As we near the end of the year, I thought it would be a great time to share one simple secret that my healthiest and happiest patients have come to know. Want to know what it is?  It’s very simple… My healthiest and most successful patients rely on the calendar, rather than their symptoms, to determine when they get treated at my clinic. Just like people take their vehicles to the mechanic every 3,000 miles or every three months to maintain the ideal function of their vehicle and get it inspected for any problems, I strongly recommend coming in every 4-6 weeks to get a treatment to maintain the ideal function of your body and take care of any potential issues at that time. Waiting for pain is like waiting for the “check engine” light to bring you in for service If you’re waiting for the “check engine” light of your body, which we know as “pain,” to tell you to come in for a treatment, you’re more likely to be playing catch up, and the “repairs” are going to be more expensive and more time consuming. Coming in for a chiropractic treatment once every 4-6 weeks to keep you ideally maintained is a very modest investment that will pay off not only in the short term, but also in the long term.  Joints are meant to move, and after 4 weeks the joints in your spine begin to show signs of lack of mobility, which sets the stage for degeneration, also known as arthritis, and here’s another secret… Degeneration and arthritis are irreversible! So, I hope this email drives through the point — Waiting for pain to come in is like waiting for the “check engine” light to come on.  You don’t wait to get your oil changed until you start seeing smoke come out from under your vehicle’s hood.  You faithfully come in regularly to maintain the function of your vehicle. Likewise, I highly recommend you faithfully come in every 4-6 weeks, whether you feel pain or not, to maintain ideal function.  The human body is a super-sophisticated machine with intricate wiring and design, and we can, for a very modest investment, help you maintain it and keep you healthy in more ways than you probably can appreciate. As the year draws to a close, if it’s been a while since we’ve seen each other, I hope you consider coming in for a treatment and keep your body’s machinery humming along like a “well-oiled machine” (pardon the pun). For your convenience, I’ll include a link below so that you can schedule your appointment today!  And remember, if you ever need anything I am just an email or a phone call away.

Need An Appointment? Click Here to Schedule One Now!

And, rest assured, I do wear a mask at all times when with patients, I disinfect my table and tools and therapy devices between each patient, and I regularly clean surfaces in the office to maintain as clean and sanitary an environment that I can for my patients.  I only see one patient at a time, which greatly decreases the number of people in my office, to minimize patient-to-patient contact in waiting and treatment areas. I hope to see you soon!  Take care and enjoy your week!

Back pain is a problem for many people around the world. Fortunately, there are several natural treatments and home remedies that can bring some relief. These treatments and remedies will not cure the problem, but they do help people find some comfort in their daily lives. 

No one knows for sure how many people suffer from acute or chronic back pain, but the numbers do appear to be growing according to studies on the subject. The secret lower back pain relief tips really aren’t much of a secret at all. These are several of the solutions that can be done at any time and without any help from a health care provider. 

Move Throughout the Day

According to the experts at Harvard Medical School, sitting for too long can increase back pain. One of the best natural treatments for back pain from sitting is to get up and move around throughout the day. The pressure on the discs in the spine grows as you sit, so it is important to get up and move regularly. Some people will set a reminder to move every 30 minutes or 60 minutes, depending on the degree of pain. 

Some people who work in jobs that require them to sit all day have invested in standing desks or adjustable desks. One study found that these adjustable desks provided relief for the people who used them to vary their postures throughout the day. The desks cost between $200 and $600, which is much less expensive than back surgery. 

Take Your Mind Off of Your Pain

If you have back pain, your first instinct might be to lay down and rest your back. This might be the right treatment for you, but some people have found relief by diverting their thoughts away from their pain. In a study published in the journal Pain Medicine, people who practiced mindful mindfulness reported a decrease in their low-back pain. 

https://pixabay.com/photos/sunset-dusk-silhouette-shadow-girl-691848/

Mindful meditation can be learned, and the ultimate goal is to become aware of what is happening around you in the present. Mindful meditation takes you out of your constantly racing mind and into the reality around you. Some people will spend a few minutes each day in a quiet room paying attention to their inhales and exhales. Some people will spend their entire day working on staying focused on the external world, rather than getting lost in their thoughts. Whatever works for you is the best choice. 

Diverting your mind away from your pain can be relaxing, too. Rather than wallowing in your back pain, you could take your mind off of it by doing something that engages your mind in a creative way. You could read, do a craft, or cook a meal. These activities do not require much exertion, but they get the mind involved in doing something other than thinking about pain. 

