Loving Kindness -

I enjoyed the exercise of loving-kindness; the discipline that it takes to relax and focus just for 15 minutes was challenging, yet, invigorating. With the business of our lives today, more than ever we should make the time for ourselves, for meditation, prayer, I like to refer to it as “quiet time.”

These times are very beneficial. It offers the space to explore your thoughts, look and listen for solutions, offer forgiveness, ask for forgiveness. And, of course send loving-kindness to your sphere of influence.

This wasn’t difficult, but, because of my extensive Christian training, I had to substitute different thoughts, than what was suggested. Example – taking in a love-ones suffering and allowing it to dissolve in your heart – My former teaching says, that the burden/suffering should be placed at the feet of Christ. So that’s what I did. See the gospel of Matthew 11:28-30. 

I would recommend this exercise of loving-kindness. As it was noted, when you offer loving kindness, loving kindness is given back to you. I love the notion of diminishing our self-centeredness to the benefit of others.

In today’s society we love to jog, play golf and tennis; go to the gym to get a good workout. Well, the same must be done with our delicate, yet strong and expandable minds. They must be used, trained and exercised, at least an hour a day. The whole story is still unwritten relative to the full capacity of the human mind. But, what we do know is that a positive calming thought life will promote a strong physical body.               

Holistic Personal Inventory –

1. Based on your reflections, and on a scale of 1 to 10 (ten being optimal wellbeing), where do you rate your A-physical wellbeing, B-spiritual well-being, C-psychological well-being? Why?

     a. Physical wellbeing: 8

     b. Spiritual wellbeing: 6

     c. Psychological wellbeing: 8

2. Develop a goal for yourself in each area (physical, spiritual, psychological).

    a. Physical wellbeing: My ultimate goal is to lose a few more pounds.

    b. Spiritual wellbeing: Continue to build a good foundation that a future [spiritual] superstructure may one day sit.

    c. Psychological wellbeing: Increase knowledge on various subjects. To have emotional balance.

3. What activities or exercise can you implement in your life to assist in moving toward each goal?

    a. Physical well being: Eat less and exercise more; I will continue to see my personal trainer, and monitor calories intake versus calories expenditure.

    b. Spiritual wellbeing: Make myself available for bible studies and meditation time. Do a better job at listening to others.

    c. Psychological wellbeing: Continue to study various topics, keeping my head down in these studies      will help; staying emotional balance will require, not letting the lows of life, take me too low and     contrastingly not letting the highs of life, take me too high. Staying grounded.

4. The Crime of the Century, the relaxation exercise and my experience. (Was it beneficial? Frustrating? etc.)

An odd title for a relaxation exercise, “Crime of the Century”, although, the meditation and imagery of the exercise was energizing – the deep slow breathing prepare me for the meditation, as the narrator suggested each colors with it’s corresponding body locations and their attributes, in my visual I added things that I wanted to accomplish in life. I’m a big believer that whatever it is that you are trying to achieve in life, that you need to first see it on the inside, to realize it on the outside. So then, there are two victories and two wars, the one on the inside and the one on the outside.

Juice of the Week

Cucumber, apple and beets: 1 small beet with stems and leaves, 1 large cucumber, and 2 apples. Push beet first through the hopper, then apple(s), and then the cucumber last to wash the strainer of the red beet juice. This is a great thirst quencher for the hot weather, the cucumber if flushed with many trace minerals and salts. The beet is one of your finest iron sources.          

Test your knowledge, just for fun!

Please match terms:

A. Broccoli                                ___ Brain berries

B. Oranges                                 ___ Whole grains

C. Spinach                                 ___ Phyto-omega 3 fatty acids

D. Blueberries                             ___ Lactose intolerance                      

E. Pumpkin                                ___ Legumes

F. Turkey                                  ___ Cruciferous

G. Soy                                      ___  Lycopene 

H. Yogurt                                  ___ Remember Popeye

I.  Walnuts                                ___ Carotenoids

J. Wild Salmon                         ___ Low fat protein

K. Tea                                      ___ Marine-omega 3 fatty acids

L. Beans                                   ___ Pre & Pro-biotics

M. Tomatoes                           ___ 83 milligrams of vitamin C                      

N. Oats                                    ___ 2700 BC

Answers next week –

My Relaxation Journey

Everyone experiences stress in their lives, we get tensed or nervous before a big event. The relaxation exercise, using the Power of Suggestion, is a proven method that can be used to relieve the stress in our lives.

While listening to the video, I stretched out on the floor, following the cues, I was able to calm my mind, and then relax my muscles. Like any exercise this does require practice.    

Hello everyone,

Welcome to my very first blog…

One of my favorite subjects [the Power of Juicing] is the ability to render fresh vegetables and fruits into a healthy great tasting drink. Today, I juiced a simple combination, apple, yellow bell pepper, parsley, and ginger, awesome!    

Apples – packed with vitamin A, and potassium. Right below the skin of an apple, there’s an enzyme called pectin, which is great for the digestive system.

Yellow & Orange bell pepper – has 350 mg of vitamin C, where a medium navel orange has only about 80 mg of vitamin C.   

Parsley – Also packed with vitamin C & A, plus folate (folic) acid, here this…

Fights cancer. Parsley contains volatile oils that have been found to inhibit tumor formation in animal studies, particularly those in the lungs. The oils are not only cancer-fighting, they're also known to neutralize carcinogens including those found in cigarette smoke and charcoal grill smoke. Parsley also contains folic acid, which has been found to help prevent colon and cervical cancers (sixwise.com, n.d.).

Ginger - Scientific name: Zingiber officinale. I love this spicy root because it gives me energy. It’s full of properties such as phyto-chemicals that are known to fight many diseases.

Sixwise.com, (n.d). The Amazing Health Benefits of Parsley. Retrieved from

            http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/07/01/23/the-amazing-health-benefits-of-

            parsley.htm