Insights – Melannie Thomas

Archive for the ‘Health & Healing’ Category

Mindfulness is focusing on the present moment, on the now.  It means bringing conscious mind, day-dreaming mind, the deeper mind…the whole self, including it’s shadow aspects,  fully into the moment.

Nothing, no thing we do is unimportant.  From the simple act of tying a shoe to the more complex actions and decisions that living demands, all are important. 

As with meditation, breathing is essential…mindful breathing.  Focus on each breath.  Bring the full attention of your whole self to the rhythm of your breathing.  You will experience distraction, and when you do, bring the fullness of your attention back the passage of your breath.  As you practice, focusing will become easier.  The mind begins to clear, anxiety eases, a sense of peace and well-being grows steadily.  You can achieve a deeper harmony with the Divine.  Life gets better regardless of what is happening around you.

Bringing mindfulness and meditation together in daily practice is free.  And the investment of time and energy will pay great dividends.

Finding your ‘meditation style’ can be so challenging that many of us often end up believing that we just can’t do it; that meditation is just not our cup of tea.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary (2004) lists as the second definition for meditate,  “…to engage in deep mental exercise directed toward a heightened level of spiritual awareness.”

There are many approaches to and styles of meditation geared toward helping us to achieve greater spiritual awareness and connection with the Divine.  But before you choose a particular discipline, it is vital that you identify what kind of meditator you are.  Are you a passive or active meditator?  An active meditation style will find frustration and failure in passive methods, and, likewise a passive meditator in active styles.

An example of passive meditation would be sitting as still as possible  in a place of quietude and breathing into that place of oneness.  Toning, chanting and music may or may not accompany.  A good example of active meditation can be found in the walking meditations of Thich Nhat Hanh.  Breathing is essential to all meditation practices, and no less so in active meditations.

If you have a personal, spiritual goal of attaining a stronger spiritual connection and heightened level of awareness, then I wholeheartedly encourage  your exploration into discovering your meditation style.

Everyone worries.  We worry because we do not know what is going to happen to us, our children, our friends, our jobs, our health, our future, our planet.  Worry is more than a useless emotional endeavor.  Worry creates stress. Worry affects our physical, emotional, spiritual health and well-being.  Worry robs us of living life to it’s fullest.   Worry steals precious moments  from our lives and those moments are unrecoverable.

Ask yourself if worry has ever helped you?  Has worrying ever changed an outcome or made you feel better, happier or safer?  I am confident that the answer is no.

Worry presents an opportunity to practice mastery over our emotions.  Fears and worries arise spontaneously, coming and going as they please.  Our task then, is to interrupt the fear, acknowledge the worry, and then replace them with thoughts, words and emotions that are faith-based and positive.  Inner peace comes from accepting that whatever the future may bring, you will have the strength, wisdom and courage to manage the circumstances well.  You will also be in a position to fully enjoy the good, the pleasant, the quiet and the awesome moments of beingness.

We so often hear that laughter is the best medicine.  There is ample evidence, Maryland Medical Center; Psychology Today, April 2005; Helpguide.org, to name but a few resources, that make a good case for the health benefits of laughter.

Laughter can help protect our heart, enhance the immune system, reduce stress, release endorphins in the brain, reduce pain and/or discomfort, and even lower our blood-sugar levels.

Once begun, laughter is contagious and is spurred on by the laughter of others.  We have all had the experience of connecting with another person and getting the giggles.

Last week’s blog dealt with Crisis Fatigue.  To share some healthy laughter felt like a good thing to do. This week I am including a generous slice of humor.  I hope this brings you a few good laughs.

‘A turtle is crossing the road when he is mugged by two snails.  When the police show up, they ask him what happened.  The shaken turtle replies, “I don’t know.  It all happened so fast.”‘

‘Why don’t scientists trust atoms? Because they make up everything’.

‘I took my eight year old girl to the office with me on, ‘Take Your Kid to Work Day’.  As we were walking around the office, she started crying and getting very cranky, so I asked her what was wrong.  As my co-workers gathered round, she sobbed loudly, “Daddy, where are all the clowns that you said you worked with?!”‘

And…

‘An old man is met by his attorney, and is told he is going to be audited.  He rides to the IRS office with his attorney, and when he gets there, he begins to talk with the IRS agent.  “I’ll bet you $2000 I can bite my own eye!”  The IRS agent agrees to the bet, believing it an impossible task.

The old man laughs, pulls out his glass eye and bites it.  The IRS agent is dumbfounded.  The old man then bets $3000 that he can bite his other eye.  The IRS agent knows there is no way possible to do this, so once more he agrees.  The old man cackles, pulls out his dentures, and bites his eye.

Then the old man offers a final wager.  “I’ll bet $20,000 I can stand on the far side of your desk, pee over the desk, and get it into your wastebasket without spilling a drop.  The agent is absolutely positive the old man can’t do it, so one more time he agrees.

