A Peaceful Place To Refocus

Life has been quite challenging lately for me.  I've felt like all was slipping away from me and it was tough to hang on.  I really needed to step back and refocus.

Finally after trying to stay strong and keep going, I traveled to a peaceful place to refocus.  In this case, it is Pipestem State Park in West Virginia.  I've used this place in the past to help me make it through difficult times.

Years ago when I was first dealing with the abuse and torture I had been through in my life, I would come here on the holidays and escape a world that was painful.  This park is so beautiful and so peaceful.

It is a place that is magical to me and one that I can just escape and disconnect from everything.  It is secluded enough that I can step out of life and find that peace as I refocus.

Today, I hiked all over the place but then I just stopped and recognized the peaceful place I was in.  It was quiet and the peace was so inviting and invigorating.  It was a beautiful moment.

My hope for the trip is that I can refocus and find myself once again.  I want to reconnect with life, rather than wanting to hide in my little cave.

These challenging times are not easy, but hopefully when I leave, I will be more empowered to find my way through, rather then feeling like I was at the end of my rope.

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2/6/16 by Don Shetterly

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Peaceful As A Cat

There is nothing more peaceful than watching a kitten lie on its back with its eyes closed, oblivious to the cares and concerns of the world.  Breathing slowly and deeply, it relaxes into the floor as if there nothing else to be concerned with in that moment or in any moment to come.  It is an example of lasting peacefulness, grace and ease for their life.  In the same way, we can become like the cat if we so choose. - Don Shetterly

Enjoy Life's Beauty

Don Taking In Life's Beauty
In The Mountains.

While traveling on a recent vacation to the mountains, we were stopped at one of the overlooks.  The leaves were beginning to turn and the views were breath taking.  For me, it was almost an overload of sensory input.  There was so much to see and take in while feeling, sensing, and listening to all the sounds around us.

Yet, while we were standing there taking in the view, one couple looked at us and exclaimed "there's nothing to see here".  In disbelief, I stayed silent.  My mind immediately began to wonder exactly why it was that they made this statement.  Could they not see what I saw and heard and felt?  Were they not able to view all that surrounded that place we were standing?

Obviously, I don't know their story or how long they had been in the mountains by that point.  For me though, I never get tired of seeing the mountains and the views around them.  It is always breath taking moments of peacefulness and joy for me.

Abundance Or Wealth

Too often, we equate "abundance" with "wealth", and that to be abundant means you have wealth or money. However, abundance implies a spiritual concept of being fulfilled in life, versus wealth that is having great sums of financial resources. Abundance does not necessarily imply that you are wealthy, but all too often these days, it is twisted into that definition.

One of the things that I loved from the movie, "I Am", is their explanation of money, and if you apply this to abundance, wealth or happiness, it really speaks volumes. To have twice as much money as you do at this moment, would you be twice as happy? That is essentially the question they were asking in one part of the movie. After all, if money is happiness, abundance or peacefulness as many suggest, then to have twice as much money would mean you have twice as much happiness, abundance, or peacefulness.

I'm sure that most would probably roll their eyes at this and say, "well if I had $20 in my pocket before and now I have $40, I would not necessarily feel twice as happy." You might feel a little more bounce in your step but not twice as much. If you had not worked in a year and $40 meant a great deal to you, then you might be extremely happy.

Consider this example to illustrate my point. What if some person was living out in the woods and had built a home from the trees, fished in the nearby lake for their dinner, and lived off the land? To this person, they had everything that they needed. Now, someone comes along to explain spiritual concepts of abundance to them and says that they need to do these things to feel abundant and to expect "money" or "wealth" to come their way if they do.

Do you think that person would say, why of course I do? After all, they live off the land which gives them everything they need, and they feel fully fulfilled. They have no desire for anything because everything is already provided by the land.

Yet, to many in the abundance movement, this person would be lacking "money" and they most likely would say, "well with money you could do more in life." Again, the person living off the land feels fulfilled.

