Category Archives: Healthy

The Illusion of Invincibility

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Last weekend we rode our motorcycles over to Wisconsin. Due to schedule differences, it worked out easier to drive separately. The weather was beautiful. I left after my Saturday morning meditation class at the Twin Cities T’ai Chi Ch’uan Studio.

The shortest route was to take freeways to the studio in Saint Paul and from there to Wisconsin. Generally, I avoid freeways on my motorcycle because I don’t like being sandwiched on concrete between big trucks and people on cell phones who aren’t paying attention to the road. I kept thinking about those lines from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig:

You see things vacationing on a motorcycle in a way that is completely different from any other. In a car you’re always in a compartment, and because you’re used to it you don’t realize that through that car window everything you see is just more TV. You’re a passive observer and it is all moving by you boringly in a frame.

On a cycle the frame is gone. You’re completely in contact with it all. You’re in the scene, not just watching it anymore, and the sense of presence is overwhelming. That concrete whizzing by five inches below your foot is the real thing, the same stuff you walk on, it’s right there, so blurred you can’t focus on it, yet you can put your foot down and touch it anytime, and the whole thing, the whole experience, is never removed from immediate consciousness.

Then I realized that it is always real concrete whizzing by, and the metal surrounding you in a car only gives you the perception of safety. When I was young, I went through a phase where I tried to eat healthfully. The world didn’t end when I ate a french fry, and before I knew it I was adding the occasional glass of beer or wine to the meal. Being in a car basking in the sounds of my music made me feel insulated from all the other people “out there.” Gradually, pound by pound, I added extra weight which was interfering with my body’s ability to make and utilize vitamin D. My head had taken over my body, and unhealthy anger raised my blood pressure. My endocrine system was telling my body to deposit calcium in my arterial veins instead of my bones. I was a mess.

I’m trying to do better now. My body has been pretty patient with me, but I’ve lost my cape and no one is holding me. It’s time for my mind to be present and make it easier for my body to cope with the vampires.

The Soul of a Carrot

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carrot This carrot was grown for me by Pat Nudd at Will Heal Farm. When I took it out of the bag, I thought someone had accidentally dropped in the bottom half of a Barbie doll. It was almost too beautiful to eat. Almost. We’ve been learning more about nutrition the past 18 months, which makes us appreciate our CSA share even more. Michael Pollan wrote in his book In Defense of Food that

You don’t need to fathom a carrot’s complexity to reap its benefits.

Chunyi Lin told us that in China they eat all parts of the food. They believe that there is special energy in the roots that reach down into the ground, as well as the green parts that reach up towards the sky.

We started eating all of the strawberry, including the green leaves on top. They tasted fine. Now that we’re doing more juicing, we juice leaves that I never would’ve considered eating before. Who knew that kohlrabi leaves have the same zing as mustard leaves, in slightly muted taste?

If we believe that there is a microcosmic orbit inside of our bodies that mirrors the movement of energy in the universe, why wouldn’t there be a similar cosmic reflection in a carrot? Isn’t it wonderful to know the name of the farmer who planted the seed that came alive with exactly the nutrients our body needs for this day?

Hormel Institute Recommends Plant-based Diet for Cancer Prevention

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In an ironic twist, the Austin Minnesota-based Hormel Institute published an opinion recommending a plant-based diet for cancer prevention.

The full article appeared in the February 2011 issue of Nature Reviews Cancer. The authors suggest that the main cancer preventative benefits result from specific phytochemicals in the plant, but they also suggest that each individual may benefit most from a unique combination.

The USDA has even replaced the food pyramid with a new image that shows half a plate of fruits and veggies. Now if they could just get rid of the dairy and make the protein (meat) section smaller.

Pass the veggies!

