be doing more readings, more writing and more speaking. BUT HOW?!!?”

That afternoon I received an email about two psychic fairs, and the following day, my mentor referred me to another medium that is hosting a third psychic fair. I had five emails in my inbox from five new  potential clients as well. I actually thought to myself, “wow! The universe sure works fast when your intentions are clear.” I had another event like this this week, where I asked the Universe for exactly what I wanted and it put what I wanted directly in my path.

According to the Law of Attraction, when you put yourself in the vibration of having what you want, your desires cannot resist you.  Focus on the things you want as if you have them. A good tip for doing this is with journaling. You can journal about that awesome new job you have in the field of your choice. What does your office look like? Does it have windows? What’s hanging on the wall? What type of company is it? Be as specific and detailed as possible. As you write, you are going to find yourself feeling great!

BAM! You are in the vibration of having what you desire. Keep yourself here.

Remember – where your attention goes, energy flows.

The opposite is also true. You could say to me, “Amanda, I am always thinking about my desires. They are not getting any closer to me.” Here’s where the tricky part comes in. It’s important when working on manifesting your desires that you are focusing on having the thing you want, not focusing on the lack of it. When we focus on lack (not having something, being stuck etc) we become more stuck and attract more lack.

A major worry for a lot of people is finances. There may be more month than money and maybe instead of focusing on how abundant your life is and how you always manage to pay your bills and take care of business, you focus on the end of the month and the dilemma you are going to face when you don’t have enough money. You’re going to attract more money troubles in this vibration. Sometimes, you can be in the right place vibrationally, but your beliefs need to change. You may think that you are not worthy or deserving of that great job or that abundant flow of money.  Even when you are doing things absolutely right with manifesting, if your vibration and your beliefs are stuck in patterns that aren’t in alignment with abundance, you will end up with more of the same.

Let’s say you’re working a job you hate. Every day, you lament about how much your job doesn’t serve you, and how you think you should be doing something better, but nothing good is coming along. You’re convinced that you are doing everything right, but wait a minute… you are in a position of resistance and lack. When we resist, we block the flow of life so things are unable to come to us and inspire change.

Remember – what you resist persists.

Once you accept your situation for what it is now (maybe the job isn’t great, but it’s an income and it isn’t permanent. There’s hope for change), you’ll find that the right opportunity just falls right into your lap!

Try this principle out with something small, like seeing green cars today and check out how quickly it works!

The world really is your oyster. Once your attention and intention are in alignment, your desires won’t be able to resist you. Step into the flow of infinite possibility!


-    Amanda




Amanda is a regular columnist on Mind Body Thoughts.  She writes A Happy Medium monthly column.  This article is written by Amanda.

To learn more about her and see all her other articles, go to Amanda's Page, A Happy Medium.






Blog Post And Images (c) 2017 by Don Shetterly and Amanda
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Sunday, February 19, 2017

Liar Liar Pants On Fire

Growing up, I had to deal with the absence of truth and facts in my house.  My brother thought that lying was the way to go. It didn't matter how trivial of a situation it was, he would just lie for the sake of lying.  It seemed that way at least.  It felt like the phrase - liar, liar, pants on fire!

As a kid, we lived with a demanding tyrant and if he thought there was trouble, he immediately stepped in and demanded to know what was going on.  Sometimes it was nothing, but to this control freak, everything was something to him.

Of course, my older brother would lie instead of just telling the truth.  These weren't big issues either.  The simple truth would have sufficed and everyone most likely would have went on about their day.  Not my older brother though.  He thought the lie was the norm.  It was truly a liar, liar, pants on fire type of situation.

He lied about everything and anything.  You pick a moment of the day or any subject and instead of being truthful and honest, he would just lie.  I watched him get beat and have soap bars shoved in his mouth, but it didn't stop him.

I got sick and tired of...

My dad would finally resort to threatening to destroy our toys.  Of course, that's where I drew the line because we didn't have many toys and they were my escape away from the hell we lived in.  So, finally I got sick and tired of my brother lying when there was no need.

I started to speak up and tell the truth of what was happening, not giving my brother a chance to say a word.  While the tyrant control freak would often just calm down and go on, it was then that my brother would be angry at me.  I wasn't good at lying anyway but boy, if I crossed my older brother, there was hell to pay.