Relax Your Body in a Pool

When you float, you take pressure off of your joints. When you swim, you build strength and flexibility. If the water is warm, your body benefits even more. But, it doesn’t hurt to occasionally put yourself into cool water, too. Hydrotherapy pools are often heated to 90° or more, and can be very soothing to a low back in pain. 

https://pixabay.com/photos/swimming-pool-swim-water-holiday-97509/

According to a study on the thermal effects of water immersion, both temperatures were helpful for pain management. Warm water helps relieve musculoskeletal pain, and cold water slows nerve speed, which reduces pain. 

Use Self-Activating Topical Treatments

If you prefer to treat your pain without oral medications, the self-activating heat patches are helpful in reducing back pain. There are also several topical creams that provide temporary relief. The patches are easy to put in a tote bag or keep in a desk drawer. If you notice your back beginning to hurt, putting a patch on or rubbing some lotion on can help for a while. 

Studies show they add to the efficacy of pain medications like ibuprofen. Self-activating topical treatments are long-term answers. They can be useful to apply when falling asleep or when another option is not available. Some people have avoided topical creams because they often have a medicinal smell, but many are now fragrance-free. 

Take Time to Stretch Everyday

Stretching can bring relief to discomfort in the low back. When you take time to stretch each day, you improve the elasticity of your muscles and the flexibility of your joints. You also help the blood circulate through your body to heal the areas that hurt. Studies repeatedly find that stretching the low back helps reduce pain and increase the movement in the spine. 

If you are able to take a yoga class designed to help with back pain, pay close attention to your form. In a yoga class, the form is important because it is meant to stretch certain areas and not others. It is always wise to speak with your health care provider before taking on any exercise regimen. 

Get Better Sleep

Some back pain can be the result of poor sleep. Sometimes, the solution to back pain is buying a new mattress or using different pillows. Some people end up with acute back pain because they tossed and turned all night. The issue is a bit like the chicken and the egg. Did the back pain cause poor sleep or did poor sleep cause back pain? Studies have found that better sleep does reduce back pain during the day, so it is important to figure out how to get better sleep. 

https://pixabay.com/photos/sleep-pillow-sleepwalking-portrait-2603545/

Some people turn to natural sleep aids to find relief. Fortunately, there are several options. One is to take vitamin C and B6 supplements, as they help the body regulate metabolism which in turn helps with sleep. Another common supplement is melatonin, which taken about 30 minutes before bed can help with falling asleep. L-theanine and valerian can be ingested in tea and both help with relaxation. One other natural sleep aid is cherry juice, as the sweet fruit has an enzyme that promotes sleep. 

About the Author:

Dr. Brent Wells founded Better Health Chiropractic & Physical Rehab in Alaska in 1998. He is currently leading 10,000 Alaskans to more active and pain-free lifestyles without drugs or invasive surgeries. He brings a progressive and highly innovative approach to chiropractic care in Alaska. Dr. Wells continues to further his education with ongoing studies in spine conditions, neurology, physical rehabilitation, biomechanics, occupational ergonomics, whiplash, and brain injury traumatology. He is also a member of the American Chiropractic Association and the American Academy of Spine Physicians.

The power of the chiropractic adjustment is very profound.  However, I often caution patients and the public I encounter to believe any claims that chiropractic adjustments can help treat ear infections, improve immunity, improve digestion, decrease stress and anxiety, and so forth.  This is simply because there is no way to prove that a chiropractic adjustment can have an effect on the structures and physiology of the body in order to achieve this desired result.  If chiropractic adjustments were that effective in treating the above conditions and more, then it would be recognized as a sure-fire way to effectively take care of them and it would work every time — you adjust, and the stress, indigestion, or ear infection is gone.  It doesn’t necessarily work that way.

Each person’s body is “wired” similarly, but not identically.  The network of autonomic plexuses that are strewn across the visceral organs of the body differs from person to person, and the influence of a chiropractic manipulation to the joints of the spine and other areas of the body is unpredictable from person to person.  Simply put, what may work for one person does not necessarily work in the same fashion or with the same effectiveness in another.  That’s why I never really know what the effect of an adjustment is going to be on someone I see for the first time.  For some, when I adjust their neck, their daily headaches vanish or diminish, while for others the same adjustment done in the same way in the same places makes their headaches worse.

There is ample research to prove that chiropractic can be effective in reducing pain and inflammation through the manipulation of the joints, but the research on the effectiveness of chiropractic with other systemic and autonomic functions is not as solid and the evidence is largely lacking.  While chiropractic manipulation can have a systemic effect on the body and normalize unconscious function, predictability is lacking.