Living in your nature

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trees to lakeTake a moment to look outwards into the natural world. See the tree…watch the flower… observe the grass…feel the breeze. Notice how everything in nature does what it does naturally and peacefully. Peace is nature’s nature. It grows, blooms, decays and dies with peace, in peace. Even the elements are mostly peaceful by nature, until we decide to attempt to control and interfere with their balance and harmony. Now watch the actions of human beings. When they are not engaging with others, the vast majority act peacefully and express their nature, which is peaceful. Their nature finds expression in peaceful thoughts and peaceful actions. People, like nature, are essentially peaceful by nature! At the end of a busy day almost everyone goes home to do what? Sit, relax, and be at peace. We always return to our nature. It is nature’s way!

It’s easy to be cynical about peace. It is an idea that easily invokes images of hippies in the sixties when the ‘peace and love man’ movement was at its height. Right idea, wrong method. And then there is the peace which governments talk about before, during and after going to war to achieve peace. Wrong idea, wrong method. There is the ‘peace of mind’ that we are promised with the latest ‘product’, the most comprehensive insurance or the soundest investment. Clever idea, wrong intention and wrong method. And then there is the peace that already lives at the heart of our being, requiring only an accurate awareness of ‘the self’ induced by the practice of meditation and contemplation. Right idea, right method.

As long as there is no one making war with our nation or there is no noise in our neighbourhood, we might think peace reigns. But it doesn’t. Real peace is not a state of affairs in the world – it is a state of being within oneself. That last sentence would have been laughed out of court, so to speak, just fifteen or twenty years ago. No more, as we are collectively awakening to the realisation that peace of mind, or being at peace, is by far the most important ingredient in our life and that it does not come from anything or anyone ‘out there’. To be entirely responsible for one’s own peacefulness is not an easy idea. But it is an increasingly prevalent understanding that is growing in acceptance after two decades of books, seminars and teachers from the East, West, North and South travelling the world and reminding us that ‘its always me, not them’ that is making me peaceless!

The absence of peace in our life is demonstrated by the number of ways that we search, usually in vain, to alleviate the stresses and strains of modern living. If inner peace was present in our life we would likely travel less, eat less, shop less, work less, struggle less, talk less and think less. In some cases ‘less’ might, for short periods, become not at all! Such are some of the ways that we search for peace. It is a huge breakthrough moment when the penny drops, and we realise inner peace is generated from within and that no achievement or accumulation of anything ‘more’ from any source outside can induce it. It is also a moment when peace is recognised as the power in the engine of our life. It is the very ground of our being and just as buildings are only built on solid foundations so we cannot build a truly stable and happy life unless we find the power of our inner peace.

Here are just seven vital aspects of all our lives in which our effectiveness will depend on the quality of our inner peace.

Inner Peace as an UNSHAKABLE CALM
Staying calm when all around you would prefer to be in crisis and chaos is only possible when you are grounded in the power of your inner peace. Or do you get sucked into other’s dramas and dilemmas? Are you easily shaken by the emotions of others? Are your emotions easily triggered? Learning to stay connected to the power of your peacefulness, which is the power of your true nature, begins simply by reminding your self that peace is your natural state. You give yourself permission to be at peace regardless of what is happening around you. Maintaining that state then becomes a daily challenge which like any other challenge is mastered with practice and time.

Inner Peace as CONSCIOUS CREATIVITY
Life is relationship and every relationship is an opportunity to be creative. Every interaction requires your ability to create the most appropriate and effective response. We all know how hard it is to be creative, which means to respond and not react. When we are peaceless which means stressed or worried, it’s almost impossible to cultivate the clarity to see and create an effective response to others.

Inner Peace as SUSTAINED CONCENTRATION
Are you able to concentrate on one thing at a time? Are you easily distracted? Can you see what is distracting your attention? The ability to concentrate and focus is based on a peaceful state of being. Without the ability to concentrate, our performance at any task large or small will suffer.

