Jump Out of a Plane

Today at the hospital I saw mass amounts of suffering.
The man in the room next to us, moaning, not able to lay down because he was in a body/neck brace and could not move. His mother sitting across from him not hiding her tears.
The doctor that walks into another room and asks "what's wrong today sir?" "Everything!" he says with pain in his vocal cords.
Someone I love writhing around in bed, not able to get comfortable because of the tumors in her belly.

I realized something walking the halls of the hospital today. There are more people suffering in the hospital than enjoying the day at a park. Or taking lunch outside. Or turning on the sprinkler for their kids and running through it with them. Or turning on the sprinkler for themselves and enjoying the feeling of water on their skin. There are more people suffering everyday at a desk, staring at a computer screen wasting their lives on a job they despise so they can keep up with a house they can't afford to keep.

So, this is my advice - because one day we will end up in the hospital either watching someone in pain, or in pain ourselves, regardless we will suffer.

If you want to:
Jump out of a plane
Quit your job if you don't like it
Smell the roses, peonies, gardenias and a fresh picked tomato
Let go
Stop comparing yourself with others
Feel your emotions, stop stuffing them down with food, alcohol or work
Close your eyes and listen to the birds
Live life without a script
Drive with the windows down
Stop being a harbor for negative thoughts
Dance on tables
Cry, scream and let it out
Dance on bars
Dance naked in your living room
Kiss your friends, children, parents and lovers
Give free hugs regularly
Turn the computer off and turn on your imagination
Paint
Love yourself, be kind to yourself, say nice things to yourself
Play
Sing
Create
Play the guitar
Unplug your TV
Eat a chili dog
Go vegan for a day
Take the grocery cart in for somebody in the parking lot
Spend less on jeans and spend more time outside
Give something away to a stranger
Leave a big tip for a waitress even if its a bad service
Smile
Stand on your head
Be nice to others
Feel the rain on your face
Climb a tree
Sit in the grass if it feels good
Read
Cook a meal for someone you love
Throw a party
Quit whatever it is that is holding you back from the life you truly deserve
Bake bread
Say yes
Love
FOLLOW YOUR BLISS

Love your belly

I really don't think I can add anything to the article in the link below. Many of you have had the treat of learning dance from Oracle at Soul Shine and her "love your belly" speech changes the way you view and treat your pooch. I needed to read this today. I woke up and put on a tight t-shirt and said to myself "no, not yet - wait to wear this shirt until you have a flat belly." Then a beautiful voice in my heart said "what if you never have a flat belly again?" and I thought to myself...so what? I am pretty healthy, I have a strong back, strong abdominal muscles and a six pack is truly not what I desire. Be stong in your core, but recognize your potential for beauty without six pack abs. You will breathe better, practice yoga better and perform hotter belly dance moves. Soul Shine's new core strength class will teach you all about how to be strong in your core, move from your core and possibly lose a few inches if you need too - all without cruches or compressing our diaphram/breath.

Click the link below to read the article below by Oracle and learn more about loving your belly...the center of LIFE.

http://www.examiner.com/belly-dance-in-atlanta/love-your-belly?CID=examiner_alerts_article

Letter to a new meditator

Dear friend,

You are looking for a way to calm your mind. You have admitted and realized that your mind is like a spinning top and it only stops when it hits a wall. Congratulations - you have made the preverbal first step - admitting you have a problem.  So, what do you do? How do you meditate? You have heard the word but what do you actually do? Sit down and clear your mind, right? Sounds easy enough...until you try it. The spinning top is more prominent than you thought and you give up. That sucked. Game over. Lets get back to doing the dishes, or was it the laundry....mmmmm peanut butter. Oh, crap, we were talking about meditation...

Well, I have some words of hope and wisdom for you.  You need tools. 

First, you need to realize that if you know how to worry, you know how to meditate, or at least focus. You are just focusing on bad things.  The past, future and the past again - then the future... worrying about things that don't matter and will probably never happen. 

Second, you need a place. Find a quiet spot in your home (this can be the bathroom with the door locked and the fan on - I promise nobody will bother you).  Sit, relax, be comfortable and take a short 10 minute break. 

Third, you need to breathe. Deep, long inhales (let your belly go!) and longer exhales are key to quieting the mind.

Next (tired of counting now!) you need to focus on something. One single thing. What is this object of attention? It is not your to do list honey, you can count on that. The object is up to you. What is the basis of choosing the object? Choose an object with an appreciation of your potential at the present moment. Begin with a less complicated object - then as time goes on you can focus on something more complicated. 

Are you able to contemplate an ocean wave? A tree? A candle flame? A simple mantra such as peace?