This is why in my own office I will certainly entertain the idea of adjusting the spine to regulate and normalize the overall function of the body.  The idea is that by manipulating the spine, we promote normal movement and range of motion in the joints, which then allows the structures which have a relationship with the spine to function as ideally as we can (through manipulation).  For example, if your joints are moving freely with a full range of motion, then it reduces the likelihood or presence of muscle strain and tension, which then reduces the likelihood or presence of inflammatory chemicals, which then reduces the likelihood or presence of irritation to the nerves and the structures they innervate.  So, if we happen to reduce the likelihood or presence of irritation to the nerves that are involved with immune function and your immunity is improved, so be it.  But we cannot predict that adjusting certain areas of the spine is going to lead to improved immune function.

My own personal recommendation is that if you wish to improve and strengthen your immunity, your approach should be multi-faceted and as comprehensive and holistic as possible.  There is no way to prevent yourself from getting sick by improving your immunity.  However, the idea is to have a strong immune system so that when infectious agents enter your body, its own immune defense mechanisms and agents can quickly neutralize and/or eliminate it from the body as quickly and as effectively as possible.  You may get sick, but the intensity and duration may be affected.

A strong immune system starts with proper nutrition and supplementation, to provide your body with the materials it needs to perform its daily functions, eliminate wastes, carry out immunity, detoxify harmful substances, and so forth.  It continues with making sure you get enough sleep, so that your body can repair and recover and dedicate its energy resources to maintenance and protection.  Stress relief is imperative, employing meditation and mindful practices to reduce anxiety and overwhelm, which depletes the immune system and its agents, leaving us vulnerable to infection.

Above and beyond these approaches and practices, employing a team of practitioners to regulate and normalize body function is very helpful.  When you are getting chiropractic adjustments, acupuncture treatments, and massage therapy, you are proactively and preemptively keeping your body function balanced and normalized.  While the conclusive evidence is far and few between that states that these therapies will bolster your immune system, the idea is that you are making sure your body is as free from irritation, stagnation, depression, over-stimulation, restriction, and inflammation as possible.  This allows your body to function as close as it can to its ideal and most efficient state, thus enabling your body to do what it was designed to do — ward off and eliminate harmful infectious agents that are continually bombarding your body each and every day of your life.

If you have any specific questions as far as what supplementation you can use on a daily basis to make sure that your body has what it needs from a nutritional standpoint to perform at an ideal level of functioning, please feel free to reach out to me any time, whether it’s a phone call (920-286-6240), a text (at the same number), a message on Facebook, or by email (victor@animityhealth.com).  I’m always here to help you!

How you can use attention to decrease stress and overwhelm

It’s very easy when you are busy to let the pressure of getting things done (or not getting things done) to cause overwhelm and anxiety. It’s that idea that there are “always things to do” that perpetually leaves us with an unending list and reminder that our work is never done.

We seek an escape from this relentless pressure to perform. We try to find relief by seeking activities which are pleasurable and fun, but despite our best efforts, we still can find ourselves running from pleasure to pleasure and again feel that same “chasing after things” feeling. We end up right back where we started, realizing that we’re too busy!

Struggling to find balance

The challenge of finding balance between our work and home is very real and very difficult. And the more we seek balance, the more stress it can place upon us. You may be reading this, by now asking yourself, “Just what doesn’t cause stress and overwhelm? Everything causes overwhelm!”

Presence is the key

You see, simply striving for things is the cause of unpleasantness. Having a list of things can cause us to be less than happy if we allow the idea of us failing to check everything off our list to be a reminder of our failures or unmet objectives.

Whenever we set ourselves up to have to perform to a certain standard, or accomplish a certain task, only to not meet that objective, we are setting the stages for stress and overwhelm. For example, if we strive to send out thirty thank-you cards by the end of the day, yet fail to do so, that in itself can be a stressor.

It’s the failure to accomplish what we desire that is the source of pain. It is the unmet objective. It’s the reminder that we’ve failed to deliver for high performers that is the source of stress. There is a very real solution to this problem, and it comes from simply using presence as you live your life.

What is presence?

Presence simply is the act of deliberately attending to whatever you are doing at the present moment — that’s it. Whether it’s washing the dishes, typing an email, folding laundry, working to accomplish a “to-do” on a list, or anything else, presence is simply being 100 percent in the moment and engrossed in the present moment.

The reason this works is because you are not thinking about what else is on your list of “to-dos.” You are not focusing on what you didn’t accomplish in the past. You’re not worrying about the future, as it has not yet arrived. When you are engrossed in the present, the only thing that matters is now.

The reality is that this is 100 percent true anyway. There is no past or future — just the now. It’s just that we spend our moments in time travel, worrying about the next ten things we need to do, or reminding ourselves of the last ten failures to deliver on our promises to ourselves, thereby robbing us of the wonderful present moment. In reality, the present is all that exists.