Inner Peace as ACCURATE DECISIONS
What is life but a series of choices, until we reach the stage where we need to choose no more. That’s when the right thing to think, say and do becomes obvious and automatic. That’s when we are able to hear the voice of our inner tutor, our intuition, as it serves up the inner wisdom to see and do the right thing. Why can’t we hear our inner guide – could it be because there is too much inner noise of too many thoughts, too many mixed feelings, too many cravings, too many priorities and an absence of inner peace?

Inner Peace as PERSONAL POWER
Have you ever noticed what makes a person powerful, what attracts others to follow? It has little to do with position or status. Any power derived from these is soon lost the first time there is a loss of temper. Perhaps the key capacity that inspires others to follow is the ability to exercise great self-control. And the unacknowledged foundation of self control is inner peace. The absence of a peaceful mind means self control is impossible. The presence of peace in heart and mind ensures the leaders never lose the ‘emotional plot’.

Inner Peace as TRUE PURPOSE
Why are you here? What are you here to do? What might be your purpose in life? Are you here to be scared, stressed or just too busy for the most important person in your life, your self? Life will always have no purpose or meaning until you first know who and what you are. The flower knows it is a flower so it does what flowers do, a fish knows that it is a fish so it does what fish do, the cow knows it is a cow so it does what cows do. And each one does it with a peacefulness that allows it to pursue its true purpose.

Inner Peace as EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
Have you ever wondered why others seem to dump their stresses and strains, their angst and annoyances, their peacelessness, on you? Could it be because you have done, or are doing, something similar yourself? As you walk and talk, as you communicate and connect, you radiate energy into the world and into your relationships. Can you give the gift of peace to another? If you can it means you are living a peaceful life. It means you are at peace within your self. Sometimes, in order strengthen the foundation of our inner peace, we need to exercise our spiritual muscle by giving it away!

Try this today. Give the gift of peace to a friend, a colleague, a family member, a stranger. Watch for an emerging opportunity wherever you are, wherever you go, when someone loses the plot and raw emotion is on display. Then use the scene to practice your peace in the presence of their peacelessness. It may feel awkward at first, especially if you are accustomed to sharing anthers pain. But the moment that you do this with just a little love (not with an ‘aw, there there’ kind of patronising sympathy) you may experience a mini miracle within the situation. Your gift of peace gives the other both the power and the permission to stop hurting themself. And like a certain prophet of more ancient times you may be the instrument of a miraculous healing.

As you may have noticed, peace between beings in the world is becoming harder to find, and even harder to sustain. There are still relatively few who recognise a culture of peace in the world is dependent on the inner peace of the person. Global peace will always wait on the arrival of personal peace. The paradox of inner peace is it’s always already there within each and every one of us. We only need to take the time to look, to see it, to feel it, to know it and to be it. In the words of Oliver Wendell Holmes, “What lies behind us, and what lies before us, are tiny matters compared to what lies within us”

Question: Which of the above seven possible applications of inner peace do you need to develop in order enhance in your life today?

Reflection: What are three current habits which seem to sabotage your inner peace most often? Take a moment to reflect and write them down.

Action: Give the gift of the power of your peace to someone today and each day this week.

From: Healthy Mail – weekly message

2009′s Monthly Challenges Reviewed

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While some folks make new years resolutions, our experience has generally been that we start out with good intentions and a good head of steam, and within a few months, the resolution gets lost in the shuffle of our busy lives. So we have broken it down into presumably more bite-sized pieces: Monthly Challenges! Each month (starting in January 2009), we have been undertaking a new challenge, and this article recaps some of the fun.

One great benefit of this approach is that you can introduce new challenges any time you want, which keeps things real, pertinent, and interesting. We didn’t plan out the whole year in advance; we just took it a month at a time. More details on any of these specific challenges is available upon your request.

