How Much Do You Notice?

Often we go through our day not seeing what is around us.  It is there, but we just don't see and notice it.  We're too busy in our minds to stop and observe.

I see it every day with people.  The birds chirping outside.  The trees swaying from the breeze.  The sun shining down and giving us warmth.  The clouds forming different shapes in the sky.  All of these things are around us, but we're too busy to notice.

We get on our phones and we're walking down the street texting away, but oblivious to anything else going on.  Our thumbs and neck muscles work harder than our minds.

We get on social media and we comment, share, and like everything about the latest "news storm" of the day, yet we don't fully engage.  We don't notice the bigger picture of what is around us.  We are so microscopically focused on only the rants and raves of the day.

So darn disconnected from it all...

We get in our cars and we turn on the radio, but we never stop to truly notice things around us.  There may be someone that needs some help, or a homeless person that has lost their way.  There may be other things going on around us, but we're just so darn disconnected from it all.  We don't notice.

There is so much going on and if we don't take time to stop and observe it, we are really robbing ourselves of the human experience.  We're not meant to stare at our phones constantly or go from one busy task to another.

Meant to find balance...

We are meant to find balance in our lives as humans.  One of the ways to do this is by stopping and observing what is going on in the world around us.

Most of the latest news rants and political firestorms are nothing but ego, fear, and greed competing for dominance.  They are not as critical to life's sustenance as we think they are.

An experiment...

Try and experiment if you will.  Time yourself if it helps for you to do this little experiment.  Take one minute when you step out the door of your house to notice one thing.  Maybe what you will notice is a bird, a flower or a tree.  Maybe it is the blue sky or the clouds.  Maybe it is a sound.  Whatever it is, just take one minute to notice it.

 

Then on the way home from work, stop and take one minute to notice one thing before getting into your car.  See how it makes you feel.  See if you can breathe into it.

Just stop and ask, listen, and connect.

I've got a feeling one minute will go by very quickly.  More than likely it will change your view and perspective for the day.  More than likely, you'll let go of some of the stress of the day and refocus and center yourself.

You'll most likely find the balance that human body so badly needs, especially in these days of nonstop destruction of our time and attention.

So, go ahead.. try the experiment.  Comment below with what you found.  I'm anxious to hear it.

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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. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

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Where Does Your Stress Show Up

We all have stress.  Unless you're superman or Jesus or someone that is no longer alive, we all have stress.  Yes, there can be good and bad stress, but I'm talking about some of the normal stress we experience in our life.

For each of us, stress shows up differently and in different parts of our body.  No two people are alike, although there are similarities between one human to another.

Here's a little secret that you might not be aware of while we're talking about stress showing up in the body.  If you get real busy and have yourself burning the candle at both ends, there's a good chance you won't feel the stress in your body.  Your body just automatically numbs and disconnects from the stress.

As humans, we are good at numbing and disconnecting.  Imagine if a doctor had to work a 48 hour shift in an emergency room, but could not do it because he was feeling stressed out in his body.  In that case, numbing and disconnecting would be a good thing.  Yet, like the doctor, we all do this and when our 48 hours shift is over (if it ever is), we forget that it is time to feel.

Or what if you had to get to your job, take care of your kids and care for someone that is elderly.  Most likely, you wouldn't have time to feel pains and illness in your own body.  You would numb and disconnect from it in order to function.  Yet, when we need to do this we forget to stop and reconnect with the stress in our body to let it go.

When stress in my body kicks up....

For me, I feel stress in a couple of places, but sometimes it shifts to other places in my body.  I'll really feel it in my neck and shoulders at times.  Boy, when that kicks up, I feel like punching things and some days that really gets painful.

I've also had times where it shows up in my low back or comes on as a headache.  There are many different ways it shows up including sometimes causing digestive issues and stomach pain.

Yes, there are some that say if this part of our body hurts, it means x, y, and z.  While it may be connected to that and I don't discount that it is, you have to be careful that as the observer, you don't impact the observation.  Sometimes simplifying life down to these little "facts" becomes more detrimental than helpful.

