Stay in Touch - Health
healthy lifestyle is something we would all like. To achieve this we need, knowledge, discipline and an ability to change.
Looking at knowledge first.
We might think that regular exercise and a good diet would be enough to give us a healthy life. On the physical level it would go a long way to doing just that.
As well as a body we also have a mind, soul and a spirit, which create emotional, mental and spiritual aspects to our human experience.
So we need to understand and know all these aspects to reach optimum health. Our emotions and mental ability play a major role in achieving a healthy life, if they are negative we will attract negative energy that in turn will leave us open to a wide range of dis-ease within the physical body.
If they are positive with a good diet and regular exercise we are almost there.
Our awareness and understanding of the spiritual takes the experience to a holistic level, this gives us lots of energy in reaching our goal, optimum health.
We could live a very healthy life without the spiritual aspect, but for me it is a very enjoyable bonus to what is already a beautiful life,It raises it to a holistic level.
It has no boundaries and it do’s not judge or blame, it is just there for all of us to embrace.
It has given me more fulfillment in life than anything I have experienced on my materialistic side.
Discipline.
This is very important because without it we would not be able to exercise regularly and stay on a healthy diet.
It keeps us focused on our goals in life.
On the spiritual part of our journey, it helps us with meditation, yoga and other spiritual practice’s which teaches us how to relax and stretch to deal with the stresses and strains of daily life .
Change.
If we allow change to happen in our life this will create a free spirited nature. A natural flow is good for all the above aspects of our life, as we do not become stuck. We will be able to work through our issues on all levels.
Change creates a flexibility that is good for the mind body and spirit, change teaches us to let go, to live in the now and go with the flow.
Looking back over the last 15 years the above three aspects have played a important role in making that time a beautiful journey and before I knew it I found myself, on a holistic level feeling healthier than I have ever done before.
Over the last 15 years and now in 2007 at the age of 57 I have lots of energy and feel very light. I look forward to each day and it is a joy to be alive.
This all started with Transcendental Meditation, this gave me time to myself.
This strengthened my discipline, it also gave me a knowledge in not only finding my true self and my path but also to teach me how to deal with the stress’s of life on a daily basis. It also opened me up to a new understanding about the spiritual aspects of life.
15 years on the spiritual is still filling me with joy and amazement.
Up until I was 42, my life seemed a struggle with lots of problems, I never really had control of it. I had backache, toothache and most of all earache from various aspects of the materialistic world that I was living in.
I was chasing a false materialistic dream which created a negative energy around money, this was supposed to make me happy and fulfilled, it did neither. It left me with a broken marriage, my life turned upside down and I felt a bit of a failure.
During the next 5 years I bumped into many other spiritual theories and practices, so much so that I was embracing the spiritual too much and separating myself from the materialistic world that I was living in.
I realized that I was living in a materialistic world and to ignore that was not healthy so I started to focus on bringing into balance both the spiritual and the materialistic.
I was angry and resented the negativity of materialism, this I realized was keeping me negative.
This is an on going issue in my life, especially when I am in England. The negativity and materialistic energy there, is very challenging for me.
By embracing the spiritual aspects of life I see a much more beautiful world than the media show us.
For me other aspects that I believe are important to living a healthy life style are.
EXERCISE.
Regular exercise is very important. For me yoga, 20 minutes every morning has been great for stretching me out ready for my day as a carpenter, it also allows me to be flexible during my day.
When I am in England I try to swim 4 times a week, it is great for suppleness and again flexibility.
Also allowing change to happen in my life is good with exercise.
I do not always swim, in New Zealand where I mostly live, during the winter I ski, and in the summer I walk and spend a lot of time on my mountain bike.
Varying my exercise stops it from becoming boring, each activity will strengthen and build different aspects of the body, mind and spirit.
Again doing exercise on a regular basis replaces the time when I used to sit and watch TV (stuck in a moment) now it gets me out of the house, and enjoying the environment that I live in, whether at the pool or out in the countryside.
DIET.
I have allowed change to happen in the last 15 years of my life, this has seen me become almost a vegetarian, eating fish occasionally.
Over the years I have been very conscious of additives and preservatives in the foods I buy, then about 4 years ago with the GMO's becoming a issue organics came into play.
While I am back in England organics is available in all the supermarkets, the choice is great, my shopping is 90% organic.
I know by buying this way I do not have to worry about what is in the foods, especially with GM foods trying to get into our food chain.
We live on an organic planet and if we are to respect this beautiful planet that we are looking after, it would be beneficial on all levels to be as organic as we can.
CHANGE.
Whether we are aware of it or not change is happening every moment of the day. We can either change for the better or for the worse, we can stay on the negative path or we can change to a more positive one.
All the above aspects of exercise, good diet and discipline in our materialistic and spiritual world will create positive change. If we stay on the negative path it will be difficult to enjoy a healthy lifestyle.
What we put out we will get back.
One final thing I would like to say which has been a important part of me taking back control and responsibility for my own life.
Through sharing circles I have come to realize that every body has their own path and their issues are theirs. The circles taught me not to take on board their stuff but just be there and support them through their stuff.
If we take on board other peoples stuff and react negatively, it creates more load for us to carry and through the circles and its process by releasing and resolving our issues our body becomes lighter and more flexible.
Remember we all have a choice in what direction we take, which one are you taking.