JANUARY — No Alcohol Month – From Thanksgiving’s long weekend through the Christmas holiday and even New Year’s Eve, celebrations abound! While neither of us had a “drinking problem” (I drink, I get drunk, I fall down. No problem!) (Hey, just kidding!), we thought it wouldn’t hurt and it would be a great disciplinary exercise to go a whole month without a glass of scotch, wine, or beer.

Comments/recommendations: If you’re below legal drinking age, definitely do this. Otherwise, if you are inclined to enjoy the occasional adult beverage, we recommend this for a month — any month — preferably this month! Why not?

FEBRUARY – No Coffee Month - This seemed like a natural follow-up activity to No Alcohol Month. Coffee can be a habit, and can be an expensive one at $4.50 per cup. So a good habit is worth breaking now and then.

Comments/recommendations: If you’re a coffee-drinker, prove to yourself that you don’t need the stuff. After a few days our experience was that we were kinda glad we weren’t drinking coffee. We enjoyed more tea, and didn’t feel the roller-coaster caffeine effects; not bad.

MARCH – No News Month – All of us are bombarded by ‘news and views’ on a fairly constant basis; more than we even realize. We undertook a News Fast for 31 days straight! This included avoiding all of the following:

  • TV news, “pundit” shows, talk shows, etc.
  • Newspapers, magazines
  • News websites (media, Drudge, most blogs, etc.)
  • radio (other than Sirius/XM music only)
  • Conversations/discussions about topical events

Comments/recommendations: Doing a personal news blackout for any period of time is an experience, and a real challenge. However, it is eye-opening in that you will be amazed at how little information relevant to your life you missed after you re-enter the media-managed civilization. In fact, much of what you missed was opinion, not all fact. And a big part — noted by its absence — is the lack of fear, uncertainty and doubt you are not subjecting yourself to during your news fast. What a relief!

There were many situations where we had to politely excuse ourselves from ‘news’ situations, TV shows, etc., but it was never uncomfortable to do so. In fact, people seemed somewhat intrigued by the idea, and perhaps by the notion that you could even do that! Try it if you dare.

APRIL - Dream Journal Month – We decided to attempt, upon awakening, to record our dreams, as best we could recall them. We put our spiral-bound sketching notebooks near the bed, and then write/scribble or scrawl what stood out as the fleeting images inevitably start to flit away. It proved helpful to draw quick imagery, too, and over time I found that the more dream reflection, the better I got at it.

One purpose of the dream journal is to have some record that can be referred back to. Perhaps a recurring image or theme is notable, or questions and maybe even answers become evident.  And then, sometimes I woke up and recalled Nada, zip, nothing.

Comments/recommendations: Try it, you might like it! Consider how you allow yourself to be awakened. Blaring alarms or rude radio can be replaced by more gentle methods. My personal favorite: The zen alarm clock.

MAY – One Day per week, One Hour per day Silence Month - Yes, no talking allowed! In addition, but not absolutely required, engage in the Silence in a quiet place, away from conversation, noise, music, or other distractions.

Comments/recommendations: Definitely try this! It is a great practice (and I do mean practice) and makes for better listening, clearer thought, and a little self-discipline that doesn’t hurt. Seemed like Sunday was the best Silence day for our schedule, but you have to work that one out yourself.

JUNE – 15-25g Sugar per day Month – That’s right, maximum of 25 GRAMS of SUGAR! By Sugar, our definition included the OSES: High-fructose corn syrup, Sucrose, Glucose, etc. as well as plain old sugar. (We did allow a little honey (Mmmh….Honey!) but hey, we make the rules! ;)

Comments/recommendations: YES, highly recommended. This was enlightening, in more ways than one. First, you will be surprised at the contents of so many of the foods and drinks we consider fine for consumption. Later, you will realize you feel lighter and better. In fact, you are lighter and better as a direct result. If you do nothing else for a diet plan in 2010, do this, and you will lose 20 pounds, for sure. (Probably not the first month though…) This one we are generally sticking to, and it’s great.