There are a couple of very good books on the subject.  One is by Dr. John Sarno, The Mind Body Prescription.  The other book is by Dr. Peter Levine, Freedom From Pain.

I remember doing chair massage in an office one time and one of the people would complain of constant low back pain.  Sure, I could have applied the simple truth to why she had backpain because it was something in her life causing it.  However, I would just observe her at her desk.

I noticed that she had the computer monitor to the right on her L-shaped desk and her keyboard to the left.  She was constantly twisting her body all day long, but was not aware of it.  Once I pointed it out, she relocated stuff on her desk.  He body physically changed as a result. Before this, you could physically tell the spine was twisted and after it, the spine straightened out more.

Sometimes we have feet issues and there are many times that when you see feet pain come up, the individual is struggling with where to go in life.  They are having difficulty finding the right steps in their life.  Now, it may not have to mean something as simplified as what I just made it, but I've seen this show up many times.

For me, when frustration hits me and I'm struggling to figure out what is going on, I feel it in my body as if someone was punching me.  Often I've been told that I beat myself up seeking perfection in what I do.  Many times I have to stop and realize that if I just give myself a break and quit beating myself up, my body feels better.

There is a word for converting stress into physical symptoms and that is called somatization.  Yes, you can literally create pain and illness in your body by allowing the stress to continue. We do this to ourselves while hardly recognizing that we are doing it.

So instead of trying to apply facts that other people come up with to explain pain, go in and become acquainted with who you truly are and observe what is going on.  When you feel the pain in your own body and connect to it, you're really given yourself some good information that is very useful in life.

The next blog post on March 16, 2017 will tell you more about how to deal with stress showing up in the body. Make sure you read Dealing With Stress Showing Up In Your Body.

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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. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

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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.

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

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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. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

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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.

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.

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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. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

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Fears And Conspiracy Theories

I've never seen this quite so bad as I'm seeing it now.  Almost every day there is a new fear or conspiracy theory about someone or something floating on the internet.  While most of it cannot be fully backed up with hard evidence, there are always the pieces that give just enough spark to the fire.

I'm not here to debate if all these theories are true or not.  I doubt that even if we spent the next year discussing many of them, we would still not be at the outcome which is provable beyond a shadow of a doubt.  Some of these things are pointless in my humble opinion because of that statement.

What bothers me more though, is that we are succumbing to our own fears and projecting that on to things that are totally unrelated.  We don't realize how much we are doing this, but an open eye can see it quickly and without much effort.  Fear is driving us.  Fear is controlling us.  Fear is making us believe things that are just not necessarily true.

It is okay to question and observe and learn.  There is no doubt in my mind that these are good things for all of us.  However, when we do them without being grounded, we lose so much of our self, our truth, and we chip away at what little of humanity is left.

We need to find balance...

We need to find balance, rather than chasing our fears.  We need to stop and notice what it is that we are feeding our own fears, rather than pointing the finger of alarm at all those we can get to listen to us.

Yesterday I started watching and reading some stuff on a website and it was rather disturbing to say the least.  Not that it was disturbing and frightening to me, but that it felt like the conversation and words were very dark and fear-based.  They were of a lower vibration.  In fact, it was more than annoying to try and continue to read and watch the various videos.

Fear is being propagated...

I know there is dark and scary stuff out there in the world.  I know there is fear that is being propagated at every turn in our day.  I know that we as a human civilization swallow up all the fear-based news of the day, chomping on it as if it is the last morsel of nutrition for our life.

There will always be things that take us away from our peace and safety.  It is a sad fact of life and the universe from what I have grown to understand.  However, if we allow the dark and scary stuff to latch on to the fears we have in our own life, we are only holding back ourselves and the collective consciousness of the world.

When we walk in fear, we destroy the universe and all the inhabitants.  When we walk in the darkness that permeates civilizations, we will not find peace.  It is only when we go deep within and clean out our own closets, that we will have taken fear by the hand and kicked it out the door.