At the heart of it all this is what we are seeking - peace. So focus on what brings you peace. 

There is much more to this subject, so dear friend, I will continue this letter to you later.

I am off to my quiet place for about 20 minutes.

Namaste,

Heather 

Acupuncture - my Qi is stuck.

I am in love with acupuncture. I think its the best thing since sliced bread. It does not hurt that my acupuncturist is really cool and really knows her stuff. Most people are afraid of acupuncture because of the needles. When I recommend acupuncture to someone, they ALWAYS ask "doesn't it hurt?"
No. The needles do not hurt. There is sometimes a sensation after the needle (which is about as thin as a hair) goes in - and that is your Qi moving, or changing or something like that. The sensation sometimes feels like an electric shock, warming, really good or sometimes it hurts (but only for a second).


I can hear you saying "Hello Heather~~~~~ I took health class in high school and I don't remember anything called a Qi." Well smarty pants, that is because its not recognized in American medicine - but Qi (pronounced chi) is the foundation of Chinese medicine and can be compared to Prana in Yoga.  It is your life force, your energy, the stuff that we can not pull a vile of blood and see how your Qi is doing....but believe me, you and your body know when your Qi/Prana is out of sorts.


This energy runs along meridians in your body and it gets stuck, festers, gets stagnant, over produces or is just plain out of whack. This is where the tiny little needles come in - stick the needle in at the EXACT right place and the Qi moves or calms down or whatever its supposed to do.
Beyond that - you need to talk to an expert about Qi because I understand the concept, but I can not explain it further without royally messing something up.


I do know that one of the best spots to heal your kidneys is in your chin/calf area. I also know that one time when Shams (my acupuncturist - I sound very possessive here, but I will share!) put a needle in the back of my knee I felt a lightening bolt of energy shoot all the way through my big toe. Every time I get acupuncture, I leave feeling as though I got a massage - or better. I normally feel very, very relaxed and kind of tingly in a good way. Amazing stuff.
So for more professional info - click here for Shams's website. 


Shams told me that that I have stagnate liver qi. She recommended some herbs for this and acupuncture once a week till I get the liver qi moving again. So, me being me, I had to look up what she actually means by stagnated liver qi. This makes no sense to my American medicine brain. The symptoms included something that knocked me out of my chair: a constant lump in the throat. I HAVE HAD A LUMP IN MY THROAT FOR OVER A YEAR. It drives me nuts. Nothing I can do about it. I have tried tea, burping, not talking unless necessary, somebody recommended crystals and I have meditated and practiced pranayama trying to make it go away. The pranayama (breath work) did the trick for a day or so, but it always comes back. So annoying. I am thrilled that these herbs and the acupuncture will hopefully get it to go away. Whooo hooo!


till next time...


Love and Light -
H

New Beginnings

hello...welcome to my new world

today is the beginning of the end - and a start to a new chapter in our lives

tonight will be the last night in the place we have called home for the past 3.5 years. we moved here with high hopes and lofty expectations and this blog will be a diary of the fall from those expectations, simplifying our life, getting back to what really matters and the drama of it all.

we moved into a 3200 sq foot house - when I say we...I mean me, my hubby, 2 dogs and a cat. RIP Rodman - that is another story for another day...but anyway...my point is 3200 sq feet and 2 people - 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, dining room, office, huge awesome (waaah!) kitchen, breakfast area, living room, and a foyer that is more like a lobby - 2 story living room that sucks all the life out of our AC unit...metal balusters, silestone counter tops etc...we have (for one more day) a beautiful, non functional beast of a house...and along with it a payment that was outrageous.  When we moved in here we were both selling real estate at a pretty good clip, then the market started to slow down, our payment went up by $400 a month due to a miscalculation in our taxes and then the market started is eternal nose dive. 

Poor me, right? No...this is NOT a sob story. This is a story of how pride becomes before the fall, how we managed to keep from drowning in self pity and through it all we are rebuilding our lives and truly happy about it. Am I scared? Not really - I do have some concerns, like where are we going to move for starters...for now my sister (who is recovering from a bout of the worst cancer on the planet, also another story,  www.haileyandheather.blogspot.com for last years drama) is letting us live in her basement for a bit - there will be 4 adults, one 6.5 year old girl, 4 dogs and 1 cat...in a 4 bedroom 3 bath house - but its only about 2000 sq feet - so this should be fun! LOL

I am also concerned about....well...nothing really! That may change, but that is one of my philosophies, the only constant in life if change; change, fear and love...

So tomorrow is the 4th of July and I will be celebrating the Independence of our beautiful country and my own personal independence from the bonds of society's norm...its time to do my own thing, my way.