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Have You Visited
Yourself Lately?
Have you stopped to ask yourself a few important questions: "Am I headed in the right direction - in my career, relationships, health, finances?" "Am I satisfied with my physical and emotional state?" "Do I ever get frustrated, angry, anxious, or worried about something or someone?"
As stated by Lao Tzu: "If you don't change direction, you may end up where you are headed." Changing direction requires that we change our thinking. It's easier to design your journey to optimal health and implement necessary changes if you can visualize the destination - the end result.
Essential Element #10: Pause, Ponder, Plan, and Pray
can assist us in making it happen. Many times I refer to this as: Reflection, Prayer, and Meditation.
I would like to discuss the practice of meditation. Meditation is described as spending time in quiet thought for relaxation or religious purposes, or a practice of concentrated focus to increase awareness of the present moment, reduce stress, and enhance personal and spiritual growth. Or, as stated by the poet Rumi, "Do you pay frequent visits to yourself?"
While the practice of meditation has wide interpretations and uses, for me it has been most beneficial in helping me turn the world off and pay a visit to myself. The results have been life-changing. Meditation has helped me focus on the positive aspects of all life events and remove unproductive, destructive thoughts. In today's world of constant communication filled with negativity, it's hard to hear yourself if you're constantly tuned in to what everyone else is saying or writing. If you don't PAUSE and PONDER about where YOU are and what YOU need to be doing, you will probably find yourself doing what everyone else is doing - - which is often not leading to health or happiness. So often, we are too focused on what someone else should be doing or not doing rather than working on the person we can do something about - OURSELVES!
Identifying unhealthy, negative emotions and the thoughts that are causing them is necessary to end the cycle of discontent and harm. For every negative thought and resulting emotion there is a counter positive thought and emotion. You can't change the thoughts, actions, and emotions of others, but you can change yours.
That's where meditation comes in. You have probably heard a lot about the benefits. Most highly successful people meditate in some form or fashion. If you are not familiar with the practice of meditation, WARNING! Meditation is not Meditation is not Meditation. In my pursuit of turning the world off and getting in touch with my "inner self" or subconscious mind, I have attempted several types, from guided meditations to those with just soft music, or silence with a bell at selected timed intervals. What works for one person may not work for another. For many, it's entirely spiritual, while for others, it's not.
Personally, I use several forms of meditation. My most favorite: silent meditations of a specific length (ex. 15, 30, or 60 min) divided into a set number of intervals each with a set number of minutes. Since I don't want to continually look at my clock for the time, I use an app called
Insight Timer
which I can personally set for a specific time with bells set to go off at designated intervals. For example, I can plan a meditation of 30 minutes divided into 3 intervals with a bell at the end of each 10 minutes. In the 1st interval, I focus on the many blessings in my life with nothing but positive thoughts. If negative thoughts appear, I just remind myself to convert back to positive thoughts. In the 2
nd
interval, I focus on the person I want to be today: physically, emotionally, socially, financially, and spiritually. How would that person act? What would that person do today? What would that person be like? Feel like? What would they NOT do? In the 3rd
interval, I focus on meditating / praying that I become that person to help not only myself lead a life of peace, joy, and love, but to help others do so. I ask for the strength and wisdom to become the best version of Patsy Sulak she can be. For me personally, meditation is very spiritual, as I connect with God, and remove myself from all the distractions of my world.
You can retrain your mind and body to become the New You by repetitively, daily:
1) finding a quiet place and stopping to be grateful, to remove the constant influx of negativity and noise in our world and think positively;
2)
clearly visualizing the best version of yourself: physically (ex. lean, energetic, poised), emotionally (ex. calm, content, joyful), socially (ex. loving, sharing, caring in relationships), financially (wise in spending, responsible), and spiritually (giving, forgiving, understanding).
3)
seeking wisdom and guidance to BE the person you were created to be.
Today, we can easily find ourselves TOO connected. It's difficult to get in touch with ourselves, our thoughts, when we are continually flooded with incoming chatter on TV, the internet, podcasts, radio, Pandora, and social media. In my pursuit of optimal wellness, Essential Element #10 has been the most difficult to consistently implement but undoubtedly the most rewarding.
If you are starting out on meditation and have no clue where to begin, here are some thoughts. Search such terms at "practice of meditation", "mindfulness meditation", or "meditative prayer". Experiment and find types and forms that work for you. Then begin practicing. Take a few minutes each day just for yourself. Shut out the world and all its noise, possessions, commitments, and negativity. This is YOUR time. Be selfish! Everyone and everything else can wait. Turn on your inner self, and for most of us, connect with a higher power. Think
GRATITUDE
. Think
BEST VERSION OF ME
. Think
I WILL DO THIS.
Do this DAILY and your life will advance to levels you never thought possible. You will become the NEW YOU. Believe me, THIS WORKS! It is an essential component of Living WELL Aware!
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Patricia J. Sulak, M.D. | Founder
Living WELL Aware, LLC
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