You see, I think we mix up the terms abundance and wealth. They are two different concepts. We have people come along that offer courses for $999 or $97 or other amounts and we jump at it because they are an expert, and so they have to have the answers. Yet, we fail to see that we are after "wealth" and not necessarily abundance. We feel that if we have more "money" that we'll be much more happy.

There are many people that have much wealth and many of them will say that they don't feel wealthy. There are many people who have won the lottery and thought it would solve their problems, only to find themselves penniless and near homeless a few years later, with no friends.

Money does not buy happiness. It, however, can bring us things to enjoy, but if all those things were gone tomorrow, what would life be to you? If you have not lost everything in life, that is a question which is hard to answer.

If you want happiness, go within yourself and work on healing the parts of your body and mind that are disconnected and unaware. Look within to find happiness and if you do not like what you see, then work to change it.

If you keep looking externally for wealth and abundance, you will never find it! It will always elude you and escape from your grasp. Happiness is what you glean from your experiences in life as you fulfill your life's purpose on this planet. Abundance is a result of that, and wealth is something you pick up along the way!


Further Reading:
1) Movie Review: I AM Documentary (Blog Post 6/28/11)
2) Unlimited Abundance (Blog Post 5/13/11)
3) Happiness And Abundance (Blog Post 6/22/11)



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Blog Post & Images (c) 6/22/11 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.
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Nervous System Resiliency

One of the things that I am learning firsthand is how resilient our nervous system in the course of our day. Many of the things that I write about here are ones that I have been introduced to and then I learn about them by living through experiences that become my teacher.

It is not just concepts that are told to me and I continue the story. They are very real lessons that I experience firsthand within my body. When you can experience something within the body and feel the connection within, then there is no doubt that it is a real, truth altering experience.

For a long time I felt overwhelmed in life where I could not seem to get my balance as the winds of various events would come along and knock me off balance. It never seemed like I would get past many things in my life because I always felt overwhelmed. Then one experience in particular that I had on the table with Dr. Paul Canali brought this home in a very real and vivid way.

In this particular session, I came up against some of the root energy where very real and intense anger perpetuates and grows within me. As I pushed through this, my body felt physically awful for several hours but then as the energy of the release began to balance itself, I noticed a major change within my body. For the first time, I noticed a peacefulness and calmness that I had never felt before. It is more than difficult to describe here but it was real and I knew it wasn't just a temporary peace or calmness. It was a life changing moment.

As events of the following week transpired, I noticed that most of these were just rolling off my back. Yes, some of them were pretty intense and I was not ignoring the feeling of them but they were just coming in and almost like bouncing through me. It is then that I came to understand just how resilient our nervous system is meant to be and if treated properly, it can perform in ways that we may not be able to imagine.

For months, I did not think about this entire scenario until I recently went through a very stressful week. In that week, I noticed something about myself and how I was dealing with the stress. While the stress was intense and difficult to be part of, I noticed that much of it was just bouncing right through me. I'm not going to tell you that it was an easy week but without this happening within myself, it would have been much more difficult.

Please don't misunderstand me here because I'm not talking about "thinking happy thoughts" here either as many tend to do. This is about going deep within and connecting to the grounded part of your cells, your body and your mind. It is about having the nervous system at a healthy point that it can absorb these things and let them go. It isn't about avoiding any of the feelings or affects of the stress but feeling all of it and just swimming through it as if you were swimming in a pool.

Of course, most humans go through life in a hurried fashion barely ever taking time to take care of the body, oblivious to the fact that this is taking place. We like to self medicate ourselves with things that keep us from living in reality and keep us from getting to truly know ourselves in an intimate way.

All too often, I've heard many people tell me that they don't have time to get a massage or relax or to take a vacation. In this day of electronics, people cannot even get away from their jobs for a minute. We keep ourselves and our nervous systems in a heightened state of arousal and stress but yet we expect our bodies to hit peak performance.

