Heart Shine This Holiday Weekend

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Holiday Weekend

Woohoo. It's the holiday weekend and for many people that means time off from work.

Three days off. Time to let your heart and body relax.

Do you have plans?

Hopefully some of your weekend plans include a little "R & R" – rest and recreation.

Relax And Let Your Heart Shine

A picnic or barbecue. Maybe something simple like taking a blanket and a good book to the park. 

Perhaps some time to sit on your back porch with a cup of coffee, allowing a bit of time to set down the smartphone.

Whatever you have planned, give yourself permission to relax whether you're munching at a picnic or resting in a lounge chair.

There Is Virtue In Rest

Relax into rest and allow it to replenish your energy that gets sapped during the busy work week. Transcendental Meditation is a wonderful way to access a deep, healing rest that touches all aspects of our lives.

Activity and rest are both important elements in our lives. It’s not just one or the other. Both aspects, in balance, contribute to our well-being.

Enjoy your holiday weekend.

 

She Laughs Without Fear Of The Future

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It's Mother's Day!

 

Strength And Dignity

What a wonderful moment to acknowledge and remember all the women who have touched our lives.

There is a quote in Proverbs where it says:

...she laughs without fear of the future.

That line captures an essence of her courage. It's hard, sometimes, not to fear the future, isn't it?

What do we fear about the future?  It can be fear of the unknown, of hardships that might befall us, aging and illness, world situations, or losses that may be coming.

And, to be honest, all of these challenges will happen at one point or another in our lives, won't they? Yet, this woman will meet life's challenges with courage and love.

Happy Mother's Day

Do you know women like this? Perhaps you're one of them.

 

Earth Day Selfie – Every Day

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A Selfie Of Planet Earth

22 April 2014

Earth Day – Celebrated Every Year

In case you're wondering how we looked on Earth Day this year, NASA snapped this selfie.

Can you see yourself?  You're there.  In the moment.

In fact, we're all there... together.

Perhaps that's the point.  Looking at this is a reminder of how we are all in this together.

That can either reassure us or terrorize us, depending on which day we look at it..

How do you like your selfie?

 

The Season Of Fall

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Welcome To Fall

“The word equinox comes from the Latin words for “equal night.”
The fall and spring equinoxes are the only days of the year in which the Sun crosses the celestial equator.”
 

The Autumnal Equinox

For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, it's time to welcome the fall equinox. We bid adieu to our summer harvest with its abundance of fruits and vegetables. Hot, lazy days become a thing of the past.

It's time to wave goodbye to our early morning light and long evenings of daylight. We prepare ourselves to wake up in the dark for work. Somehow it seems terribly uncivilized to have to get up before even the sun has agreed to do so.

Sweaters And Falling Leaves

While we miss the longer days and abundance of the farmers market, the cooler weather is welcomed as we snuggle into chunky sweaters. It's time to tuck into a big chair with a steaming cup of cinnamon-flavored tea. Time to enjoy the nip in the air as we warm our fingers on hot cups of coffee.

Activities take on a slow, bossa nova rhythm – a softer, more contemplative beat. Now we linger as we stroll on a path of falling leaves. Armed with a good book, we tuck ourselves into a corner of the couch. No need to feel guilty about it.

Fall Holidays And Pumpkins

Lots of holidays tumble into fall for our pleasurable participation. Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Hallowe'en, and Thanksgiving, just to name a few.

Pumpkins are everywhere. Jack o'lanterns, pumpkin pies and desserts, and gourds of all sizes populate our decorations. What's your favorite fall holiday?

Grey Skies, Brisk Winds

As we turn up our collars to rainy, foggy days of grey and the chill of longer nights, the fall equinox reminds us of the balance of light and dark in our own lives.

Keep your inner flame burning bright.

 

Bring Mindfulness To All That You Do

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Ajahn Chah On Meditation And Mindfulness

 
“Sitting for hours on end is not necessary. Some people think that the longer you can sit, the wiser you must be. I have seen chickens sit on their nests for days on end. Wisdom comes from being mindful in all postures. Your practice should begin as you awaken in the morning. It should continue until you fall asleep.

