Daily Intention – Healthy Body – Healthy Mind…

Part six in a ten part series - By Cindy Graham

“Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”  

~World Health Organization

Being in good health is a desirable state for everyone – right?  No one wants to be unhealthy.  If this is true, then why do so many people turn their head and look the other way when it comes to doing the necessary things to attain good health?  I believe that we have to balance our desire to have fun, cut loose and throw caution to the wind, with sound, proven and sustainable healthy habits.  Is this easy?  No, of course not, otherwise there would no illness, suffering and disease.  We do however, have the capacity to find balance and live a healthy, fulfilled, exciting life by keeping our minds in sync with our bodies.

I know from experience that my desires towards good health are always positive, sound and attainable – but I seem to get off track very easily.  My best laid plans can go wrong in the wink of an eye and suddenly, I am not sticking to the plans I created for the day.  This is because my mind and body are not in sync.  You know that little voice in your head that tells you it’s OK to watch TV rather than go for a walk?  Or that same voice that tells you it’s OK to have one cookie since you deserve it (and that one cookie always turns into more!).  Once you cross that line and decide to give in, the whole day goes in the toilet and from there you can’t seem to stick to any plan at all.

Why are we like this? Why are we weak and unable to create discipline about something as important as our health?  It’s simply because we are easily distracted – and when we are distracted, our mind can create a separate set of plans.  Yes, when our mind and our bodies are out of sync, we sabotage our desire to do the right thing.

In order to achieve our health goals we must take the necessary steps on the journey of discipline and not allow distractions to get in the way. Yes, it’s focus and balance in harmony with our body and our mind that will allow us to stay on track and be successful.  It is the setting of a daily intention that will keep us on track.  When you start your day with a specific and measurable daily intention, you plant the seed in your mind and your body will follow along with the plan.  If you start your day without any intention, then you start out sloppy and will not achieve any specific health goal because none have been set.  You must set your mind and body up for success daily!

For example, you wake up in the morning and you decide that your intention for the day will be to only eat whole foods and drink 64 oz of water.  You will also wear your pedometer and review it every 90 minutes to ensure you are moving enough.  It’s that easy.  Set the intention, mediate and visualize how the day will look and then start your day!  Because you have set this up and thought it through, you are armed to have a successful and healthy day.  You can adjust your daily intention as needed by listening to what your body and health needs are.

Most people need something to help keep them on track – gentle reminders to prompt them during the day – so that distractions don’t derail their plans.  Solution: the meaning to pause® bracelet.  This bracelet gently and privately vibrates every 90 minutes with a friendly nudge to keep you on track and mindful of your daily intention to make a mind and body health connection and stay on track!  This bracelet holds the key to keeping you focused on your daily intention and helps you stay focused and balanced during hectic and busy days.

For more information go to: www.meaningtopause.com

“Every human being is the author of his own health or disease.”

--Buddha

Daily Intention - Prayer and Meditation

Part five in a ten part series - By Cindy Graham

“Prayer is more than meditation.  In meditation, the source of strength is one’s self.  When one prays, he goes to a source of strength greater than his own.”  - Madame de Stael

I read a great short story the other day about a family and their “5 minute rule.” The four children in the family had to be ready for school 5 minutes before it was time to leave each day. They would gather around their Mom, and she would pray for each one by name, asking for the Lord’s blessing on their day. Then she’d give them each a kiss and off they’d run.  What a great ritual to start every day and what a blessing to have a Mom that demonstrated such importance of gathering and pausing before the start of every day!  This Mother was setting a daily intention for her family.  When you start your day with quiet time to call out what you want for that day – it’s setting a daily intention.   

Why are mediation and prayer important?  Because silent spiritual reflection is a core need of every single human being.  You can fight it and you can ignore it but the lack of meaningful quiet time to pray, reflect or meditate will catch up with you eventually.  When it does, you will feel a troubling sense of emptiness accompanied by fear, uneasiness and doubt.  For many people this does not happen until late in life.  I saw this in the eyes of my troubled 95 year old Grandfather.  To this day, it haunts me that he left this earth without any spiritual connection to anything.