Lying was normal to him...

He would either pummel me or call me names or make all kinds of statements to my face.  He didn't like getting called out on his lies.  He didn't care if he lied.  Lying was just something normal to him and anyone that stood in his way and exposed the truth was the enemy.  They were the ones in his eyes that were wrong.

I see so much of this happening today that I feel like I'm reliving those past experiences from my childhood.  I have tried so hard to get away from the liar, liar, pants on fire experience.  They were horrible when I was a kid and what I see today is just as horrible.  It is triggering to no end.

In my life, I've always tried to be honest in everything I did.  I've had large corporations that claimed they never asked their employees to lie, but if you didn't, you risked having your job terminated.  I've been honest to the point of being the one that they blamed for something that another person did - namely, the nephew of the owner.  Some of these were big companies too that would of course deny what I'm saying.

I've paid a price for truth...

I try to be honest in everything.  If I tell you something, you can take it to the bank and expect it to be just as true in the future as it is now.  The words I write here, are my truth.  Yes, I've paid a price for daring to speak out, but it is my truth.

Far too often, I see too many that are not truthful with themselves and so they are not truthful with the world.  There are too many that don't mind if they distort the facts or stretch them to make their argument.  This seems like the norm these days.  The most boisterous ones are the ones I keep a watchful eye out on.

To me, the currency of truly being a conscious human is how truthful you can be.  If your word means little and if your actions don't match your words, then to me, you're overdrawing your account.

http://mindbodythoughts.blogspot.com/2016/03/actions-speak-louder.html

If instead you strive to be truthful and honest and real, people recognize that.  It is the currency of saying something and people do not need to second guess what you're saying.  It is being authentic and real.  It is what our civilization should be based upon, not on the lies that we hear all day long through social media or in person.

So, who are you?  Are you truthful at all costs, or just when it is convenient for you?  Can people bank upon what you say, or do they wonder about what you mean and what you say?  Do you tell those little white lies or are you a full on liar liar pants on fire type of person?


#Truth






Blog Post And Images (c) 2017 by Don Shetterly
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Saturday, February 18, 2017

The Magic Pill Of Healing

All too often we chase healing modalities and pills and procedures as if they are the cure all.  Sure, they help at times and they have helped me.  However, there is much more to healing than getting lost in the cures and losing site of what really makes a difference.

Far too easily, we give up our own innate healing power to beliefs, opinions, and the latest fad of the day.  Sometimes these things are not proven or tested, but everyone believes they work.  Sometimes they do work.

I recognize fully that we cannot always quantify what works.  It is not always because it cannot be tested, but sometimes we just don't have the methods to test it.  Sometimes our knowledge has not advanced in our human civilization to quantitatively make a statistical conclusion.  I know there are people who think if it can't be tested in a scientific laboratory, that you discard it.  This is short sighted.

On the other hand, if you accept every premise that comes along without careful evaluation, you will set yourself up for chasing pretty rainbows as treatment options.  There are many things out there that people think work, but they don't even begin to understand what the "essence" of the modalities is or what truly works.

A moment of pause...

If you can't repeat it from person to person, the magic pill of healing should bring you a moment of pause.  If you become part of a group think, even if it is subconscious and you believe something is happening when it isn't, it should bring you a moment of pause.

Yes, there are elements within healing modalities that work, but far too often we build a belief system of rules and procedures around that.  We end up obliterating what is truly there that is healing in lieu of the human ego with its desire to control.

Feeling it in the body...

You can chase magic pills of healing all day long.  You can give your power up to others, but if you don't go in and connect the experience, the thoughts, and the emotions that arise with where it is felt in the body,  you're working with half a deck. There are far too many snake oil salesman selling a tonic that has no medicinal value.  The key emphasis being on feeling it in the body!

We have so much more within us that we ignore.  We have far more ability to understand and find the answers we need, then we ever allow ourselves to admit.  We have the ability to enact so much physical change in our body, but we subscribe to the fears we are born with and are taught in our life.

http://mindbodythoughts.blogspot.com/2015/12/scatter-approach-to-healing.html

It is when we go into those fears and recognize our innate ability to heal that we find true healing.  We see at that moment what are just magic pills of healing and which are tonic sold by snake oil salesman.

