Wellness Wisdom

Get comfortable and settle in for a journey of serenity & gratitude. Notice the various levels of comfort throughout your body. Scan your forehead and scalp - your face, ears and jaw - neck/throat and shoulders - observe the level of comfort in your arms, chest, back and belly. Notice how your lower back, hips and legs are feeling. Scan your body all the way down to your toes.

As a teen seeking answers to quench my spiritual thirst I somehow came across Desiderata. It was on a cassette tape in song form. I played that cassette until it practically wore out. Now, more than thirty years later I can still hear the woman's angelic voice and the gentle yet commanding voice of the male speaker. I found the message to be powerful at the time, and quite honestly, it still comforts me. You know something is special when it never loses its positive affect.

Ehrmann's prose is inspirational and offers a simple positive credo for a spiritually connected life.

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant, they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass.

Take kindly to the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann c.1920

Gratitude and the Brain

Did you know that a lack of gratitude causes the production of stress hormones?

YES! Being UNgrateful can actually wreak havoc on the entire nervous system, it adversely affects your immune system and can potentially lead to illnesses, both physical and mental illnesses. On the other hand, feeling grateful has the opposite effect. When we think thoughts of thankfulness, our brains create ‘Healing’ chemicals such as Dopamine. Dopamine triggers the satisfaction and pleasure parts of the brain. Gratitude causes the production of Serotonin, another brain chemical, which regulates social behavior, memory, mood, sleep, energy... and feeling grateful also produces Oxytocin, which gets manufactured in the brain, and it promotes healthy libido and meaningful relationships.

Do you have trouble sleeping?

In this episode, Sharon shares a simple hack for overcoming insomnia and getting a better night’s rest.

When life hands you dirt, plant something.

Facts & Forgiveness

Take a Timeout

Think - Eat - Behave

Find Jeanine at the The Wellness Nook.