Your mind can only handle one thing at a time. No matter how hard you try, your attention can only be fully placed on one thing in the present moment. The stress and overwhelm comes when you mentally try to juggle multiple things at one time.

How you can put this to practice

Lists are great

We can only do one thing at a time. Write a list of all the things you wish to accomplish. If you want to make this even more powerful, write down six items you wish to complete tomorrow — write them down before you go to bed. Then, one at a time, complete those items the next day. Do one at a time, and only begin the second item after the first is completed, and so forth.

Hand off the overload

Some people find it helpful to take a full inventory of all the things they would like to accomplish, and then realize the improbability of doing it all on their own. Let’s face it — it’s unlikely that we mere mortals can do everything.

Why not divide your list of things to do into two columns? Make one column the things you are going to work on, and then make the other column with items that you know you can’t get to in the near future, but you are giving it up to the “universe” or God, or whatever supernatural presence that is way above and beyond you as far as capability of making things happen.

You’re not going to do it anyway, so why not give it up to a higher power? At least then you have a chance of it happening outside of your own physical doing!

When we find the ability to simply remain in the present moment, we will harness the power it possesses — the calm, the focus, the efficiency, and more. Presence is more than a practice — it’s a tool that we can use every moment of every day to capture the best we have to offer the world we live in.

Why should we continue to agonize over what we need to do? Why not simply choose one thing to focus on, and then see it through, fully engrossed in its beauty, until it is completed? Then, we get to live the wonderful experience again, simply by choosing yet another thing for which we can be present, and do it all over again.

Presence is a gift we can give ourselves, and it is so simple to practice, and so wonderful to experience. Today’s a great day to start.

There are a variety of strategies you can use to help yourself eat less, be more conscious of your eating, and plan ahead of time to reduce overeating and overindulging on the abundance of food placed in front of us during the holidays.  Here are some simple recommendations you can use to help you walk away from your holiday dinner parties feeling less stuffed, less guilty, and much happier about your eating!

In no particular order, here are some strategies you can try this holiday season…

Start the day right

Make sure you eat breakfast – Research shows that those who eat breakfast tend to consume fewer calories throughout the day.

Put the best-for-you options on your plate first – Eating things like salad or soups first can help you regulate how much you eat and help you avoid overeating when the main course is served.

After eating, get up and take a walk – Walking can speed up the rate at which you digest your food.

Going down in size…

Go Small – Taking smaller sips and bites can trick your brain into eating 30 percent fewer calories. Studies show when you nibble your food, chew it longer, and eat slower, your brain believes you’ve eaten more than you really have.

Use smaller plates and utensils – Instead of filling up a dinner plate, try filling up a salad plate instead. Studies show people tend to eat 30 percent less using a smaller plate, and 43 percent less using smaller utensils

Be prepared

Bring your own healthy dish to ensure you have something healthy to eat – If you bring a plate of veggies and hummus, you know that you have a healthy option to pick from no matter what else is being served.

Eat a healthy snack before arriving at the meal – Eating something that is high in fiber and protein can help you come to the meal less “ravenous” and better able to eat mindfully.

Load up on fiber and water-rich foods – This can help prevent you from eating high-calorie foods later on in the day.  A study out of Penn State suggests eating a first-course salad can reduce overall calorie intake at a meal by up to 12 percent. Fiber-rich foods like fruits and vegetables are high in volume and will satisfy hunger, but are lower in calories.

Listen to your body – If you feel about 80 percent full, that is your cue to stop eating.

Be strategic

Put some distance between yourself and munchies and unhealthy snacks – If you stand more than an arm’s length away from those types of foods it’s harder to actually eat them!

Make sure you get enough sleep – Not getting enough sleep can create an imbalance of your satiety hormones, ghrelin and leptin. A recent study found that after a short night’s sleep adults ate about an extra 300 calories and tended to choose higher-fat, higher-calorie foods.

Be wise with wine – Count 1-2-3 when pouring yourself a glass of wine, to get an estimated 5-ounce serving. Don’t rely on just filling up a glass halfway, since many glasses are half full with 10 ounces of wine, which quickly turns that 125-calorie glass into a 250-calorie one. Pour drinks into tall, skinny glasses, not the fat, wide kind. Other studies at Cornell have shown that people are more likely to pour 30 percent more liquid into squatter vessels.

Pop the mints –  When you believe you have had enough to eat, mints can help you put on the brakes and keep you from wanting to eat more.