May we all rise to greater heights and instead of chasing fears and conspiracy theories, let us find the good in one another, the peace deep within our own mind and body and the love that connects us as humans.  May we all rise to meet the challenges of the days, not wallow in the mud pits of fear, darkness, and things that ultimately will bring us down.

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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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Allow The Healing Process To Unfold

Some days the simplest thing you can do is just be and observe.  Sometimes doing nothing, but observing whatever situation you may find yourself in, becomes the most powerful thing that you can accomplish in that day.

Often we want our problems solved in an instant.  We want to be healed from pain or trauma or a past that haunts us.  We want it to be done now.

Yes, we may be tired of fighting the good fight.  We may be tired of carrying on when life seems to difficult to endure.  We may be down on our strength and energy and resolve, but this is the time to stop and observe and just be in this moment.

Answers are there for our lives...

Answers are there for our lives.  Healing is waiting and often times happening when we don't even see it.  It isn't a matter of when will it take place or when will the answer appear.  It is a moment of observing and seeing what is right before our eyes.

It is part of being human to demand answers now and expect our lives to be healed.  It is part of having to endure much more than any human should ever have to face. It is part of a process that connects to something bigger, even if that is so hard to comprehend or even believe is possible.

We have made it this far...

We need to keep in mind that no matter how tough our days get, we have made it this far.  We have overcome so much up until this point.  Let us focus on these thoughts as our mind and body reach out to us with answers that will not only sustain us, but keep us moving forward.

Healing and difficult times are a process that unfolds as we are ready and allow into our life.  Sometimes when we think we are ready and when we truly are ready, don't show up at the same time.  It is a process.  Allow it to unfold.  Allow it to become all that it is and just be in that moment with all that you are at this time in your life.

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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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Connect To The Subconscious Mind

This is something that crosses all paths in life.  It is not just one concept, but a foundational concept on which it can be used and applied in many different ways.  Connecting to the subconscious mind is something that the body and the mind can be trained to do.

In the early days of healing when you have a great amount of stress and past experiences or trauma built up, connecting with the subconscious mind may not be easy.  It may very likely a big challenge to do this.  After being put under great duress for long periods of time, the mind and body don't trust anything you would do to upset the delicate balance these struggles have created.

Be patient with yourself if you are attempting to do this for the first time.  It may take some time of working with it and it may take someone that is trained in this area to help. If you've been running from the tiger in the jungle, it isn't going to be easy to convince yourself that you are no longer running.  This is at the heart of connecting to the subconscious mind.

Connecting to the subconscious mind is allowing yourself a safe place without distraction to just stop.  Stopping from the hustle of your day and allowing yourself to go in and feel.  Allowing yourself to go in and sense.  Allowing yourself to just be in that moment with nothing else that matters.

While you  may think that this is meditation, it is similar but different.  Meditation helps you to turn off your mind and just be in the moment.  However, what I am discussing is that when you do this, you do it through your senses.

What do I mean, do it through your senses?

As you begin to just stop and be in the moment, ponder or ask yourself,

• What do I notice in my body?  
• What do I sense?  
• What do I feel?"  

You are focusing on what you sense and feel, but you're not trying to make sense of it.  You're just observing it.  You are noticing it.  You are inviting it in and asking what is there.

Senses can be anywhere from what you feel in your skin, muscles, or tissues to noticing a smell or a feeling of warmth or coldness.  It can be noticing how much your breath is holding back or how shallow it may to even how deep it is.  Anything you can sense is valid here.  There is no right and no wrong observations.

Observe and Stay with your senses...

The more you observe the sensations, the more they may intensify.  This may be the point where you need a safe person trained in these concepts to help be there with you, holding the space and safety for you to explore these new things.

The more you can stay with these sensations and just observe them, the more they have the potential to physically change in that moment.  Allowing and surrendering to these things, gives you the power to connect and reclaim the parts that have become disconnected.  As you do this, you reclaim the energy that is stored up in these areas which is robbing you of much needed daily strength and a deep sense of peace.

