Renewal

Posted on October 10, 2008 by JanetEisenbise

It seems to me that this past week has brought an unusual bombardment of bad news. And when I’m not hearing the bad news directly, I am hearing people talking about the bad news. There’s lots of fear floating around. My usual intentions not to feed into the fear failed miserably and I found myself waking up for the past three nights around 4AM. Wide awake and unable to roll over and go back to sleep.

Has anything awful happened? Has the sky fallen in? No, not really. But that didn’t stop my monkey mind fantasies from running through my head like a grade B movie run amok. At 4 in the morning there is a general theme of looking for a large cardboard box and a quilt and taking my cats to live with me under a bridge somewhere. You get the drift. Maybe you have been playing similar awful mind movies.

The problem with mind movies is also the key to their magic…if we use them properly. The unconscious mind can’t tell the difference between whether I am really having to pack up my cats to live under the bridge (they aren’t cut out for it) or not. The stress that impacts my mind and body is the same as if it were really happening. And if I am aware and then intentional about those mind movies, then I will also feel the benefit from making up a hopeful and positive one.

So knowing this, here is my plan for the weekend, and I offer it to you. My intention is to relax and to find some renewal over the next few days.

I’m going on a news fast. No TV, radio or newspaper. If the world is going to hell in a hand basket I don’t need to know it before Monday.
I’m getting away for a change of scene. Driving to visit my family for some talking, laughing, cooking and maybe movie watching. I hear that some closet cleaning is on the agenda.
I’m taking a new book to read. The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney. It is my choice for my book group selection for November.
I will do some relaxation and creating of positive mind movies of my life and the world as I am hopeful for it.

So there it is. My plan for a respite from stress. I hope that you will borrow from it and make a plan of your own. However you do it, have a relaxing and renewing weekend.

When You Choose Change

Posted on October 8, 2008 by JanetEisenbise

When you choose to change something in your life, you are no doubt looking for positive effects. Sometimes we get put on notice that we need to change a bad habit or develop a new habit and make a lifestyle change. Lab results from a doctor’s visit, for instance. Or being out of breath walking from the office to your car. Or getting a plea from your anxious child that you quit smoking. Or needing to pay for new tires or the dryer that finally died and not having enough money in your savings account to cover the expense.

Whatever the wake up call, and however well it may motivate you at the time, your sense of urgency will probably turn into something else. We have all made New Years resolutions at some point and then felt them fade from awareness by the end of January. You may be critical and beat yourself up for being undisciplined and lazy and doomed to be stuck in the same rut forever.

What happened to your strong resolve? What happened to that emotional "juice" that was firing you up to reach all the positive effects that you want in your life? Something that is an unavoidable part of the process of change! It is called resistance and is a human reaction that everyone has.

As soon as we choose to change and begin the process, resistance will rear it’s ugly head. When I decided that I was going to walk for 30 minutes five days a week, I got up the first morning and noticed that the weather had turned cool and misty. Better wait until tomorrow. Then I noticed that my walking shoes were old and no doubt needed to be replaced. Better wait until I could get new ones. You get the drift.

While it may be true that it is chilly and damp, and that I could use new walking shoes, I need to recognize that my defense system is just trying to keep things comfortable for me. This is resistance and I can acknowledge it but not take it too seriously. While I want the positive effects of change, I also want the comfort of doing what I always do. I decide to put on a sweatshirt and go out. I can always buy the shoes another day. And in the meantime, literally put one foot in front of the other in choosing to change.

Fall Cleaning

Posted on October 6, 2008 by JanetEisenbise

Does it seem to you that the new year really begins in the fall? It does to me. Probably because of all the years of starting school in the fall. New books, new shoes, a new outfit, new teachers, new classes. All that yet-to-be-written-upon paper, and the year, with its unimagined possibilities stretching out ahead of me.

And then there is that paradoxical seasonal winding down that occurs at the same time. Tomatoes still hanging on the vines, which are withering before our eyes. The leaves are beginning to turn color at the tops of the trees and when the breeze blows, they are starting to fall. What was vital and useful just a few weeks ago isn’t any more.