There are just far too many things out there that don't pass the sniff test, let alone could stand up to the rigors of repeatability.  We may think our "modality" stands the test of time, but if it doesn't continue to evolve and change and grow, then please challenge what you think and believe.  Don't mislead others even if you're misleading yourself.  It harms people.

In many ways, if you want something to work, more than likely it will.  In the same manner, if you don't want something to work and think it is puff and stuff, than that will most likely be your outcome.  Choose wisely, because your own healing could depend upon it.

#Placebo






Blog Post And Images (c) 2017 by Don Shetterly
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Thursday, February 16, 2017

My Way Or The Highway

Growing up in the house we did, there was no dissent.  You either did it my father's way or there was the highway.  That's how it was viewed, taught, and every discipline was appropriated based upon this fact in our family.

I mean, after all they didn't want the family secrets out.  So, if you dared stand up and say anything, they couldn't control you.  They were afraid and frightened that you would share something they didn't want shared.  If you want to know more about those secrets, check out my book.

There was absolutely no dissent, no disagreeing with the man in charge and they were right no matter what.  You could have had facts to back up what you were saying on your side, but none of mattered.  It was their way or the highway!

Now, if you brought this to their attention today, they would flatly deny that they ever did this.  They would claim I was brainwashed.  They would claim that I just got my feelings hurt.  They would claim that I was blaming them for everything and taking no ownership for any of it.

Dissent was not tolerated...

If you dared to speak out or stand up, you were labeled as an unruly child.  You were punished severely from beatings to having the entire rest of the family give you the silent treatment.  Dissent and not obeying their every command and wish was absolutely not tolerated in my family.

They might have used God or the minister to try and keep you in line.  You can sure as bet a beating was in order.  They would threaten to burn your toys or kill your cats.  Some of those threats were very real and not just threats.  They stopped at nothing to bring you into line with what they deemed was the truth.

To this day, I have very little use for group think.  Everyone seems to not be able to stand on their own two feet and so they love having others with similar group think around them.  It makes them feel more secure.

Why do we have to be the same...

I fail to understand why someone is not able to stand up and disagree.  I fail to understand why everyone has to think the same way, talk the same way, do the same things and believe the same way.  Maybe it was because of what I grew up with as a kid, but I just have no use for it.

I think we do our best when we challenge ourselves and we allow ourselves to be challenged.  It allows us to grow and learn and be more than we are.  If we're just following because that is what we are supposed to do, then are we really human?

I still struggle with this behavior that I was taught while growing up.  It shaped how I saw the world and that did not mean I saw the world in an inclusive and broad way.  It was a very narrow minded view of everything around me.  It was what brainwashed me!

Challenge yourself to not be part of the group think on whatever subject or belief it may be.  You're only holding yourself back from discovering more about that which you don't know in this moment.  Challenge yourself to let others challenge you and be okay with that.  We don't all have to sit inside the one circle in life and spout the same rhetoric.

http://mindbodythoughts.blogspot.com/2017/01/you-must-think-like-me.html

My way or the highway thinking is brainwashing.  It is not freedom, especially for a child like myself growing up.  It held me back.  It helped me hate others without knowing them.  It helped me hide all of this stuff so deep inside of me that the secrets of my life went to the point they almost killed me.

Don't let yourself fall into the my way or the highway thinking.  If you're there, take a leap into the unknown and see what else exists!






Blog Post And Images (c) 2017 by Don Shetterly
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Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Gotta Have Hope, right?

I overheard a discussion not long ago and I was amazed at what I heard.  They said, hope is pointless and that it adds nothing to life.  In fact, it was more like if you claimed you had hope, you're were setting yourself up for failure and it wasn't a good thing.

If hope is not a good thing or a valid thing, I cringe at the thought.

If there is no hope, we're all sledding down a rocky hill on our butts!  I'm sorry, but hope gets you through those moments when it feels like there is nothing else left.  It gets you through the times where you've just about given up completely.

Hope is the bungee cord of life.  It is there as something to hold on to and hopefully keep you from going to far.  Maybe hope is a "silly concept" and maybe to some it doesn't hold much value.  I just know from experience, without hope - I would not have made it this far.