Use breath, sound, movement

Often, it helps to use your breath to work through these moments, along with sounds and movements.  These aren't wild movements or sounds or breaths, but connected where it is like you are using them to observe that which you are feeling.  I always look at it as if I am using a magnifying glass to observe and the way I do this is through connected movement, sounds, and breathing.

The process is more involved then the simplistic way I am describing it.  I'm just trying to lay the foundation to more fully understand that there is a way to connect with your subconscious mind.  The more you do it, the more you reclaim the disconnected parts of your life.

Not just a mental exercise...

This is not just a mental exercise.  It is an exercise that is very body oriented where you connected with the subconscious mind.  It is very physical, but not in the sense that we normally understand.  It is physical because you are using your senses and observation to connect with something much deeper and greater within your mind and body.

You are not trying to put the reason you think these sensations show up.  Don't make the mistake of thinking that if you pain in one area it means x,y,z because you will limit this experience.  You will be connected to your thoughts rather to the felt sense within you.  It will not get you to the point you need to go in order to connect with the subconscious. There may be a story that evolves from this experience, but it is not the focus of what you are trying to do.  You're trying to step out of your logical mind and feel and sense.

A very powerful healing concept...

The power of this concept once you learn and understand it is beyond comprehension.  I've seen very physical issues in my own body change and heal right before my eyes.  I have seen this happen in other people in some very real ways that would almost be too hard to believe if you had not seen them.

The subconscious mind is a powerful force that tries to keep us operating in life even when we throw so much stress and trauma at it.  However, if we avoid and disconnect from it and numb our self to it, we make it that much harder to connect to it.  By avoidance and disconnection, we sentence our life to struggles that work hard to take us under.  The more you avoid something, the stronger that reaction becomes in your mind and body.

I'm not sharing pie-in-the-sky concepts.  These are truths that I have discovered through the work of Dr. Paul Canali and Unified Therapy.  I have seen how these things have impacted me in some very powerful and life-changing ways.

If we all can begin to understand just how much we avoid and numb and disconnect in our day, we have the possibility to make a different choice of what we do.  It is through the felt sense and stopping to notice and observe that we offer ourselves the greatest healing power.  This is not new age mumbo jumbo.  This is real healing work that makes a difference.

Further Reading:

1. When A Subconscious Mind Is Exposed (Sep 13, 2016)
2. Subconscious Mind Impacted By Past Experiences (Sep 14, 2016)
3. Subconscious Disconnected By Numbing (Sep 15, 2016)
4. Connect To The Subconscious Mind (Sep 16, 2016)

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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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Healing Your Body By Observing

Have you ever stopped and when you did, things looked differently?  It is the same in the body.  When we stop and observe the body, we allow healing to take place in ways we can hardly imagine.

Just that moment of observing what is going on in the body can give you an experience of healing.  It can be more simple than you think, but more profound with possibilities than we are consciously aware of in our life.

Often in our day, we are unconscious and while that helps us get through the day, we need to take moments of pause, or we begin to lose touch with reality in our life.  We lose our internal awareness because of the daily build up of stress or traumatic moments.

To read more, check out a recently published article on Somatosync.com called Healing By Observing Your Body.  It has some simple exercises to help get you in touch with your body through the mind body connection.

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Blog Post And Images (c) 12/15/15 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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Observing Stress In My Body

If you sit back and see the bigger picture, it is amazing sometimes what you see and observe.  Observing stress in my body is an eye opening practice.  If you look closely at it from the eye of an observer, you'll see things in ways that you have never seen.

As I write this, I've been under tremendous amounts of stress almost every hour of the day and its gone on for some time.  It isn't easy.  I'm trying to deal with it and cope with it.  I'm trying to find an exit strategy that allows me to be okay with it or make an exit from it.

Observing stress in my body allows me to not only see how it impacts tension in my body, but every cell and fiber.  In fact, the other day I had a wake-up call because as I was experiencing an extremely difficult moment of stress, I could feel something in my body unlike anything I have before.  It was a rare moment and I could feel it all the way to my core.

