Holistic vitality

Maintaining vitality as we age trends the news these days and plenty of websites exist that can show us how to increase physical fitness, keep our minds sharp, and explore our spirituality well beyond our 50s.  This is the holistic approach to health: taking care of mind, body and spirit.  We can work out for three hours a day, but if our minds are dull and uninspired, we won't feel vital and alive.  If we spend all our time pursuing spiritual awareness but our physical bodies are not being taken care of, we will not have the energy to do much of anything outside of meditating.  It may seem a bit overwhelming to have to think about all three of these components all the time.  Think of them as plants that are under our care to survive.  We don't have to pay them constant attention, but we feed them, water them, and check them to make sure they are getting enough sunlight.  The same is true for our minds, bodies and spirits.  They don't require a constant effort, just a little time each day to feed each one.  In this way, we can keep the whole humming along smoothly, with vitality, as each does its part to contribute to our overall health and well being. 

Support systems

We all have support systems around us, whether we recognize them as such or not.  Our peers and colleagues at work, our family, friends, and neighbors, all of these can be thought of as support systems.  If we belong to a hobby group, social networking site, sports team, recovery group, or business association, we can count those as being in our support network as well!  This may leave some scratching their heads, as we don't normally think of these networks as support systems.  The key element in making a network into a support system is this:  we must ask for support in order to receive support!  Hiding within all of these groups of people is a vast wealth of knowledge and skill just waiting to be tapped!  Isn't it nice to think that we aren't really as alone as we think we are as we venture into a new interest, start a business, or set out on a fitness goal?  Everyone loves to share their knowledge in areas in which they excel; people feel good when they help others and when we share with each other, we bond together as humans in the commonality of our experience.  How can you utilize your networks as support systems and how will you ask for support?

We eat what we are

We've all heard the phrase, "You are what you eat."  Meaning, if you aren't eating foods that are good for you, then your body will suffer, go into stress, and you will more than likely get sick.  But have you ever heard the phrase, "You eat what you are?"  Our thought streams often affect how we treat our bodies as well.  For example, if our thoughts focus on negativity, anxiety, things that happened in the past, or worries about the future, chances are pretty good that we will not make healthy choices in what we feed our bodies.  Thoughts lead to feelings which influence actions.  The negative thought streams in our heads create bad feelings which lead us to make unhealthy decisions.  But if this holds true, then the opposite must hold true as well.  If we can change our negative thought streams to positive thought streams, getting us out of that grand canyon of negativity, then we will feel good which will influence actions that support our healthy state of mind and body.  Quite literally, we will eat what we are.  Remember, it is physically impossible to feel bad when you think good thoughts!

Repurposing your inner voice

You know that voice in your head that tells you you're not good enough?  You know the one, the one that says, "You won't find a soul mate" or "You can't do that job" or "You'll never succeed"?  Well, what if I told you that voice is really protecting you?  It's protecting you from heartbreak and failure, sorrow and disappointment.  And if it's protecting you, doesn't that mean it loves you?  After all, it's going to say or do anything to protect you.  Now that's love!  What if you thanked your voice, and told it "it's okay, I've got my own back from now on"?  How would that make you feel?  Maybe a little empowered.  How do you think your inner voice would feel?  Maybe a little relieved!  Now, how would it feel if it had a new job?  What if you repurposed that voice, and all the love behind it, to help you achieve everything you've always wanted? What would that be like for you?  This week, try repurposing your inner voice to support you instead of protect you.  You might be amazed at how eager your voice may be to work along side you instead of standing out front steering you clear of danger and disappointment!

Why?

Inevitably, we ask "Why?"  Why is my life this way?  Why don't I have what I want?  Why am I lonely/unemployed/miserable?  The answer lies not in what is happening to us, but in what is happening inside us.  When our thought streams habitually focus on what is bad in our lives, we blame others for our predicaments, and we look for causes of our suffering in our external world, then we perpetuate those things in our lives.  If we consider ourselves a victim of circumstance, then we will constantly be at the mercy of outside forces.  If we think we are unlovable, then we will have a hard time finding someone who loves us.  If we focus on lack, we will never see the materialization of what we want.  Why?  The answer seems simple:  Energy attracts like energy.  Think of the person who always has a smile on her face, who always thinks positive and who loves life.  She's pretty happy, isn't she?  But what came first, her happy thoughts or her happy life?  They are one and the same.  So if changing our thoughts is the answer, why do so many people continue to choose victimization, lack, and negativity over empowerment, abundance and happiness?  Because they have never tried it.