Daily writing prompt

What strategies do you use to maintain your health and well-being?

View all responses

For many years now, I have maintained a consistent everyday meditation practice and get out alone in Nature at least once a week, where I hike for a bit and then sit with the animals. This is akin to my place of worship, where I always walk away feeling recharged from connecting with Spirit. Sitting in the elements during the four seasons and watching the animals do their thing has taught me a lot about myself and other humans in the social environment.

After taking over a 20 year hiatus of working out in the gym, I finally rejoined last week because I realized I was missing having a place to go to exercise at a positive community connection. After investing in my own equipment and 20 years of being consistently inconsistent, and then a global pandemic, I realized I needed to get back to basics. Going to the gym was something that carried me through my adolescence for making healthy choices. The gym was a place where I could go everyday or almost everyday, in spite of whatever else was going on in my life. It was a good transition from school, home and life’s responsibilities. As I approach a half of a century in my life cycle, it felt like the right time to elevate my game in this way.

Also, I drink about a 100 ounces of water a day and start my day with a superfood green drink mixed with a shot of apple cider vinegar and wash it down with some other supplements like DSF, glucosamine, fish oil and D3 when cooler weather and darker days come about. I take a blend of Chinese herbs for seasonal allergies or if I sense a cold coming about. It might be all downhill from there, but my morning routine of meditation and the green drink are a great way to start the day.

Also, I do tai chi and qigong everyday. Doing these make for a great pre & post workout warmup & cool down, as well as moving and still meditations for mind-body-spirit connection. And being mindful of my thoughts and focusing on positive self talk has been a keep dynamic in this area. Writing, playing my guitar, harmonica and singing have all been instrumental strategies as creative forms of artistic expression that support health and well-being. It is my good fortune to have meaningful work, which is also a key dynamic for health and well-being. Getting a good night sleep is a key dynamic in my regular daily routine.

Daily writing prompt

What could you let go of, for the sake of harmony?

View all responses

Harmonizing with my environment is a spiritual discipline. As I let go of my need to be right, harmony is welcomed in. For example, it just seems to disarm whatever defenses mechanisms I’ve fortified myself with on the inside, and then transforms into a more light-hearted sense of detachment. When I let go of my need to be right, there is an awakening of harmony.

Daily writing prompt

How do you express your gratitude?

View all responses

The most important way I express gratitude is by setting an everyday intention and commitment to have an attitude of gratitude as a way of life. Every morning before I get out of bed, I remember this mantra before my feet hit the floor, and wake up expecting synchronicity. Also, I conclude my morning meditation practice by saying “thank you” three times. Practicing random acts of kindness without a sense of betting something back in return amplifies the experience.

As I go about my day, regardless of what my moods or feelings might be, I try to enjoy the little things. And even if I don’t, I work on appreciation, acceptance and even embracing what is. Yes, inner peace can be more challenging when any given situation is asking me to come out of my bubble or see the blessing that might be brilliantly disguised within the apparent curse. One way I have been pushing my edge with this is working building gratitude for and relaxing my judgments about provocative adult emotional reactions.

Positive self talk helps a lot. But so does allowing the negative self talk to pass with care as gently as possible without trying to push them away or throw them in the trash. I try to remember to have an open, passive attitude to whatever the moment calls for. Watching my thoughts and feelings like clouds and sometimes even thanking them for showing up helps me stay in a place of gratitude.

And I try to use “I-messages” as a form of effective communication. For example, if I am asked to do something at work or at home that I don’t want to do or having a hard time with, I’m getting better at asserting myself by saying something like, “I really don’t want to paint the house and would rather pay someone else to do the job. But I’m not unwilling to do the job and am open to having a conversation about it.” This has been hard for me because I don’t like disappointing people. When I do that, I find that it isn’t about getting my way, it is more about speaking my truth and then letting go of it so that I don’t build resentments. Sometimes, saying no is saying yes.

When gratitude is my inner state of consciousness, I feel less seduced by the clinging or grasping of whatever presents itself in the theater of life.

Daily writing prompt

How important is spirituality in your life?

View all responses

I’m not a mutually exclusive kind of person, so for me there is no separation between mind, body and spirit. The soul realm is as real as it gets to a guy like me. As I moved through this journey of life, I have come to find the sacred in everything, even in the mundane. I look for the extraordinary in the ordinary, and watch out for the signs and synchronicities that light my way. There many paths to experience God(ess)s, Creator, Higher Self, Universe, the Tao- whatever semantics you choose to identify with. Sitting out in Nature with the animals, alone in the woods is where I feel most connected to Spirit. But I do get that feeling wherever I go. Sometimes, with humans- it’s in the eye of a newborn or even cloaked in disguise of a grown adult’s emotional reactions. There is so much beauty in our world, if only our eyes are open to it. And the dark is part of spirituality too. Taking the fight out of things and finding ways to co-exist peacefully with others is a key dynamic along my spiritual path. Seek first to understand, then be understood. I try to see beyond forms into the formless realm of souls and look for the inner royalty. When I forget, I remember.