Connecting And Observing A Cardinal

Throughout the day, I love to look out the windows from my office and just observe what I can see. I can't imagine being locked up inside a building with no windows. I remember an office in Miami that I worked in that was located by the airport. The outside walls were large windows all the way around and so you could not only see the airplanes landing, but you could observe so much.

When I looked out the window yesterday, I saw this amazing colored bird perched up in the tree. The color of it almost was a deep orange with a hint of red. The beak and head area looked as if it had a full black beard growing. At the top, it almost appeared to have some type of plume or fancy hat. Later, I found out it was a Cardinal and most likely a male Cardinal.

The bird was so beautiful to watch and it stayed in the tree for a long time, only to briefly move to the fence before it was scared away by a noise. I rarely see a bird like that and I don't think I've ever seen a Cardinal that close. The colors were so deep and rich on it. It seemed like nothing else mattered that day for this bird.

Pain Helps Our Cells Communicate With Our Brain

Pain Helps Our Cells
Communicate With Our Brain

Has your body ever hurt and ached for what seems like no reason at all? Have you gotten up in the morning and exclaimed "my body hurts, I must have slept wrong"? Have you ever considered your job to be a pain in the neck while you are suffering through neck stiffness? While I could go on and on with examples, this hopefully helps you begin to see how our pains are connected to our brain.

Pain does help our cells communicate with our brain. If you think that is just a little too far fetched, than please read the first paragraph over. If that is still not convincing, start noticing the things you say when you feel pain. For when you see pain for what it is and you listen to how you react to it, the important story will be told.

On page 157 in the book, My Stroke Of Insight, Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor makes the following statement. "Pain is the tool our cells use to communicate to our brain that there is trauma somewhere in our body. Our cells stimulate our pain receptors in order to get our brain to focus and pay attention."

Stopping And Observing The World We Live In

Birds Outside My Window
Stopping And Observing

Those little things in life that we often miss can bring such joy, peace, and a moment of relaxation to our day. Yet, we so often walk right past them, not even noticing what is playing out before our eyes. It is like going to a symphony, and failing to see the orchestra playing, or visiting some tropical paradise and failing to see the sunsets, coconuts, and palm trees. These moments are all around us for a reason.

Many years ago when I was paralyzed from a conversion disorder, I remember sitting outside all weekend long at the Bridgeway Hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas. It was the first chance in weeks and even in years that I could just sit out and observe the world around me. I remember sitting there for many hours just listening, watching, and taking in everything that was there. It was as if I was part of all that was going on.

Observe Your Amusing Life In The Universe

Observe Your Amusing Life

I'm learning more and more to just live life in this moment and stop the worrying about the things I just can't do anything about.  Yes, it is easy to give lip service to these things, but it is now becoming more mainstream in my life.  You see, I 'm learning to be amused by the world around me and what the universe offers to me.

Now, I don't mean that I am laughing at everything in a joking or sarcastic manner.  In fact, that is the opposite of what I mean.  Yes, I do try to find the joy and laughter in life, but not at the expense of living in realistic terms.  After all, if life does not mean something to us, than how does that play into our every day?

By making life amusing, I am really referring to observing life through the eyes of an observer, not just willfully participating in events that I feel as if they are out of my control.  It is far too easy to go through life, thinking that things cannot change or improve, rather than realizing that I have so much power and influence in my life.

Observing Synchronicity In The Universe

Observing Synchronicity In
The Universe At The Park

Lately, I've been noticing some things taking place in life.  I enjoy sitting back every now and then and just observing life.  Often, we miss the little things because we are just too busy and unfocused.  Observing synchronicity in the universe gives us deeper insight into our life.

Events have happened lately with little random pieces of life falling together at the exact moment they needed to happen.  If they would have happened a moment sooner, it would have thrown off the complete order of succeeding events.  In the moment of each event, I was not able to tell how it was connected.  It was not until the events came together as one, that I could look back and see the progression of what happened.