JULY – Watching/Tracking Every Penny Month – Maybe you do this every month, but it was a good experience for us. Pretty self-explanatory. According to the book “Your Money Or Your Life”, there can be no cheating: EVERY PENNY needs to be accounted for during this one month. Some people call pennies “Howdy-Doodies” and won’t even bend over to pick one up on the sidewalk. But it’s the principle of recording everything that counts, and lends more awareness to where that money went.

Comments/recommendations: If you’re not already, of course do it. Some people are better than others at tracking their inflows and outflows, but anyone should be able to meticulously record for 30 days or so. Upshot? As an indirect result, we have begun using (and recommend) a cloud-based expense-tracking program that is free, called mint.com. Check it out.

AUGUST – 38 Energization Exercises Month – Each day we committed to an exercise program which took less than an hour per day. Generally we would do this in the morning. Difficult to stick to this one, and we were kinda spotty on it but gave it a good try.

Comments/recommendations: While 38 is no magic number (it was from the list of isotonic exercises we had), highly recommended that you get or create some list of exercises, stretches, breathing techniques, etc., and do them on a regular basis. It energizes you and jumpstarts your day. Give it a go.

SEPTEMBER – Recite the Heart Sutra Month – Many of both of our regular readers will know that we have been studying Sanskrit since March of 2008. We are gradually developing proficiencies in speaking, writing, and reading this fascinating and wonderful language, and now we’re beginning to study its grammar (Panini, you were a genius!) The Heart Sutra is a short one-page recitation which we read aloud, once in the morning and again once at night, in Sanskrit.

Comments/recommendations: OK, we’re not fanatical about people learning Sanskrit, or reciting anything. But having said that,  we really enjoy it… no particular recommendation to share on this one. If you are thinking about language study, though, there are some good reasons to look at Sanskrit, the oldest known language on the planet. More on that elsewhere.

OCTOBER – Walking/Running Month – Daily, weather permitting, we walked or ran (jogged, more like) for at least a half an hour.

Comments/recommendations: Start by walking.

NOVEMBER – Write a Novel Month – On October 31st, we heard about the “National Novel Writing Month Competition”, and somewhat impulsively decided to do it, “IT” being, write a 50,000-page novel in 30 days. While the material is not edited and ready for prime-time yet, we did it! We were awarded Winner’s certificates and everything.

Comments/recommendations: One of the things about writing a novel is, you will never do it if you don’t just commit to doing it, and a ‘best lesson’ from the exercise of writing an average of 1,667 words per day is that there are other things in your life that are actually “FORGO-ABLE”, meaning that you can do without them and free up an amazing amount of time. Chief among these for us was TV viewing.

DECEMBER – Decluttering Month - You know the drill… clear out that old junk! Clean up your closets, et cetera… With the holidays and all, we thought it would be great to get the place all spruced up, organized and wide-open-like. While this was not an epic failure and we did accomplish some declutteral success, in our case it was the proverbial tip of the iceberg. Hence, we have also declared 2010 to be “Decluttering Year”. Maybe that will be a more reasonable goal…

Comments/recommendations: Designate small chunks of time, 30 minutes is good, to devote to clean up/clear out activities. Or bite off a small, reasonable goal: One drawer per day, one box, one closet per weekend. If you go longer or do more, great! Sometimes you’ll notice some energetic momentum. If not, you still will have made a small dent. The accomplishments are generally pretty visible, so the reward is always there.

For 2010… JANUARY has been Philosopher’s Notes Month – We started into a program developed by Brian Johnson, chief philosopher at Philosopher’s Notes.com that gives us daily recordings and accompanying PDF’s summarizing big ideas and bits of wisdom from great personal growth books. Brian’s site says it’s the “Mini-CliffsNotes(tm) for Personal Growth Books — Giving You More Wisdom in Less Time.” We’re in favor of that. It’s been great so far, and this challenge overlaps well into February.