Don’t be concerned about how long you can sit. What is important is only that you keep watchful whether you are working or sitting or going to the bathroom. Each person has his own natural pace. Some of you will die at age fifty, some at age sixty-five, and some at age ninety. So, too, your practice will not be all identical.

Don’t think or worry about this. Try to be mindful and let things take their natural course. Then your mind will become quieter and quieter in any surroundings. It will become still like a clear forest pool. Then all kinds of wonderful and rare animals will come to drink at the pool. You will see clearly the nature of all things (sankharas) in the world.

You will see many wonderful and strange things come and go. But you will be still. Problems will arise and you will see through them immediately. This is the happiness of the Buddha.”
— Ajahn Chah
 

Meditation In Your Daily Life

This is what we seek.

To bring our awareness to all that we do. No separation.

 

Laughter Is Part Of The Healing Process

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Laughter In The Healing Process

This clever video of a dog "talking" about getting a new kitten makes me smile. I must confess, having watched it over and over, it never fails to brighten up my day.

Medical Screening Exams

As a Women's Health Nurse Practitioner, I often perform screening exams for women. This important part of my patient care includes lab work, mammograms, and pap smears of the cervix. One type of patient I care for routinely – women with abnormal pap smears.

Dealing With Abnormal Results

If a patient has an abnormal pap smear result, the cervix is further evaluated with a microscope procedure called a colposcopy. If the results are mild, we then have a waiting period of 12 months before we test again for the HPV virus (human papillomavirus).

We need that time to allow the immune system to rise up and "clear" the virus. The immune system must recognize the virus is there and then push it back behind a "gate."  Once that takes place, it is no longer detected on the cervix. If the virus isn’t there, it can't make changes to the cervix.

What Can I Do To Treat HPV?

Invariably a patient asks what she can do to treat HPV.

Is there a pill, some kind of drug she can take?

There are no medications for HPV. Instead, we help our immune system to be strong so it can suppress the virus. I always tell my patients about healthy eating, good exercise, adequate rest, no smoking, decrease stress and... laughter.

Take Some Laughter, Call Me In The Morning

Medical research shows that laughter and humor can boost the immune system and promote healing.  Laughter is considered to be a "natural medicine" that lifts our spirits and helps reduce stress and discomfort. The Cancer Treatment Centers of America integrate Laughter Therapy into their care of patients.

 

Healing Laughter

Laughter Therapy, combined with a healthy diet, exercise and adequate sleep, are all part of a healthy lifestyle.

May laughter bubble forth in your ongoing healing process.

 

Papa, Can You Hear Me?

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Papa, Can You Hear Me?

 
“O God, Our Heavenly Father,
O God, and my father Who is also in heaven.
May the light of this flickering candle illuminate the night the way Your Spirit illuminates my soul...”
— Yentl
 

There is nothing quite like the liquid voice of Barbra Streisand to touch emotions and our hearts. Here in the movie Yentl, she sings to her God in the heavens and to her own father who recently died and who is also in heaven.

A Father And A Daughter

For a daughter whose papa has passed on, this song is perfumed with the father-daughter love they shared and her longing to still be connected with him. If only he could hear her and offer his advice.

Yentl prays in the forest with nature surrounding her, and reaches out to the stars twinkling above her. Isn’t it interesting how we so often turn to the stars in these moments? Pinpricks of twinkling light that are millions of light years away and yet they bring us comfort as if something deep inside, the cells of our bodies resonate with the same elements that make up those distant stars.

 
“Papa, how I love you,
Papa, how I need you,
Papa, how I miss you kissing me good night...”
 

Grief In Our Lives

All of our emotions, not just the happy ones, are part of the kaleidoscope colors of our lives – expanding colors that constantly change as they vary in shape and hue. Even when life lies broken around us, we walk through the jagged parts and continue the dance of life.

Does the loss go away? Not really. We live with it, we are shaped by it. The grief becomes a part of our life’s dance in a certain way we hold our head, gesture with a hand, or in the way we cross a room.

We are changed. The traces of our love and loss are etched on us and are their own pinpricks of light shining within.