We go through life dabbling in this or that new age therapy or we turn to religion, doctors and our families to help us exist in our day. However, none of these things will help you deal with the stress in your life unless you go in and stand up to the fear and the ego within your body and your mind. You can fool yourself all day long into thinking that various things are helping you and they may be temporarily, but if you really want to leap upon the mountains, you need to journey within yourself.

The nervous system is meant to act like a rubber band where if you pull it and stretch it, when let go, it should go back to its original shape. However if you stretch it beyond those limits time and time again, you may alter the shape of it. If you stretch it beyond what it is capable of, then there will be a break. The body acts in much the same way.

If we as a society really wanted to improve the overall health of our world, we would be focusing upon learning how the nervous system works and how we impact it every day of our life. We would focus upon learning how to reclaim it and harness the power that we hold within our bodies and our minds. The nervous system should be our friend but much of the time in our world, we barely even notice its existence.




Blog Post & Images (c) 2/20/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com




Photo by NASA/courtesy of nasaimages.org

Relaxing Piano Music For Valentine's Day

Just a break for today from our regular programming to let you know (in case you did not already know this) that I have some very relaxing piano music available for sale. It is music that I created and is extremely relaxing, perfect for those quiet moments alone or when you are with that special someone in your life.

Of course Valentine's Day is Monday, Feburary 14, 2011, so guys, you've been told and warned! You can't say you didn't know it was coming. Don't wait until the last moment to plan a way to show the one you love, just how much you do love them. I'm not saying you have to go out and spend a load of money but see if you can't think outside the box and find something that really shows just how much you do love them. Give them something deep from your heart.

If you need help in that area, you're more than welcome to go and download some of my music on iTunes, Amazon or many other digital download sites. It is truly relaxing, peaceful and all of my music is played deep from within my heart.

If you go to my website, www.donshetterly.com, you can listen to a few sound clips on the front page. There are links to iTunes, Amazon, CDbaby.com, Napster and Rhapsody if you wish to purchase and download it or you can buy the physical CD on Amazon.

Here are the CD's I have available:

1) Dancing With Life












2) Focusing












3) Relaxing Spa Music













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Blog Post & Images (c) 2/8/11 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)


*Read other articles on Mind Body Thoughts Blog

Moment Of Now

To just sit here, experiencing the quiet, the peaceful and serene.

Hearing the sounds of the outdoors.

Feeling the humidity, sunlight and breeze on my body.

Noticing the rise and fall of my breath in my body.

No pressures, no worries, no concerns at this moment.

Just being in the moment of now, far removed from anything that demands my attention.

Observing, sensing, feeling, noticing all that is around me.

All that matters in this moment is just being here now, and present within myself.

Accepting this moment.

Accepting all that there is.


(Above Picture taken at Gatorland, Kissimmee, FL - (c) 06/23/10)

Peacefully Connected

From my morning meditation, this is something I wrote as I listened to the birds outside including the red headed wood pecker going at the telephone pole.

Symphony of birds
How beautiful the sounds
Peaceful
Connected, yet they stand alone
Dogs in the background
Voices filter in
Peaceful
Simple
Connected

Maybe what seems disconnected and as individual moments in our lives, is part of our overall symphony. It is connected but yet it often appears as we are standing alone in our individual moments. If we allow all of it to come in, it will simply be peacefully connected.

My Enteric Brain Journey, July 30, 2004

Here is an account of one of my first session with Dr. Canali in 2004. My reason for sharing this and subsequent postings from my journal are to help bring about awareness to all that is possible through this simple but deep form of healing. Please keep checking back because I intend to continue posting parts of my sessions and with time, they will share a lot of information.

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July 30, 2004

Wow, the treatment I had today seemed like it was only 5 minutes long but when I left to go home, I realized I had been there for an hour. It sure didn’t feel that long and when Dr. Canali was trying to bring me back to the room, I thought that was strange because it seemed like only moments earlier we were starting the process.

I felt a lot of trembling (just very light and rhythmic) through out my body but mostly in my legs. But other than that I really didn’t feel to much or wasn’t aware of what took place. I don’t remember much of what was going on around me and felt like I was in a void all to myself where it was quiet and peaceful.