FEBRUARY – No Complaints Month - That’s right — No complaining! This challenge includes no criticizing, no condemning (which means no negative judgments)! Oh yeah, and no gossiping! This is a huge challenge, and a great one!

More on this one in my next post.

Use It so you Don’t Lose It

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The brain fitness channel has this good advice for selecting activities that help keep your brain sharp:

1.They should teach you something new. The brain is a learning machine. To keep it strong, you must continually develop new skills.

2. They should be challenging. Activities should command your full and close attention to drive chemical changes in the brain.

3. They should be progressive. You can begin a new activity at an easy level, but continuously challenge yourself to stay on the edge of your performance abilities—at your “threshold”—so that you improve. This goes for old activities you enjoy, too: pushing yourself to improve will help your brain.

4. They should engage your great brain processing systems. Tasks in which you must make fine distinctions about what you hear, see or feel and use that information to achieve complex goals drive the brain to change its abilities on different levels.

5. They should be rewarding. Rewards amplify brain changes, leading to improved learning and memory. They turn up the production of crucial brain chemicals that contribute to learning, memory, and good spirits.

6. They should be novel or surprising. New, positive and surprising experiences exercise the brain machinery that makes you bright and alert.

Living with a loving heart

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Heart is the only organ in the human body that has earned a fair amount of fame and prominence. Right from a poet, novelist, lyricist, paeans have all sung about the mischief of the heart. If you feel touched your heart melts like butter. If you don’t part with your precious money to the street urchins you have a hard, cold, heart. If you dare to snatch back your purse from a petty thief you are supposed to be a brave heart. And if some of your actions touch the other then it comes straight from the heart—Glossary of heart is never-ending…

heartflameHeart is the pure center (sanctum) of our very being and symbol of purity. “Unless you become like little children, you cannot enter the kingdom of God.” Why would Jesus emphasize the role of being little children? It is merely because of innocence and purity of heart. Heart of a child is without malice and wickedness in it, it is not conditioned by the worldliness. It is the only source of immaculate love without any demands or conditions.

Heart is important to all irrespective of age, religion, caste, creed, color, sex etc… “It is nice to be important but it is more important to be nice.” We all like to love. More precisely, we want to be loved and look for acceptance from other beings. Look at the pet dog. Why does it come to your side and aspires for your gentle touch? It is nothing other than love and acceptance. Even animals have aspirations for love which springs from their heart. Our heartbeats with joy at the sight of babies, puppies, kittens; while heart to heart chats go a long way. Not to forget the umpteen number of people who call their loved ones sweet-heart and heart-throb.

Somewhere I read recently these beautiful lines: “if you find yourself in a darkroom with blood coming out from everywhere and the walls shaking, don’t be afraid, you are in a safe place: You are in my Heart.” So friends next if you happen to land up in a similar place like the one above, do not worry, you are certainly in a safe place – you are in someone’s Heart which is a cupid’s favorite target to practice his archery with pleasure and thereby the hearts melt into other heart without any words but only communion of two hearts.

Today more than ever before, we need people with good heart. When one says something positive and kind about another person, quickly we say that he has a soft heart. In the same way when says something negative, then we say that he is heartless. We need good parents, spouse, friends, relatives, teachers, politicians with a loving heart, who can spread love and peace.

Once a teacher gave her students homework to draw people. The next day as she collected the assignments, she was astonished to see how the children perceive the world around them. Many had drawn people skinny as skeletons, but with huge muscles. Others were drawn with a large head, while some others were drawn with a large wallet. One or two students drew figures that had a heart at the center. A good heart brings a lot of goodness around it.

Let every emotion springs from the purity of heart. Let all decisions manifest from the center of our very being – the Heart. Listen to it carefully and be in tune with the heartbeat. Because we can hear the divine melody every moment of our life. Let us not ignore the palpitation of heart as it always conveys divine messages. Once we learn to listen to the heartbeat we are in tune with the Universe/Nature/God and connected to every bit of existence. Isn’t it beautiful? Aren’t we all aspiring for such Hearts? If yes. Don’t be hesitant to let your heart be a replica of that Universal Heart which is the ultimate source of all goodness.

by JojiValli

What is Mindfulness?