When I was paralyzed and nearly dead, the only thing that kept me going was hope - hope for another day that could be better.  When I was actively trying to commit suicide every day, it was hope that helped me find my way back.

When the anxiety attacks and the depression, the horrors and the nightmares filled my waking hours, it was hope that helped keep me going.  When I felt shame and despair and had no self worth to care if another day came and went - it was hope that kept me going.

Sometimes in life, hope is all we have.  When we face moments that are difficult beyond belief, we can't just go in and turn a blind eye to everything.  They are there staring us in the face and trying to zap every last ounce of strength we have.

Hope is what gets us through just a little bit longer so we can see that things change.  Hope is what keeps us going when we feel like there is no tomorrow.  It is there for us to grab on to and asks little in return.

To say that hope is not valid or someone doesn't believe in it, I would only say - just wait until life grabs you so hard and chokes the life out of you.  It will be at that point where hope may be all you have in the moment.

I am saddened when I see people try to enlighten others with nonsense.  When statements are made that try to take away that little moment of all that someone may have, I am incensed by it.

http://mindbodythoughts.blogspot.com/2016/04/hope-and-possibility-through-trauma.html

For I know that if I would not have had hope in those very dark moments, I would not have made it this far.  There was little for me to grab on to and I didn't have the strength to go another day.  Hope helped me find my footing long enough for me to literally take another step.

Let's celebrate hope and hold on to it.  Sometimes it is the only lifeline anyone has!





Blog Post And Images (c) 2017 by Don Shetterly
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Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Love Thyself on Valentines Day

Today is Valentines Day.  If you're single and alone, it sucks.  I know, I've been there.  If you're married, you might feel obligated to spend enormous amounts of money to show someone that you love them.  If you're like me, it's not quite another day, but it one that I like to do something special with my special person.

We don't spend a lot of money on each other.  We've never been that way.  Something special we find to do that just is something we enjoy and can spend quality time together.  That's how we celebrate it.  Besides, who really wants to buy a lot of stuff that seems to end up in a thrift store later on.  Believe me, it does!

Instead of letting the day be a downer if you're single and alone - try something different.  Try loving thyself first.  Go to the park.  Go to a movie or something you enjoy.  Take a walk.  Hang out with others.  Do something fun or creative that you've been wanting to do, but never find the time to do it.

Hey, you could always send yourself "flowers" from a secret admirer and then play the game where ever you live or work as if you don't know who sent them to you.  See, there are all kinds of ways to have fun on this national day of love as we call it.

Loving yourself is far more important than anything else.  By loving yourself, you can be there for others or be there for someone else that truly matters to you.  If you don't love yourself fully, the rest doesn't matter.

If you have someone special in your life, love yourself enough that you can love them fully and let them love you back.  You know, sometimes it is so hard for us to allow others to truly love us back.  Try letting your guard down a little for the day and see what happens.

http://mindbodythoughts.blogspot.com/2014/02/to-be-loved-on-valentines-day.html

Of course, you don't just have to wait for Valentines Day to love yourself or others.  You can do it 365 days a year.  The world needs much more love than shows up, so the more you practice it, the better you are making the world.

Spending a lot of money on someone doesn't necessarily mean you love them more.  It can be an expression of love, but it definitely is not needed to show your love.  Spend some quality time with yourself or those that you love and I think you will end up thanking yourself for it on Valentine's Day!






Blog Post And Images (c) 2017 by Don Shetterly
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Monday, February 13, 2017

Bumps And Bruises

(by Natural Healing Gal, Marie)

Things that go bump…

My all time favorite Homeopathic remedy is Arnica Montana.

According to Dr. Luc, "Arnica is the king of the trauma remedies and king of the sports remedies. Arnica is good for the whole family for bumps, bruises, pulled muscles, and overuse of muscles…"

Well, he is so right! I tend to bruise quite easily, and I am not the most graceful person.  My cat, Otis (who passed away a few years ago) would walk across my lap and I would occasionally see bruises like his paw prints! I began taking Arnica 30C anytime I bumped into a chair, hit my head on the car roof, or fell in the grass when I was running. For minor bumps and bruises, one dose (see article Starting with Homeopathy on doses) is all that is needed. To my surprise, the bruises were minimized, and if I took the remedy right away, there was usually no bruise at all. The best part? No side effects.