Today, there is so much NOISE around us that silent reflection can be a challenge…but it is possible.  You can fill your day with many refreshing and calming moments of quiet reflection by getting into the good habit of pausing several times in the day to step aside of what you are doing and give yourself the gift of brief but meaningful silence. This is why setting a daily intention of meditation or prayer is so critical.  If you start your day with a 1, 5 or 10 minute intention setting session, you are armed and set for the day. Let’s determine what category you fall under so that you can identify your starting place.  Each of us fits into one of three categories:

1.        Master - You are a prayer and meditation master!  You pause many times every day to quietly reflect, pray and meditate.  You are a joyous, fulfilled, kind, compassionate, loving human and you have a deep and meaningful understanding of your part in this world. 

2.        Drifter - You do pray and meditate but you drift in and out – never finding a consistent rhythm. You either allow the noise and busyness of the day to rule your life -- or when things are going well you stop because you feel you don't need meditation or prayer any longer….until the next problem or challenge comes up in your life and you begin again.

3.        Searching - Deep inside you know something is not right – you’re hoping the emptiness and uncertainty will eventually go away.  You do not engage in any quiet reflection, prayer or meditation.  You avoid exploring the meaning of “eternity” and the haunting echo in your soul.

Most of us fall under the category of “drifter.”  The good news is that we can change!  We can choose to do and be anything we want.  If you want to get better at prayer and meditation – you can.  You just need to set your daily intention to prayer and meditation and then start your journey -- perhaps even starting your own “5 minute rule” every morning.

Most people need something to help keep them on track – gentle reminders to prompt them during the day to pause – so that distractions don’t derail them.  Solution: the meaning to pause® bracelet.  This bracelet gently and privately vibrates every 90 minutes with a friendly nudge to keep you on track and mindful of your daily intention to meditate, pray or reflect.  This bracelet holds the key to keeping you focused on your daily intention and helps you stay true to your commitment to allow for quiet time during your hectic and busy days.

For more information go to: www.meaningtopause.com

“The value of consistent prayer is not that He will hear us,

but that we will hear Him.”  ~William McGill

Daily Intention – Living in the Present Moment

Part four in a ten part series - By Cindy Graham

“The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.”  ~Buddha

It seems as if there is a lot of hype about living in the present moment today. Funny thing is….the concept is nothing new. Buddha knew the key to living a healthy and fulfilled life was to live in the present moment and he was born sometime before 1887.

Living in the present moment is how we were meant to live, but as we’ve evolved, we’ve lost the ability to do this. Many “life experts” believe this is the core reason we are a confused, unhappy, sick, and dysfunctional society. Thanks to life experts like Eckhart Tolle, we’ve been able to really define what living in the present moment means and we can examine it closely by addressing what it isn’t. It’s not dwelling on the past or worrying about the future.

Very simply – living in the present moment is about living in the now by being more aware and focused on what you are doing. If you are washing your car, then you are not thinking about anything else but washing your car. Sound boring? That’s because the life we live in today requires each of us to do 10 things at once – it’s called multitasking…and many people brag about being able to multitask. It’s a shame that a life zapper such as multitasking has been given a gold star of efficiency!

Test yourself: think about a time or a place where you have had a peaceful and calming feeling. Maybe walking on the beach at night or gardening with the birds singing or hiking amongst Redwood trees in the still of the forest. When you do these things, you are focused on them and nothing else – you are in the moment – and you are pleasantly aware of your surroundings. You’re not making lists in your mind, talking on the phone and worrying about your job.

The key to getting into the present is to fully pause and be aware of what you are doing, thinking, saying or even how you are breathing, so that you can shift to a deeper level of awareness. When you become aware of everything around you and in you – then you are in the present moment. When you stay out of the past and the future, you can find balance and joy in the present moment. The longer you can stay in that present moment, the better. Life’s normal distractions will somehow snap us all out of our comfortable present moment blanket – but with practice, you can learn to soak up the present moment and appreciate the grace and beauty of all that life has to offer.