As I look back now and observe the synchronicity in the universe, it is a little amusing.  When I say amusing, I am not making fun of the way the universe has put things together, but I am seeing just how wonderful it is.  Of course, some could say that the universe (or life force or whatever you call it) has nothing to do with these things and they are all random.  However, the more I observe it, the more I see that there is some force operating within us that leads us forward.

An Ocean Picture Meditation

To enhance the power of this ocean meditation, you may want to download and listen to one of my CD's called "Relaxing Ocean Wave Sounds". The sounds on this CD were recorded from the place you see in these pictures.

Since the ocean is one of my favorite places, every time I go, I always take pictures. For me to walk along the ocean, feel the salt mist and ocean breezes, it is breath taking to me.

I'm always captivated by the sounds of the waves and the roar of the ocean. If you ever have the chance to go to the ocean, do it! It is an experience you'll never forget. On the other hand, if you have been to the ocean, I hope these pictures will reconnect you with the sites and sounds you feel in your body and mind.





Just notice the rolling waves, and the ever so peaceful appearance of the waters that seem to stretch for miles and miles. The shoreline filled with its many grasses and plants that changes as the shoreline changes. If you travel for miles up the coast, you'll notice quickly how the shoreline changes, yet it is all connected.




Gazing into that deep blue horizon, it is like nothing else matters. No matter what is going on in life, it is like all is very insignificant to this moment that I am seeing. A point where I am standing there in this big world and while I'm connected to it, I feel as if I've drifted far beyond the earthly plane.




As the waves crash to the shore, I often see them bringing in what I need in life and taking away that which I don't need. I picture myself releasing all those difficult moments in life to the waves. The ocean is big enough to take these things, wash them away and carry back much needed peace to the shore.




Knowing that the shoreline I see at this particular minute and hour of the day, will change into something new, and unseen and that does not exist at this point in time. The low and high tide changes the landscape with each wave that crashes onto the shore. The depth of water and the water's edge display a landscape that cannot be imagined.


So to is our life. It is ever changing and what we see today is not what will be there tomorrow. No two days are alike and no two moments are alike. We can choose to participate in whatever moment of our life we wish or we can choose to step back and be an observer to the bigger picture of life. Sometimes by observing where we are in the moment, we are participating in life in a way that no comprehension can achieve.

May we view the ocean or other places in our life with great observance to gain a deeper understanding of who we are and where we are in life.


Further Reading:
1) Relaxing Ocean Wave Sounds (Blog Post 7/20/11)
2) Relaxing Ocean Waves (Blog Post & Video 7/08/11)
3) Ocean Waves (Blog Post 5/17/11)



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Blog Post & Images (c) 7/13/11 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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If You're Talking, You're Not Listening

Today, I received a phone call from a place I do business with and the person on the other end felt it necessary to talk nonstop. Of course, every time I would try and say something, they would start in a mile a minute never once listening to a thing I said. In this case, it had to do with billing and I was trying to make sure they did not get double billed.

This isn't the first time I've run into this nor the first person that ever has done this. It seems to be an ongoing thread in our society. We don't listen to the other person, we just talk and talk and tell them everything that we feel they need to hear, rather than listening to them.

No matter what you do or how much you try to talk, these people just don't listen! They keep going on and on and getting louder and louder until they have drowned you out. What you have to say may be very vital to the conversation but unless you want to get in a shouting match, it doesn't matter. They are not going to hear you.

Growing up, my father and a brother was this way. They still are this way because they think they have to be the one yapping their gums louder than anyone else, or life doesn't go on! Neither of them would listen while I was growing up and they still don't! You could have told them the house was on fire, and I doubt they would have heard you.

It all boils down to how much more importantly we see ourselves than everyone else. If you're talking nonstop and louder than you need to, than you're not listening. If you're not listening, you're not valuing the other person much at all. You are treating them as if what they have to say or what concerns them does not matter.

A human body has two ears and one mouth. It would stand to reason that we use the ears twice as much as the mouth. Many humans do this but there are far too many that don't. If you don't believe me, just spend 15 minutes observing people around you or on the news. It will be quite obvious.