Be smart and social

Eat with as small of a group as possible – Believe it or not, a study found when you eat with six or more people it can cause you to eat 76 percent more, most likely because meals last longer when more people are present. At a big sit-down supper, try to be the last one to start and the second one to stop eating.

Sit next to a fellow healthy eater or sit next to a slow eater.

Engage in conversation while eating – The more you talk the less food you can put in your mouth.

With family-style meals, wait until all the food is on the table and within sight.  People who make their choices all at once eat about 14 percent less than do those who keep refilling their plates when each dish is passed.

Keep visual reminders of what you ate close by – When you leave your empties near you, you are less likely to eat and drink more.

Help your body

Use digestive aids, such as enzymes and aloe vera juice to assist in digestion and soothe the digestive tract.  We sell both of these at our office

Get chiropractic adjustments – By making sure your body’s neurology is communicating effectively, your body will be better at digesting your food and giving you satiety cues.

 

There you have it.  hope you have an enjoyable (and comfortable) holiday with your family!

 

References:

https://www.realsimple.com/health/nutrition-diet/healthy-eating/eat-healthy-during-holidays

https://www.eatright.org/health/lifestyle/holidays/stay-mindful-with-4-tips-for-holiday-eating

http://www.eatingwell.com/article/279488/5-diet-tips-for-surviving-holiday-parties/

https://www.vitacost.com/blog/cooking-recipe/food-and-drink/12-savvy-ways-to-survive-the-holiday-food-frenzy.html

Photo by Fox from Pexels

We face a certain truth – there are only 24 hours given to us each day.  How we use those hours is at our discretion, of course, but with often-competing commitments and requirements for us to fulfill each day, the amount of time we have left for ourselves is rapidly consumed.

The challenge that we must undertake is to leave enough “in the tank” emotionally and energetically so that we can enjoy a quality of life that is full of joy, fulfillment, happiness, and purpose.  However, for many, the balance between commitments and conveniences is disrupted.  Let’s face it – we have a problem managing what many call the “work-life” balance.

The solution?  Many people look to “compartmentalize” the various aspects of their lives.  When they are at home, they have a “home mode” that they function within so that they can enjoy their time at home.  When they are at work, they compartmentalize perhaps their work as a whole, or even divide up their work tasks into mini compartments and manage things that way.

In my opinion, while compartmentalizing can have its advantages, there are major drawbacks to this energetically and emotionally.  Based on my personal experience, this requires a tremendous amount of energy, simply because one is holding back the energy that seems to permeate through the compartments from the other aspects of life at times.  When at home, work sneaks in sometimes, and when at work, home life can come around too!

But more problematic than the “bleeding through” when it comes to compartmentalizing is that one finds themselves vulnerable to compartmentalizing who they are based on what they do.

Compartmentalize what you do, and overflow with who you are

We risk losing authenticity when we compartmentalize who we are along with what we do.  If someone has an occupation as a manager, compartmentalizing their work and personality as their “work persona” can leave that person coming across as restrained, un-authentic, unfeeling, or uncaring.  This same person may be thinking to themself, “I’m completely the opposite of that!”  Yet, that is what others have come to believe based on their lack of overflowing of who they really are.

So, yes, we can compartmentalize the different aspects of what we do in a day — perhaps when it comes to being a dad, I can be that and do those “dad things,” and when it comes time for me to go to work and teach college students, I can be that and do those “instructor things,” and then when it comes time for me to take care of patients I can be that and do those “healthcare provider things.”

But the glue that holds it all together is who I am.  And this, I’ve found, is the key to managing a heck of a lot in not a heck of a lot of time.

Understanding your core values

“Who we are” is defined by the core values we hold.  What are core values, you ask?  Core values are those “rules” you play by when playing the game of life.  Do you like it when people are dishonest?  If not, then “honesty” is a core value, for example.

If you can define four or five core values that you hold as your own, and live by those values in every aspect of your life, you will overflow the compartments with who you truly are, and let your true self and your great virtues that make you who you are flow authentically through you no matter what you do.

The “I AM” exercise

To help you determine what your core values are, you can simply do the “I AM” exercise.  Here’s how you do it: Grab a piece of paper and a pen or pencil.  On the top of the piece of paper write the words “I AM…” and then think about words that describe you at your very best, free of any flaws or defects.

You may write words like, “generous,” “caring,” “loving,” “friendly, ” “compassionate,” and other virtuous words.  Then, after doing this for a few minutes, circle the four or five you like the most or describe you best.  Those are your values.  If you wrote “generous,” “generosity” is the core value.  If you wrote “loving,” “love” is your core value.

Once you have determined your core values, then just let them shine in everything you do.  Be loving everywhere.  Be generous everywhere and all the time.