In traditional Chinese philosophy, of the five elements which describe interactions in nature and in medicine, metal is the element for fall. It is a time for discerning what is valuable and useful and for grieving and letting go of what is not. What may have served our life some time ago might not today. One of the basic principles of feng shui is a clearing out of remnants of the past from the living space.

In order to be healthy and vital and to have living spaces that breathe and allow free movement, we need to remove the clutter that accumulates over time. It is easy to grow so accustomed to clutter that we really don’t notice it. However we are still affected by it. Look at the surfaces of your furniture. What do you see? Open your closets, your drawers and cupboards. Your refrigerator. Notice anything? Anything on the floors? If you are cringing as you finish this little survey, take heart.

Begin with one action step. Choose just one area and limit yourself to that. Get a trash bag and clear it out and head for either the trash can or recycling depending on what it is. Remember that the clothing or household goods that you no longer use or need may be useful to someone else, so it can be donated. After finishing, notice what it looks and feels like to have that little space cleared. If you have time take on another, or set an intention to do the next one tomorrow.

Clearing out is a powerful aspect of making life change. We cannot have new beginnings when we are trapped in the clutter of the old life.

Unplugged

Posted on October 3, 2008 by JanetEisenbise

Anyone who hasn’t been living under a rock for the past month or so has to be aware that there is a lot of news flying around that could make your hair stand on end. We are inundated by stories of car bombings, attacks by warring factions, only recently eclipsed by more stories of the tumbling financial house of cards and the contrary arguments of which political party and candidate can best repair it all.

Wanting to be informed seems to come with a price tag of worry, fear and high stress. There seems to be a lot at stake on the world stage that is mostly beyond our direct control. Most of what we hear is negative and while waiting for the opportunity to vote, there is no direct action to be taken by us. It is easy to feel frustrated, fearful and helpless. Not good for our mental or physical health.

The bombardment of bad news comes at us through television, radio, and the computer. We are reminded of it constantly, and all the electronic gadgetry that is a part of our daily life keeps it in our attention.

It’s Friday and the upcoming weekend offers an opportunity for respite. Consider blocking out a few hours for rest and renewal. Unplug everything. Turn off the electronics, even the ones you consider entertaining or essential. Let your voicemail pick up the calls. Listen to the silence. Better yet, go outdoors to your backyard or a park or the woods and be in nature. Listen to the sounds of nature, and rest your eyes on the scene around you. Breathe the air and feel the sun on your skin.

Allow your body to relax as you breathe deeply. Allow the tension to melt away. Remember that you are a part of nature, just as much as the squirrel or the deer. In this moment you are safe and whole.

Change of Season- Bring on the Soup

Posted on October 1, 2008 by JanetEisenbise

I have to confess that I am a soup fanatic. And now that the temperatures and humidity have finally dropped, I am inspired to make use of the bounty of late summer and make soup! One of the small pleasures of life is coming home after a day at the office and heating up a lovely bowl of homemade soup for supper.

The following recipe was inspired by one I read on epicurious.com, one of my favorite browsing places. One of my sisters says, "Don’t let the recipe be the boss of you," which is sound advice unless you are baking a souffle for the Queen. So I have adapted it to my taste and also to what I had on hand. I aspire to follow good health coaching advice and eat between 5-9 vegetables a day, and also to eat something yellow every day (for the vitamin content; I’m not that much of an artistic fanatic). Whatever your motivation, I hope you will enjoy it too.

Sweet Potato Soup

3 Tablespoons butter or olive oil
3/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 C finely chopped leek, washed well and drained
4 large garlic cloves, minced
3 large carrots, sliced thin
3 large sweet potatoes
1 large russet potato
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
salt, pepper, dried basil

Heat the olive oil and/or butter (I used a little of each) in a large pan. Add the onion, leek, garlic until softened. Then add the sweet and russet potatoes and the stock. Cover and simmer until the potatoes are tender. Puree in small batches in a blender until the mixture is very smooth. Add more broth or water until the soup is of desired consistency. Season to taste. I like lots of pepper.

Note: One of the best kitchen gadgets I have aquired lately was a submersable blender. I must tell you that while this has made my soup making life much easier because I no longer have to dirty up the blender and avoid burning myself transfering it from pot to blender to the other pot, I rountinely decorate the front of my shirt and backsplash with samples of the soup. I’m sure I will get the hang of neater blending soon.