We can offer so much to so many by listening or at least finding a balance in a conversation. By closing our mouth and opening our ears, we lift the other person up and show them they are important to us. Let us try to use our ears and our mouth appropriately instead of using one more than the other! I'll bet if we all did that, our world would be a different place!




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Blog Post & Images (c) 6/10/11 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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Clutter In Our Life, 30 Day Challenge

Clutter In Our Life Series
30 Day Challenge

As you have been reading through this 10 part series, feel free to not be in agreement with all of what I have written. I am perfectly happy to accept that. However, before you complete write these things off, take a moment and test something out.

Try this challenge for one month. Then, come back and let me know what happened in your life as a result of the challenge. The best way to see if something works for you is to challenge yourself until you find the answer that fits in your life.

So here are the parts of the challenge for at least the next 30 days!

1) Turn off the TV news including the internet. If you want to subscribe to an online service with headlines, let that be the most you do for a month. You'll actually find that most of what you need to know can be found reading the headlines. Honestly, it is true.

2) Limit your time on places like Facebook for a month and actually give up the games for one month that you normally would play on Facebook.

3) Try to put the cell phone/pda/mobile device/iphone etc, in a different room from you so that if someone calls, you can go get the cell phone but you won't be tempted to just spend countless hours on it.

4) Evaluate your day and see where you are spending your time and is it matching up to things that really matter in your life. Be critical of it from an observers view, rather than your regular view.

5) Spend some time out in nature each day if it is nothing more than sitting outside for 5 minutes, listening to the birds, feeling the warmth of the sun or the coolness of the breeze.

6) Spend a few moments reading that book you always wanted to get to or writing something in a journal if you feel so led.

7) Pick up some paints or other craft things and enjoy just creating in the moment.

8) Book yourself a massage or try Yoga once a week for the month or spend some time walking, going to the fitness center, bicycling, swimming.

9) Spend time with people you love like a partner, spouse, child or pet and just enjoy the simple moments with them.

10) Find things to do that give you simple moments in life. The goal is to slow down and observe, enjoy and be in the moment, not try to find everything possible to keep yourself busy.

11) Try changing what you eat at least once a week. Really go all out to see if you can find something so healthy to eat that your taste buds dance the greatest movement known to this world.

12) Double the amount of water you currently drink for at least a week and see if you don't notice a change.



If you do this for a month, I have a feeling you will not want to stop these things. Yes, withdraw may be tough at first and you may feel disconnected from life, but in time, you will come to understand what truly matters to you and what does not.

To each person, it will be different. I cannot state what will be right for you no more than you can state what is right for me. Until you truly and honestly go into these moments, what matters to your life, will remain a mystery.

There is much more to life than we currently understand. We are in an epidemic of hiding from the moments of connectedness in our life and giving ourselves the false illusion that the clutter moments are what matters.

It is easier most likely for us to living in a mindless world but if we learn to live mindfully, being connected to the moment, life will give us so much more.

I challenge each person reading this to take the challenge I just stated and see what happens. What do you have to lose? The world will still be here after these 30 days are up. Who knows, you might just be pleasantly surprised in a simple and easy way.

If you are just finding this blog for the first time, please feel free to read all 10 parts of this series by clicking on the links corresponding to each section below.

Clutter In Our Life Series
- Introduction
Part 1: Spending our hours watching TV news
Part 2: Keeping Ourselves Constantly Busy
Part 3: Numbing Ourselves
Part 4: Following Blindly
Part 5: Food Choices
Part 6: Health care, Doctors, and Medicine
Part 7: Hydrating Our Bodies
Part 8: Thinking We Have The Answers
Part 9: Exercise Is For Another Day
Part 10: We Fail To Evolve
- The 30 Day Challenge


Blog Post & Images (c) 3/20/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

Clutter In Our Life, Part 4

Clutter #4 - Following Blindly
Part 4 of 10

All too often, we follow what someone tells us to follow. Whether it is in a church, a new age movement, some political party or leader or family member or you name it, we listen to it as humans. While some of these people may or may not directly tell you what to believe, indirectly the message is loud and clear.