When we can overflow who we are, we share the best virtues of ourselves with those that we interact with and have an impact upon every day.  We will help others see us as our authentic selves, and we also will serve as a positive inspiration on others, who will wonder how the heck we can do what we do every day — getting everything in and staying upbeat and positive while doing it all!

It truly is possible to get more done in less time, but usually when we are blessed by the positive virtues you embody each and every day, allowing them to overflow and bless others in their abundance.

One of the biggest challenges we face is having a conscious control over our emotions and our responses to what takes place either internally or externally.  In other words, a major challenge is actually being the way we ideally view ourselves, unshaken and uninfluenced by the things that come along the way in our lives.

Because, let’s face it – we know we want to be more loving, compassionate, and kind but there are events that come along that pull us from those ideal states of being.  We experience frustration, fear, and confusion, among other things, and the emotional experience then pulls us along a path of reaction that does not embody or represent us at our best, exuding love, compassion, and kindness.

So I was asked this the other day: “Just how do we keep our emotions from getting the best of us?”

Awareness is the key to overcoming emotionalism

My response was a suggestion of increased awareness of our emotional experiences.  That’s a great starting point.  It is not the end, by all means, but when we’re looking for any way to get started on having a better handle on our emotional disposition and responses, it’s better than nothing.

The problem with negative emotions is that they are tethered to a need or desire.  A negative emotion is a signal that a desire was not met, or that our preferred progression of events did not unfold as we’d like.  For example, if we want to be on time, but events transpire that lead us to be late, we experience frustration.  The negative emotion had arisen from the desire to be on time, but that didn’t happen, thus the frustration results.

Logic would tell us that we just need to retrace our steps, and I would agree.  The end of the trail is the frustration.  What caused the frustration?  The need to be on time?  What is the cause for the need to be on time?  The answer to that will provide us with the information we’re looking for.

This is where simple awareness can be invaluable for us.  Being aware of the things that are triggering our emotional responses can be paramount to stopping the cascade of events that results in us deviating from an ideal version of ourselves.  This deviation alone can be the cause of further frustration and angst.  So having a clear awareness of what is starting us on the path toward a negative emotion or an emotional response we don’t prefer is the key to overcoming emotionalism.

If your child’s inability to find their shoes in a timely manner was the reason you were late, and you don’t want to be late, your negative emotions are indirectly arising from your child’s lack of timeliness; this lack of timeliness resulted in you not meeting your desire to be on time.  Gaining awareness of this leads us to further inquiry (and awareness).  Next, for example, you could simply ask yourself why it is important for you to be on time?  This will lead to awareness of another aspect of this situation.  Further, you could ask yourself why you need to be attached to that idea of being on time.

Peeling away the layers

It’s sort of like peeling an onion, starting at the surface, and then digging deeper and asking, “Why, why, why?”  Why are you frustrated?  Why do you have the need?  Why can’t you let go of the need?  Why is it important for you to have this need?  The answers to this question will lead you to increased awareness of the situation and put you on the path to dissolving the emotional response.

Finally, one thing you can easily do to also increase your awareness is to detach yourself from the first-person experience of the emotion itself as it is happening.  I would suggest its something akin to watching the event as if it’s on a movie screen rather than through your own eyes in your own body.

If it’s fear you’re experiencing, for example, picture the emotion of fear as a leaf or a log floating on the surface of a river.  The log approaches, passes before you, and then moves away from you as it travels along the river.  If you can visualize that emotion doing the same thing: approaching, passing before you, and then moving away from you, as an object not attached to you, you will find that your own response to the emotion is very different and more manageable.

After the experience passes you then have the opportunity to start peeling away, and asking those “why” questions to help you should that set of circumstances arises in the future.

Awareness is a powerful, yet frequently overlooked tool that we have at our disposal every day and every moment.  Perhaps trying to introduce this tool to your life, especially after having a negative emotional experience, would greatly enhance your life and provide you with the control you would enjoy having over your emotions so that you can share your love, kindness, and compassion with those around you the way you’d prefer.

Photo by Simon Migaj on Unsplash

Have you ever read a book that had such an impact on you that you were never the same after reading it? I’ve been positively impacted by many books, and so I thought I would share my list of the top 6 influential books I’ve read with you. Below is a list of the books that, to date, have impacted my life the most after having read them. Included with the names of the books are links to the books and my explanation as to why these books were impactful for me.