Give yourself some time to learn this – there is no right or wrong and there are no time requirements. You can be mindful of the present moment for 5 seconds or 30 minutes – or better yet, all day! The important thing is to make the connection when you are prompted. Choose to do something calming and special rather than choosing to do nothing at all.

It is perfectly normal for your mind to wander after a few moments of being in the present moment – it happens to all of us. Don't get discouraged and stop the practice – stay with it. It might make sense to think of mindfulness in this way: If your mind wanders away from the present moment, mindfulness is really about bringing your attention back to the present moment. It’s an ebb and flow that is easy and light. Think of this process like the beach. Your body is the sandy shore and your mind is the tide. When you are in the present moment, the beach is soaking in the water that has just come in. That water might stay there or it might go back out to sea….if it does it’s OK….pause and bring the water back onto the shore. Light and easy….ebb and flow…

Most people need something to keep them on track – so that they are mindful and aware all day of their intention to be in the present moment – so that distractions don’t derail them. They need something to help them remember; something that provides reminder points during the day so that they stay in the present. Solution: the meaning to pause® bracelet. This bracelet gently and privately vibrates every 90 minutes with a friendly nudge to keep you on track and mindful of your daily intention to be in the present. This simple and inexpensive bracelet holds the key to keeping you focused on your daily intention of living in the now – the present moment!

For more information go to:

http://www.meaningtopause.com/

“Living in the moment brings you a sense of reverence for all of life's blessings.”    - Oprah Winfrey

Daily Intention – Kindness

Part three in a ten part series - By Cindy Graham

“Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile.”
--Mother Teresa




It might seem odd to read an article on how to be more kind….but pause and ask yourself if you could be better at it. We all want to believe that we are genuinely proficient at this important subject, but if we are honest we will admit that we are good at this…..sometimes – when it’s convenient. There, I said it – and now that the truth has been revealed, let’s explore how setting a simple daily intention can help us become a more kind and genuine human being.

The bracelet in the picture says it all; Kindness begins with me. You are in control of how you act, what you think, what you say and do…so kindness is something you can represent. You have a choice when engaging with people…you can choose to be kind or you can choose not to be. Most of the time, we are all so busy (rushing around) that we aren’t even conscious of whether or not we are being kind.

For the sake of simplifying, here are some other words to describe kind; caring, sympathetic, nice, gentle, thoughtful, compassionate, humane, and considerate. WOW – kindness is a whole lot of good!

For a moment think about how it feels when someone is kind to you. When someone does something nice for me, it makes me remember that I want to be like that to other people! It’s been scientifically proven that when another human being witnesses a random act of kindness, their health, well being and mood is greatly improved. Think about how you feel when you come out of a movie regarding the goodness of humanity….and how much you want that feeling to stay with you. It’s because we really want to live in a world where we are all kind and good to each other…and it all starts with you.

There is a Greek proverb that states: “kindness begets kindness” which is also similar to “as you sow, so shall you reap." These sayings have been around since the start of man…and with good reason – they are rock solid truth! When you put kindness into everything you do, say and touch, it will come back to you 20 fold! Ready to give it a try….just one day is all it should take to get hooked on kindness!

Begin each morning with a 5 minute meditation on your daily intention of kindness. Sit quietly and envision yourself being kind, compassionate, gentle, caring and considerate with all people you come in contact with. Think of some things you can do to help others at work, think of places you can perform some random acts of kindness, picture yourself smiling throughout the day – passing the goodness from person to person – creating a ripple effect.

Once you’ve set your intention, you’ll need to perform self checks throughout the day so that you stay on track and don’t get distracted. It’s human nature to lose focus and become sidetracked in the busy lifestyle we live in today. This is why most people fail at keeping commitments – the distractions are everywhere in this overly modern, high tech, noisy society.

Should you find that you need some help staying focused on your daily intention, consider the meaning to pause® bracelet to provide regular, gentle reminders. The bracelet gently and privately vibrates every 90 minutes with a friendly nudge to be mindful of your daily intention of kindness. This simple and inexpensive bracelet holds the key to keeping you focused on your intention – all day long. The bracelet was created to help people pause and connect to something meaningful….and what’s more meaningful than kindness?