The old man indeed misses, peeing all over the desk and the paperwork.  The IRS agent jumps for joy, but then notices the attorney in the corner moaning.  “Are you all right?” asks the agent.

“NO!  On the way over here he bet me $400,000 that he could pee all over you desk and you’d be happy about it!”‘

Enjoy the laughter!!

Blessings!

As we approach the New Moon in Virgo on Wednesday, September 8, it is a good time for assessing, reflecting and ‘giving thanks’.  I invite you to focus on the more intangible aspects of life. 

In this challenging economic climate, with so much attention and demand on finding successful strategies for survival, we sometimes forget to acknowledge the gifts of family, of friends, of community and of the Spirit.

Take a few moments today to breathe deeply, center, relax, and put on an attitude of gratitude.  Find that one thing, or those several things that you are glad to have in your life; and Give Thanks.

Looking at our future from this moment of time can be frightening and overwhelming.  We are suspended in a seemingly unending COVID-19 nightmare, a profound disturbance in our normality.

The future is fluid; very little is set in stone.  Part of our future is determined by circumstances, part by ‘fate’ and then there is ‘free-will’; our personal effort and commitment and the consequence of our decisions or lack of decisiveness.  As 2021 begins it is a good time to take a personal inventory and make plans for your future.

I invite you to do an exercise of intention.  Create some quiet, centered, personal space, and write a letter to yourself  from the future you desire.  The focus can be in your career, your relationships, personal habits you want to overcome, and/or personal goals you would like to achieve.  You can address one issue or multiple issues.  Be as specific as possible not only regarding the end result, but also with the behaviors it will take to accomplish these goals.

Be realistic.  Be thoughtful.  Be kind.  As you write your letter treat yourself with respect and encouragement.  Affirm and support yourself.  Acknowledge your fears, soothe and remove them, choose to entertain faith, not fear.  Create a neat, clean document because you deserve  to be the recipient of a beautifully written letter from your future.

When you are finished, put the letter in an envelope and address it to yourself.  Then give it to a trusted friend, asking them to mail it to you in one month.  Do not omit this important step.

In this exercise, you will have set and defined your intention, and created usable strategies for attaining your future goals.

Start now…your future is waiting!

Blessings!

As the weather starts to improve, I am spending more and more time in the garden.  Pulling weeds, working with the soil, planting seeds, choosing from the beautiful array of flowers, planting, and transplanting is such a delightful process for me. 

I took all my herbs out of my ‘herb’ barrel because the Rosemary had taken over.  Now all my herbs are in single pots.  I couldn’t find  tarragon starts, so I planted seeds and they are doing great.

Gardening offers benefit beyond excercise and the reward of fruit, vegetables and flowers.  Grounding your energy into the earth, touching nature, experiencing the miracle of renewal is food for the soul.  Even ‘mindful weeding’ is a most relaxing activity. 

Regardless of how small a space you have available, you can grow a flower, a tree or some veges.  Although I live on an acre, I container garden. Dwarf fruit trees, vegetables, strawberries, roses, and a variety of flowers and flowering schrubs provide me with endless hours of meditative comtemplation, focused attention and very welcome relaxation.  Won’t you join me?

Life Coaching, Career Coaching, Business Coaching and Spiritual Guidance/Coaching are becoming more mainstream as people struggle with our down economy.  People are  seeking new ways of achieving their personal and professional goals.

Although we all have the answers within us, a skilled Coach can draw them out and help direct us to solutions that not only suit who we are, but put our feet squarely on our path.

“Thank you so much for your insights and your seamless perceptions.  It is so helpful to me.”   Carol S.

The Coaching process can be defined as a ‘creative partnership’.  I have been Life Coaching for several years.  It is one of the most rewarding aspects of my business.

“I place so much value on your kindness, insight and wisdom which has always been so validating to me.  Thank you for being honest with me .  I hope you know how much you are appreciated!”  Kerry H.

I will be Reading Signatures at the Sebastopol Farmer’s Market on Sunday May 30. This reminded me that I have been ‘reading signatures’ for more than 35 years. It is quite an amazing gift; and what I do is purely intuitive.

However, there is the field of scientific handwriting analysis that is used in the Criminal Justice system and also by Companies and Corporations seeking to screen potential employees. The oldest and most widely recognized school for teaching ‘grapho-analysis’ is IGAS. There is also ‘Grapho-Theraputics’, which is a handwriting therapy.

Although I was very attracted to the scientific method, I long ago had to make a decision to go in one direction or the other. I decided to stay with my intuitive style. It was the right choice for me, my career and the clientele I serve.

On this special day I invite you to take some time to acknowledge, remember and honor family, friends and the fallen heros that have served our country.