Here they are, in no particular order:

Tribal Leadership: Leveraging Natural Groups to Build a Thriving Organization

Why it was impactful:  This book was instrumental in my understanding of human nature and how we organize ourselves into “tribes” when we work in communities, namely organizational communities.  I learned about how people (and organizations) can settle into “stages” that are both identifiable and predictable, and more interestingly and importantly, how to use leverage to move people to a higher level of functioning to have a positive impact on the organization.  It was by reading this book I learned the importance of core values and what can happen in a negative way when we don’t identify and embrace them.  Whether you are a leader in a business or not, this book can be an eye-opener.  Anyone who works in or for any sort of organization, whether it be a for-profit or non-profit, will benefit tremendously from reading this book.  If you enjoy research-based publications, this one is for you.  The back of the book is loaded with the research that substantiates the observations and conclusions shared throughout the book.

I actually interviewed Dave Logan on my radio show, and if you’d like to hear that interview just click here.

Autobiography of a Yogi

Why it was impactful:  This book introduced me to the work of Paramahansa Yogananda, and through Yogananda, I was introduced to the concept of self-realization.  Self-realization has come to mean to me that I need to search within myself to make a difference on the outside of my life.  Through the personal pursuit of self-realization, I’ve come to seek a personal relationship with God, and I made meditation something that I don’t just talk about, but actually practice regularly (daily).  In the pursuit of self-realization, I’ve reduced my blood pressure, improved my diet, improved my overall health, and have less stress and anger.  I’ve come to recognize God’s grace and God’s presence in everyone and everything in the world.  This book opened the door to the embedded messages in sacred scripture and has allowed me to read these books with a new perspective and forge a closer relationship with God, as well as enhancing my spiritual and physical health.

The Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter and Miracles

Why it was impactful:  Bruce Lipton’s’ breakthrough book shows how our beliefs can switch on and off our genes which can have a positive impact on health.  He also shares a very interesting take on how biology bridges into spirituality later on in the book.  The reason I enjoyed this book so much was because Bruce has a great way of taking difficult concepts and making them easy to understand and blowing your mind at the same time.  For example, he shares how the cell membrane is very similar to a microprocessor and is actually the brain of the cell, not the nucleus like we’ve always been told.  If you’re looking for proof that validates how what we think has a tremendous impact on our physical being, look no further than this book.  You’ll not only learn a lot about science but about how the human body and mind are intertwined and inseparable.

I also interviewed Bruce Lipton on my radio show, and if you’d like to listen to that interview, click here.  Part 2 is found here.

Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life: Life-Changing Tools for Healthy Relationships

Why it was impactful: This book has really changed the way I interact with other people and, quite honestly, has served as the foundation for much of my coaching work, my book, and much of what I do in my work as a speaker and presenter.  Our interactions with other people start with what we say and how we say what we say to others.  This book has shown a new way of communication to me, and it has positively impacted my personal and professional relationships.  It has helped reduce stress and angst in my life, and it has helped me move from expectation to understanding and empathy.  Marshall Rosenberg has really left us a wonderful gift in this book, as he gets us to understand that concepts like “good and bad,” and “right and wrong” don’t belong in our dialogue.  He helps us move from damaging our relationships to saving them through connecting at the heart.  And, to be honest, if you’ve ever watched Marshall in a YouTube video, where he uses his jackal and giraffe puppets or puts on his “special” listening device, you can’t help but laugh in amusement and appreciation for his special way of transforming our interpersonal relationships.  If you’re ever looking for a comprehensive and thorough way to transform your interactions with other people, this book will give you all you need.

Holy Bible

Why it was impactful: When I have struggled for answers, I’ve looked to the Bible for help.  The most refreshing thought about my relationship with the Bible is that even though it has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, I get more out of it now than I ever have.  What I have come to understand about the sacred books is that there are different ways that we can read them.  We can read the book at face value like we would read any other storybook.  If you read the Bible this way you’ll be treated to a story that provides lessons for living along the way.  However, if you read the Bible in a “deeper” way you will pull meaning out of the words that are metaphysical and even more spiritual than meets the eye upon the first read.  The Bible is chock-full of symbolism in its words and stories.  If you’re searching for a deep and personal relationship with God the messages are there, hidden in plain sight.  Once I started reading the Bible with a deeper appreciation for the symbolism and hidden messages in it, it became much more intriguing, educational, and spiritually valuable to be as a guide.  If you have a hard time making sense out of the Bible, I recommend finding a study Bible, which provides interpretations and meanings of the passages throughout the text.