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Two doctors in Australia have developed a therapy approach, MiCBT, that is based on mindfulness principles. This is the description of mindfulness that they post on their website for their clients.

Mindfulness involves paying attention to each event experienced in the present moment within our body and mind, with a non-judgmental, non-reactive and accepting attitude. In learning to be mindful, we can begin to counter many of our everyday sufferings such as stress, anxiety and depression because we are learning to experience events in a more impersonal and detached way.

Mindfulness has its roots in an Eastern meditation technique called Vipassana and shares with it a number of central principles and mechanisms including what are known as equanimity and impermanence.

Equanimity is best described as a neutral response to something we experience. It is a state of awareness where we neither feel an aversion for unpleasant experiences nor craving for pleasant ones. Other ways of describing equanimity are balance, calmness and composure.

The development of equanimity, or an equanimous mind as it is sometimes called, is an important part of mindfulness skills because it gives us the ability to remain less reactive and less judgmental no matter what is experienced, thereby giving us a feeling of ease, self-control and composure as we go about our daily lives.

Mindfulness incorporates the notion of impermanence, the changing nature of all things including our own mental and emotional experiences. By experiencing the changing nature of internal experiences, we can learn to see ourselves in a more objective and scientific way. We can detach ourselves from rigid views that can sometimes lead to stress and unhappiness.

How do we practice Mindfulness?

While we can practice being mindful in everyday life by just observing what is happening around and within us, formal training by way of sitting meditation is most effective for developing mindfulness skills.

During mindfulness meditation we sit closed eyes and initially focus the breath to develop concentration and take control of our attention. This alone helps decrease the intrusion of unhelpful thoughts that we may have. During this training, all sorts of thoughts frequently arise. Instead of being caught up in a thought, we learn to see it for what it is, just a thought, an impermanent mental event, no matter what the content of the thought may be, and go back to our focus of attention. In this way, we learn not to react to thoughts. We gain a direct experience that thoughts cannot truly affect us or define who we are.

Similarly, when we pay attention to our body sensations, we also learn to perceive a body sensation merely as a body sensation, regardless of how pleasant or unpleasant it is. Mindfulness training helps us realise that body sensations, like thoughts and all other experiences, are also impermanent by nature and no matter how pleasant or unpleasant they are, they pass away.

As we become more mindful of this reality, it becomes increasingly easy to observe that body sensations are essentially an experience that cannot affect us unless we react to them. Body sensations are significant because they are the only means by which we can feel emotions.
Accordingly, training ourselves to not react to them helps us accept and let go of emotions, rather than suffer from them. This is called emotional regulation.

Hugs are Healthy

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It helps the body’s immune system, it keeps you healthier, it cures depression, it reduces stress, it induces sleep, it’s invigorating, it is rejuvenating, it has no unpleasant side effects, and hugging is nothing less than a miracle drug. Hugging is all natural, it is organic, naturally sweet, no pesticides, no preservatives, no artificial ingredients and 100% wholesome. Hugging is practically perfect. There are no movable parts, no batteries to wear out, no periodic check ups, low energy consumption, high energy yield, inflation proof, non fattening, no monthly repayments, no insurance requirements, theft proof, non polluting, and of course fully returnable.

— Author unknown

From the HUGS page at HopeAllianz.com:

  • Who do you know that
    gives you the BEST hug?
  • Observe what is happening
    to you internally and externally.
  • Describe the feeling.
  • How are you participating?
  • Can you remain
    nonjudgmental during the hug?
  • Can you stay in the moment
    mindfully focused on the hug?
  • Why is it that you enjoy a hug?