For more information go to: www.meaningtopause.com

 

“When we feel love and kindness toward others, it not only makes others feel loved and cared

for, but it helps us also to develop inner happiness and peace.”     -Dalai Lama

When we are kind, caring people, we feel good about our own life and we are contributing to the well-being of everyone around us! Living with the daily intention of kindness is good for you, good for your family, good for your community and good for our world!

LIVE WITH INTENTION – Kindness begins with YOU!

A gift from the storm...

Here's the gift from the storm!  If you take the time to PAUSE and reflect on how something so beautiful can come from such dark, cloudy, rainy skies...it really gives you a reason to smile.  A rainbow arches over a large piece of land and gives everyone underneath it and around it the opportunity to rejoice! 

The Not So Big Life.....

http://www.notsobiglife.com/community/blog_view.php?t=323

A Timing Device to Bring You to Presence

by Sarah on 3.23.2010, 4:51 pm

A couple of weeks ago we received an email from two women who've invented a new timing device, called meaning to pause that I thought might be useful to those of you who are implementing some of the strategies for coming to presence that I describe in The Not So Big Life. The device is an attractive bracelet that vibrates once every ninety minutes, bringing you to awareness of the moment.

You may recall in the Your Turn exercise on p. 143 I suggest the following:

Quote:  Every fifteen minutes, take ten seconds to pause and notice what is happening in your body and your mind.

You’ll need a timer with a repeat function to alert you to the fifteen-minute intervals. There are all sorts of watches and vibrating clocks available in the marketplace these days; a number of them are featured on the Not So Big Life website. (Click here, and scroll down to the Timing Devices topic toward the end of the page). You can even use an egg timer in a pinch, though if you are around others much of the day, it might drive them crazy in short order, so the silent variety of reminder is preferable.

Although this exercise sounds simple, its effects can be profound because it will bring you into the moment over and over again.

This new "meaning to pause" device is a perfect tool for this Your Turn exercise. Although it is programmed to go off every 90 minutes, in some ways this may be an improvement over the more frequent cycle I recommend in the exercise. I've been using my new meaning to pause bracelet for two days now and I find that I'm much less likely to tune it out (and forget to pause) because it is infrequent enough that one is much less likely to ignore it.

(If you've used the 15 minute exercise, you may know that a new conditioned pattern develops very quickly and you can easily start to tune out the reminder to pause. It really teaches you how quickly you can be conditioned, and simply tune out distractions! Quite an eye opener.)

In any case, I thought you might find this a useful supplement to your own Not So Big Life. If you do get one of these bracelets, or a different device, let me know what you discover as you use it.
Sarah

Charming Testimonial for Married Couples Pausing...

When I got the Meaning to Pause bracelet, the first thing I tried was to use the pause to think about my wife, Kristin. At the time, I was out of town and Kristin didn't have a bracelet yet. Sometimes this was a phone call or a text message, sometimes it was just me thinking, "I miss you honey." This was relationship-gold!

She really liked the support when working long hours, and it wasn't difficult to do. It's comforting to know when your partner is thinking about you. Sometimes this makes for mushy, cutesy, moments, but that is balanced by all the times you pause for a new reason, in a new way.

The pause bracelet will not listen to your excuses, it will gently nudge you to think, or act. Inevitably, I end up pausing in thanks, or in silent reflection, or maybe I suddenly remember that I need to stop at the store. There are a lot of fun ways to use it, so I queue up new ideas for my next pause.

My favorite pauses often occur when Kristin and I are together. We sync them and pause together throughout the day. When we're together, it's an excuse to glance at each other and smile. When we're apart, it makes us feel connected - like we've spent more time together that day than we actually did.

Since we both work long hours on opposite shifts, it helps us feel like we're still on the same planet. We find ourselves reflecting on the important things that are often swept under the rug. When a family member is ill, or a baby is being born, pauses tend to focus on these events. For us, it's a great way to maintain our sanity, and it helps us get the most out of life.

Ken & Kristin