I soon realized I could use Arnica for a heavy workout when my muscles were sore. It worked so well, and I felt better quickly!

I began to give it to my pets when they bumped into something or fell. One time my sheltie, Desi, was heading into the house and did not see the glass sliding door was closed. OUCH… I immediately gave him Arnica and he recovered from it very quickly. In that case I gave him an extra dose a few hours later.

Our pets cannot tell us how they feel, so we have to watch for signs carefully. Running in dog sports, they can get a mild injury that we may not notice for a while. I have a massage therapist that works on my dogs who would find mild injuries from time to time. When I began giving them Arnica 30C after a long day of competition, the sore muscles and misalignments usually found were minimized greatly.

Once when I was running at a competition indoors, I was knocked down and hurt my ribs. We were running on a dirt surface that was not very forgiving. When I stood up, the pain was pretty strong.  Since I have never broken a bone, I had no idea if it was broken…I just knew it hurt to breathe. Luckily, I had my kit with me as I try to take it with me on all my travels. I took Arnica 30C right away, but it still hurt a lot. I told a friend about my concern, and she said, there is one way to know. Lie down. You will know by the pain you feel. OH my…

I considered going to the doctor.  I could not lie down until I got home several hours later. When I did, I felt it POP and saw stars. Luckily it was momentary, and I was back to the pain I felt earlier that day. It felt like I had knocked a rib out of place, (and my chiropractor confirmed it at my next appointment).

Dr Luc has a protocol that he wrote about for a serious injury like that, and I followed it. Take Arnica 30C, then four hours later Arnica 200C, then another four hours Arnica 1M.  I actually made a mistake and followed it backwards, I used 1M first. It still worked like a charm! The pain was minimized the next day, and by the following weekend, I was back to running again, with very mild discomfort. I saw a light discoloration on my skin that could have been a bruise. A few days later it was gone.

I unfortunately had the opportunity over the last two years to try the protocol 3 more times. Sprained ankle, pulled leg muscle while running, and the last incident happened when I was visiting my grandchildren in Kentucky. I was playing soccer with my granddaughter and slipped on the grass and fell. I thought I was ok, but I bruised my big toe…and I had forgotten to take my travel kit with me! I tried to forget about it, but a few hours later my foot swelled up so I could barely get my shoe on, and I could only put pressure on my heel when I walked.

http://mindbodythoughts.blogspot.com/search?q=natural+healing+gal

It was the night before Thanksgiving, and stores were closed the next day. Thankfully a local health food store was still open, and my incredibly helpful husband drove me in the freezing rain to find it. (He told me to write that!) They had Arnica 200C. I took it right away, and took a dose every 6 hours for the first two days. By the second day the swelling was gone, and on day 3 and 4 I took the remedy twice a day. I was walking normally again by the fourth day. By the following week I was able to dance in my Zumba class and run with my dogs.

I think I will remember to have Arnica with me next time!

-- Marie --





Further Reading:

Arnica:  Natural Relief During Pregnancy And Childbirth









http://mindbodythoughts.blogspot.com/p/marie-natural-healing-gal.html
Marie is a regular columnist on Mind Body Thoughts.  She writes the Natural Healing Gal monthly column.  This article is written by Marie.

To learn more about her and see all her other articles, go to Marie's Page, Natural Healing Gal.

Check her page out to see the Medical Disclaimer




Blog Post And Images (c) 2017 by Don Shetterly and Marie
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Sunday, February 12, 2017

Dealing With Trauma

When you've been through so many horrible experiences in your life, it can be difficult at best to deal with them, try to heal from them and not let them take you under.  Dealing with trauma is not easy and if anyone tells you it is, don't buy the iceberg in the middle of the swamp they are trying to sell.

Sorry, if anyone thinks I'm off my rocker here, but I've had to deal with trauma.  Yeah, I've done a pretty good job keeping the hungry tigers at bay, but sometimes the trauma is just hard to deal with, let alone heal from in life.

I keep trying no matter what.  Some days, I want to give up and say enough is enough with this.  It can be exhausting at times and horrifying at other times.

