Yesterday was my first day back to work in my practice. It did feel strange after having so many days of freedom. I truly love my job because my office is beautiful and relaxing, and more importantly, I am lucky to be able to help others heal every day. I did feel the rush of the day, getting up early, walking four dogs, preparing my shake, taking my herbs, fixing lunch to take to work, and getting myself ready.
I came off my cleanse feeling immensely peaceful and I did not want to give up that feeling of calm. The question is, then, how to remain calm amid the rush of daily modern life? I invested a lot of time and energy in cleansing and I am determined not to detract from that effort by allowing myself to become stressed, which induces the fight-or-flight response and wreaks havoc on the body when there is no real crisis! The stress response is in our body to help us deal with situations that actually threaten our survival and here we are activating it daily!
I am keeping my peace by acknowledging what needs to be done, but not attaching feelings to those things. I have had many life experiences in which I became stressed, only to have everything work out just fine. I believe these experiences are how the universe shows me that stress is useless. Stress makes us sick and does not change the outcome of a situation.
I did make plans during my cleanse regarding how to build more mental balancing into my daily schedule. Even having planned to only check email etc. at set times during the day and never while eating, yesterday I reached for my phone when I was going to take my lunch. I have committed myself anew to just eating when I am eating, so I reminded myself of that and left my phone in my office. It is so easy to be tempted to just get two things done at once!
Digestion begins in the mind. How can we expect to digest our food well if we are eating but reading work emails and thinking about everything else but our food? Our brain has to send the message for our body to accept the food. If we are watching television or eating in the car, our mind is not focused on digestion. Engaging in other activities while eating also makes our body do double work. Instead of processing food, then our body has to also drive the car or will chemically respond to emotions caused by watching television. Emotions will affect digestion. We all have likely experienced a time when we were so upset that we had stomach ache, diarrhea, or no appetite. This is also why we should sit down to eat with gratitude for our food and not think of any foods as "bad" things in which we are indulging. You should always sit down to eat with joy about the food in front of you. Poor digestion leads to poor elimination, which can lead to health problems that quietly build in the body and may not manifest until years down the road.
Eating while just enjoying the food is also meditation. Meditation is the process of training the mind. Little by little, at each meal you have the opportunity to train your mind by focusing on the flavors in the food and relishing a break from other activities.
Every time I cleanse, I renew my commitment to eating whole foods and having a lifestyle that balances my mind and body. This renewal is one reason I love cleansing. It is a chance to reset and refresh your mind, body, and spirit. So far, I am keeping the peace I have found by looking for my path in all things.
Everything that happens in our life is an opportunity. This opportunity can be to learn something important, to practice patience, to do something new or fun, to take action on a particular issue, or to help others. So far, that is how I am choosing to keep my peace. We will see how it goes.
I came off my cleanse feeling immensely peaceful and I did not want to give up that feeling of calm. The question is, then, how to remain calm amid the rush of daily modern life? I invested a lot of time and energy in cleansing and I am determined not to detract from that effort by allowing myself to become stressed, which induces the fight-or-flight response and wreaks havoc on the body when there is no real crisis! The stress response is in our body to help us deal with situations that actually threaten our survival and here we are activating it daily!
I am keeping my peace by acknowledging what needs to be done, but not attaching feelings to those things. I have had many life experiences in which I became stressed, only to have everything work out just fine. I believe these experiences are how the universe shows me that stress is useless. Stress makes us sick and does not change the outcome of a situation.
I did make plans during my cleanse regarding how to build more mental balancing into my daily schedule. Even having planned to only check email etc. at set times during the day and never while eating, yesterday I reached for my phone when I was going to take my lunch. I have committed myself anew to just eating when I am eating, so I reminded myself of that and left my phone in my office. It is so easy to be tempted to just get two things done at once!
Digestion begins in the mind. How can we expect to digest our food well if we are eating but reading work emails and thinking about everything else but our food? Our brain has to send the message for our body to accept the food. If we are watching television or eating in the car, our mind is not focused on digestion. Engaging in other activities while eating also makes our body do double work. Instead of processing food, then our body has to also drive the car or will chemically respond to emotions caused by watching television. Emotions will affect digestion. We all have likely experienced a time when we were so upset that we had stomach ache, diarrhea, or no appetite. This is also why we should sit down to eat with gratitude for our food and not think of any foods as "bad" things in which we are indulging. You should always sit down to eat with joy about the food in front of you. Poor digestion leads to poor elimination, which can lead to health problems that quietly build in the body and may not manifest until years down the road.
Eating while just enjoying the food is also meditation. Meditation is the process of training the mind. Little by little, at each meal you have the opportunity to train your mind by focusing on the flavors in the food and relishing a break from other activities.
Every time I cleanse, I renew my commitment to eating whole foods and having a lifestyle that balances my mind and body. This renewal is one reason I love cleansing. It is a chance to reset and refresh your mind, body, and spirit. So far, I am keeping the peace I have found by looking for my path in all things.
Everything that happens in our life is an opportunity. This opportunity can be to learn something important, to practice patience, to do something new or fun, to take action on a particular issue, or to help others. So far, that is how I am choosing to keep my peace. We will see how it goes.