People and events are two of the biggest causes of our daily stress. It is important to remember that even though we cannot control what people say and do, or what surprise events happen, we can control two very important things: 1) we control our calendar, and 2) we control how we organize our time.
We control our calendar. If we are too busy, then it is up to us to do the following to manage our calendar: Say “no” to…..
When I get really frustrated and I feel my blood pressure rising, I remember what a pastor told me as I was going through hospice with my dad before he passed away. The pastor told me to think about the following Bible verse:
Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God!”
It is a simple sentence, but has deep meaning that helped restore me to a balanced and relaxed state of mind. The pastor explained that the word “still” means “to…..
When we want to de-stress, what should we do? Stressful situations and people have us wound up tight, our heart is racing, our mind is in overdrive, and we are faced with exhaustion. It is in these situations that we need to remember a quick “fix” to get our balance back. If we follow a few simple steps listed below, we can get our minds into a quick recovery:
Stop and breathe. Take a slow, deep breath and let it out slowly. I started…..
My pocket gardens of peace are little things that remind me to be peaceful. Some things are tangible, some are mental. I carry them with me always. Examples of my tangible pocket gardens are:
My dolphin keychain. It is small in brushed silver metal color with an inset of bluish-green abalone shell. Whenever I look at it, my mind goes to the ocean and I can picture dolphins arcing in and out of the water. I can smell the clean ocean air…..
Happiness is:
taking a break in the morning, having tea with my husband as he drinks his coffee, and we watch the deer in our yard visiting Meerkerk Gardens with mom walking our dog, Sabre, along a secret road winding through old growth forests at South Whidbey State Park playing gin rummy with our friends and being silly going to the dog park with Sabre and watching him play with all the dogs, large and small watching a…..
Often people want to know what, exactly, is that feeling of mindfulness. They want to know if they are doing it right. The answer is to just be, to find a quiet place indoors or outdoors, to quiet your mind, to take time by not thinking about time, by not thinking about anything. Let your mind and yourself just be. Following is an example of mindfulness, which is just one of many examples, from my book, Happy Tales:
“Distant foghorns’ music…..
Mindfulness helps you get in touch with who you are and what you stand for. Practicing Mindfulness on a daily basis helps you stay centered on what is important in life. It keeps you living in the moment, not obsessing about what happened in the past, which you cannot change, or worry about what will happen in the future. Mindfulness keeps you in a balanced, relaxed frame of mind so you can handle the future as it unfolds. Following are some of the things that…..
How can you stay true to yourself, if you don’t know who you are? How do you find yourself?
I stumbled upon the answer when I moved to Seattle from Los Angeles, with my husband’s career. Leaving my successful career behind, I was forced to also leave my position in the community and all my business and social contacts, which was a large part of who I was (or so I thought).
Separated from everything I had previously known, I…..
An important part of living is giving, and the wonderful part of giving is that it brings joy and good things into our lives. Human beings are wired with built-in characteristics we can use to help others–characteristics like loving and giving. In fact, the act of devoting ourselves to helping others has a spectacular boomerang effect in opening our lives to a world of opportunities, relationships, and new ways of living and enjoying life. It gives us purpose, strengthens our values, draws us…..
God is love. Always be loving, giving and kind. Always tell the truth no matter what the consequences are to yourself. If you tell a lie, then you have to remember it, who you told it to, and continue the cover-up. You will always be found out, and if you aren’t, you will always carry that shame. Take responsibility for what you do and say. You will become known for this and it earns you the label of having integrity. Once you…..