I don't want to give the impression that if you've been through trauma, life is pointless or hopeless.  It is not!  As hard as it gets, there is hope that you can go on long enough to heal from it and find a measure of happiness and meaning and purpose in life.

Kept putting one foot in front of the other...

When I was really processing the heavy parts of trauma, I often felt exhausted and I wondered if I would ever get through things.  Sometimes it felt hopeless and sometimes my energy level didn't seem enough for what I needed.  In those times, I kept putting one foot in front of the other knowing that "this too shall pass".

In those difficult moments, I turned to nature.  Any time I could get to a park or the mountains or oceans, I would go.  Anytime I could just spend a moment outside in the sun, feeling the warmth of the sunlight or the breeze upon my face, I would do it.  If there was just a moment where I could walk down the sidewalk and escape the difficult moments of the day, I would go.

Creativity helped me deal with trauma...

I used creativity to help me deal with trauma.  Creativity through writing, drawing, painting helped.  It gave me an outlet.  If you're not one that likes to write, draw or paint - that's perfectly okay.  There are a hundred million other ways to be creative.  Just find the one that works for you and use it to help yourself.  Creativity helps you process.  It gives you a channel for those things that are so hard to put into words.

Dealing with trauma is not about ignoring it.  It is about embracing it and allowing yourself to go in and heal from it.  I still remember the therapist that told me how happy she was that I stuck with the therapy.  She told me that all too often, many will quit therapy long before they should.  No, it isn't easy going to therapy and opening these wounds up, but in order to heal - you just can't wish it away.

Dealing with trauma is not one size fits all.  You have to find what works for you and then do it.  Don't wait for others to tell you what works.  Seek out the things that help you and if it is not working, find something else.  Don't be like the friend of mine that was seeing therapists every day of the week and exclaiming nothing was working.  My advice to him was to stop what he was doing and find something that did work.

http://mindbodythoughts.blogspot.com/2011/11/dealing-with-painful-moments-in-life.html

Therapy that does not connect the body with the mind may help to a degree, but it will be lacking in potential.  The body stores the memories and they can only be accessed and released by doing work on the body.  There are some great therapies for trauma healing such as the Unified Therapy with Dr. Paul Canali.  It is highly effective work and it does not take too long before you begin to see and feel a difference.

In dealing with trauma, I have found that most of the times I had no answers in what step to take.  I just searched and sought out things that would help.  I tried to recognize how my body, my gut, and my heart felt about whatever therapy I was doing.  I am a highly driven person and so I constantly evaluated if what I was doing truly worked.  If it didn't, I found something that did.

But most of all - don't accept that trauma has to ruin the rest of your life!  There is healing and growth from it.  There is a way forward.





Blog Post And Images (c) 2017 by Don Shetterly
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Saturday, February 11, 2017

I Struggle With People

There are days that I truly wonder about the human race.  I really wonder why humans do some of the things they do. 

I struggle with people in these moments and at times I wish I had a spaceship that could take me to another planet.

People get so nasty with one another calling each other names and putting labels on those that they disagree with on whatever issue it is. 

There is no respect.  There is no love.  They may proclaim there is, but their words and actions show differently.

I struggle with people who think that I must think like them in order to be associated with them.  Whether it is politics or some cause or organization, I try not to be a part of group think.  I feel that humans owe more to the world-at-large to be more than just a mind numbed group think process.

Mind numbed chatter...

I struggle with people who only seem to want to talk to me if I share their views or I'm ready to rant about the latest "topic" of the day.  It feels like mind numbed chatter to me and I really have no desire to immerse myself in it.  I think there are more important things to talk about, but if I am only good to mirror back everything you say, am I of any real value?

I struggle with people who on Sunday say, "I love everyone" and "I have the answers" - yet, their life shows the opposite of the words they speak.  They sound more like a clanging symbol than a band of finely tuned instruments.  Of course, you can't point this out to them because they act as if what you are saying it "unenlightened" or "not spiritual".

It is their needs or wants only...

I struggle with people who only seem to chat with me when they want something or need something or somehow feel like they HAVE TO chat with me.  Their heart isn't in the conversation and they make me feel less than, just because they don't truly value me as a person first.  It is their needs and wants only.