Many people claim to think on their own but if they stepped outside of their own ego and pride, they would see just what they truly listened to. All too often, we do not feel secure in what it is that we need for our lives so we feed off of that which others give us.

When we do this, we become less than human. I know many people are most likely thinking that they don't really do this but in all reality, become the observer and take a close look at your own life.

Come back tomorrow for part 5 of this series, Clutter In Our Life. Below are the various parts to this series that you can read as well.

Clutter In Our Life Series
- Introduction
Part 1: Spending our hours watching TV news
Part 2: Keeping Ourselves Constantly Busy
Part 3: Numbing Ourselves
Part 4: Following Blindly
Part 5: Food Choices
Part 6: Health care, Doctors, and Medicine
Part 7: Hydrating Our Bodies
Part 8: Thinking We Have The Answers
Part 9: Exercise Is For Another Day
Part 10: We Fail To Evolve
- The 30 Day Challenge


Blog Post & Images (c) 3/20/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

Meditation Thoughts At The Park

Stop for this moment.

Feel the gentle breeze on your face.
It is a calming breeze, full of peace

Watch the butterfly zip about from tree to tree.
Notice the serene ripples in the water.
Hear these sounds of nature rustle through the tree.

What do they say to you?
How do they make you feel?
Can you pin point the place in your body where you feel them?

What do you observe?
Just stop and feel, sense and see.
Notice all that you are part of and all that is a part of you.

Just focus on these things and let them be your thoughts.
Observe and know that you have created all that you need.




Blog Post & Images (c) 3/18/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

Spending Time In Nature

Spending time in nature is one of the ways I find my center in life. It is where I feel most grounded. Everything that I am connected to in this universe, I can touch by being in nature.

There is something so peaceful about watching squirrels run and play or observing the birds frolic. Hearing the chirps of the different birds is like a symphony. Each chirp is unique and special. Each one offers a conversation.

The wind and breeze come and go. From a still point to the feeling on your face, it is a refreshing breath of oxygen to me. I enjoy watching the tops of the trees gently move from the breeze as if they are giving themselves a massage.

Even the grass glistens with dew in the early morning hours. As the sun begins to wake the day, the drops of dew glisten with brightness. The grass reminds me of its grounding to the earth that remains day after day.

The plants themselves offer growth from the ground. They remind me that when we are grounded in our life, we will grow. With the nourishment of rain, we stretch toward the sky. In different colors, I am as unique to the world as each blade of grass.

The water lays still when there is no wind. Yet, it appears that it is always moving underneath. With each angle, the view changes. What may be deep, might appear shallow. What may appear shallow, might be deep. So to is life, where I learn each day about all the many depths I hold within myself.

From the clouds in the sky, to the fortitude of the trees, I feel a sense of calmness, inner peace, and overall tranquility. I feel like no matter what happens, everything will be alright, just from observing nature. Nature shows me that even in the chaos of life, there is order, a sense of purpose and a natural flow.

Nature is special and no two moments of observation are ever the same. One day to the next, offers such a variety that not even the world's greatest movie producer could match in creativity. Unfortunately, so many of us miss these moments in life. It is a gift given to us without charge. Moments in nature show us abundance if we do not allow ourselves to miss them.

As I'm learning in my own life, I need to stop and observe nature. When I do stop and take this all in, I find those peaceful minutes of insight. A vast world of information and personal exploration awaits. In these moments, I see all that life has to offer, not what it lacks. Observing nature is the largest reset button in life that we can tap at a moment's notice.

May I never forget to immerse myself into nature each day.

May I listen to the messages, and observe all that nature has to offer me.

May I truly sense what it means to live in the moment of now, just like each part of nature does each day.

May I just accept and allow all that nature has to offer as I find centering and grounding for my day.


(Above Picture taken at Tropical Park, Miami, FL - (c) 02/11/07)


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