Bhagavad-Gita

Why it was impactful: If you’re not familiar with the Bhagavad-Gita, it is a Hindu scripture – sort of an equivalent to the Bible.  Again, you can read this book from cover to cover like a storybook and be treated to a very compelling story that will provide you with some life lessons.  However, this book was not intended to be read just like a storybook.  The symbolism and references to a deep relationship with God and the pursuit of self-realization are very much alive in this book.  To be honest, because of my Christian background the Bhagavad-Gita was a bit of a confusing read for me at first.  If you are taking it on for the first time and want to get as much benefit as you can from it I recommend that you purchase a version of the text which includes an interpretation of the passages.  Otherwise, the read will be quick and you’ll wonder where the wisdom can be found on the pages.  The link I provided is to a version of the book called “Bhagavad-Gita As It Is,” and it is the most widely used version of the book because of the interpretation that it includes.  For first time Gita readers the translation and explanation will be most valuable.

My Honorable Mentions:

Global Healing: Thinking Outside the Box

 

 

177 Mental Toughness Secrets of the World Class: The Thought Processes, Habits, and Philosophies of the Great Ones

 

The Emotional Life of Your Brain: How Its Unique Patterns Affect the Way You Think, Feel, and Live–and How You Can Change Them

 

Descartes’ Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain

 

The Divine Romance: Collected Talks and Essays on Realizing God in Daily Life – Volume 2

Do you have some books that you think others would enjoy reading? Feel free to share your top influential books in the comments below.  I’d love to see your recommendations!

We all experience pain in its many forms.  Whether it’s physical pain, sadness, anger, frustration, disappointment, shock, confusion, or worry, we’ve come to know pain as an unwelcome guest in our lives.  Pain can frequently visit us in its many versions, as it can pave the way for sleepless nights, arguments, stress, anxiety, or other unpleasant side effects.

But what is pain, really?  What does pain truly represent and mean to us?  When we begin to investigate the nature of pain and its source, we can come to terms with its properties and value to us and see it for what it really is.

Pain provides us with awareness

While we may tend to share the opinion that pain is undesirable, the reality is that pain is neither good nor bad, or desirable or undesirable.  It just is.  When we experience physical pain, we are obviously made aware of physical damage or distress somewhere in or on the body.  Likewise, if we can realize that pain in its other forms, such as sadness or anger, has the capacity to shine a light on an aspect of our life that leads to personal discovery, pain can be a powerful feedback mechanism.  The key to allowing the pain to serve as a feedback mechanism is to dive deeper than the superficial experience of the pain.  While you may feel sadness, you may not be taking the opportunity to really experience it on its many levels and understand what it really is to you.

Pain resides in our passion

Diving deeper with an inquiry into our pain can provide much insight as to why we are experiencing it in the first place.  This provides us with an opportunity to go below the superficial experience of the pain and really gain an understanding of its source.  Upon further investigation, you may come to realize that pain resides in our passion.  When we care so deeply about something, such as being accepted by others, having peace in the world, or kindness between people, if we see a contradiction to or violation of that ideal it causes pain.  For example, if I was passionate about keeping my house clean, and someone comes into my house and makes a mess, I will experience the pain of frustration, anger, resentment, or even sadness.  Because my passion is cleanliness, but I see a contradiction, I experience pain.

Our natural painkiller – Indifference

With the understanding that pain provides us with awareness, and that awareness leads us to discover the passion behind the pain, we can move to resolving it within us.  The long and the short of it is that we can eliminate the pain through indifference, although in practice this is not so easy and takes time and patience.  However, if you can simply develop the awareness of the source of the pain, this is an important step in moving forward along the process of removing the pain from your life.

I suggest that you first find something else in your life about which you are indifferent.  For me, for example, I would say that I am indifferent about NASCAR.  How do I know I’m indifferent about it?  I know because I don’t care about who the drivers are, what races they’re in, when the races are, or who wins.  I have absolutely no interest in the sport, its competitors, or outcome.

Once you find something that you are indifferent about, you can examine the experience of indifference.  Take time to learn what indifference feels like to you, and how it creates a sense of ease and subtle strength.  When you are indifferent you are not affected by an outcome and you feel unattached.

After you have had some time to spend in that indifference, it’s time to return to your passion.  Now you can spend time in the process of inquiry, asking yourself just why this is a passion to you and why it is so important to you to maintain this passion.  Only you can answer these questions, and only you know what your next steps will be.  Sometimes simply understanding the nature of the pain and its source provides comfort and relief of the pain when it comes.  Awareness alone has the capacity to soothe and heal.

The bottom line is that pain is not necessarily bad or undesirable.  It’s something that leads to our awareness if we take the time to understand it.  That awareness can lead us on a path toward the elimination of the pain if we can come to understand the passion in which our pain resides.  Through meditation and contemplation, you can uncover the nature of your pain and its source and determine what the next steps are for you.  Understanding our pain is a journey, but on that path, you may transcend it to experience peace.

Photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/practicalcures/22784724783