Heck, I know I'm not perfect either.  I screw up and mess up too.  I am just tired of "part-time" people who say one thing and then do another.  There's much more to our world than behaving this way.  I don't even think we are truly human anymore.

http://mindbodythoughts.blogspot.com/2012/05/bothered-by-insensitive-comments-and.html

And no - it's not all the other people out there that do this!  It is each and every one of us that does it every day.  Yeah, we might like to think we don't, but if you take a look in the mirror - more than likely you'll see something that you don't want to see.

That's the challenge in life though!  Making ourselves better and learning to treat others with respect and true love without judgment is the mark of being a conscious human.  Why don't we try that in a day rather than just demeaning, tearing down, and disrespecting everyone we meet?






Blog Post And Images (c) 2017 by Don Shetterly
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Friday, February 10, 2017

Go Deeper Into The Mind Body

Many humans sit on the edge of where they need to go.  Sure, we all like to think that we have traveled far beyond all that is possible, but.... have we really gone as far as we think we have.

We tend to sit at the edge, just before everything drops into the unknown and proclaim that we're further than we actually are.

Hey, consciousness and awareness is a constantly changing process that unfolds as far as we allow it.  I get that!  I understand it is a process and we all go at our different speeds.

What I'm challenging each person on is to go deeper into the mind body.

Yep, don't be content with where you are!  Go deeper into the mind body so that you can see all that you don't realize exists in this moment.  It is beyond the edge of what you know.  It is that darkness of the unknown.

Keep in mind that the mind body is not just a thought process.  It is a feeling process.  It is about connecting what you feel in the body, the cells, tissues, and everything in-between with what your mind is aware of in that moment.  It is further than most travel because we tend to ignore the body component.

Part of living in a human body...

Hey, we're human.  Humans automatically ignore the body component.  It is just part of living in a human body.  However, when you go deeper into the mind body, you realize that by connecting to those uncomfortable places, there's much more to gain as a result.

The trick though is to quiet your mind and body down so that you really and truly listen to what it is you're feeling in that moment.  When you grasp that, you begin a path of awareness that will lead you to places your mind may never have traveled.


http://mindbodythoughts.blogspot.com/2012/03/evolving-in-awareness-and-consciousness.html

In conjunction with your mind, you body will help open up a consciousness that you've never known before.  It will show you what is possible and that there is a road into the unknown that never had the opportunity to be seen up to this point of your life.

Go deeper into the mind body and find out who you really are!  It is a process.

The more  you discover about this connection, the more you will see that is beyond your current moment of all that is before you.





Blog Post And Images (c) 2017 by Don Shetterly
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Thursday, February 9, 2017

Can I Keep Going?

Some days, it feels like the vultures are circling.  Some days I'm not sure if I care because I feel exhausted and tired and like this moment will never end.  Some days it just feels all too much for me to take in.

The question becomes, can I keep going?  I know, I probably can, but often times it sure doesn't feel like it.  It feels like it is a circus ride that will never end.

I know I've been here before.  I know I've beat the odds of what was supposed to happen.  I know I wasn't supposed to make it this far according to the doctors and my friends - but I did.

Some days it is hard to see the support around me, much less listen to it.  Some days, my body and mind feel tired and worn out from the fight.  Yet, I know I can't stop - there's so much more left to do.

Can I keep going?  I sure hope so!  Even in the moments where I think all hope is loss, I cling on to the hope that tomorrow or the next moment will be different.  Something will make it worth more than I think it is now.

Its not always easy...

Can I keep going?  No, its not easy.  I won't sugar coat it.  Yet, I know I have come this far and I have to keep going.  I have to win because the more I make it, the more the monsters in my life fail.  I cannot let them win.

For now, I just keep putting one foot in front of the other.  Sometimes I take big steps and sometimes they are little steps.  Once in awhile I stand still or take a step back to balance myself.  Yet, I keep trying to walk forward.

http://mindbodythoughts.blogspot.com/2016/10/what-gets-you-through-difficult-moments.html

It is up to me if I can keep going or not.  I feel like my life has endured so much already and it has.  I am just not ready to stop and sit in the ditch along the road of life, thinking there is no use to continuing on.

I will keep walking.  I won't give up!




Blog Post And Images (c) 2017 by Don Shetterly
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