Mental Health and Wellness Archives - Page 2 of 28

Overwhelmed? Spiritual Ways to Respond

Overwhelmed is an understatement especially during the holidays when year-end deadlines are looming and new year goals emerge. It’s important to stay healthy like this budding avocado tree…

It’s also best to stay focused and look at life not as seriously.

...Seriously, 😳 I say this through the lens of my experiences where I went through many seasons where I couldn’t see the forest through the trees.

My work life was overwhelming.

…Then that all disappeared… poof!, like that… it was gone. That happened for many seasons so I caught on and started over in different work industries, jobs, and relationships.

It feels good to have comical relief and laugh it out with new beginnings and pivots.

Personally, I know the universe is laughing along.

…and maybe that’s how you feel?

In 2020, all of our lives changed when the world shut down and daily offices closed.

Each of us had our choices as to how to respond.

For me in my microcosm, I took that as a spiritual sign.

The situation only confirmed further to me that everything in this life is going to keep changing, along with the good, bad, and ugly.

…That’s how this life is meant to be so our planet can survive and thrive.

Embracing that we’re in a spiritual experience and journey can help us see this better.

Because none of us are handed manuals to our lives… that look very different than our co-workers or neighbors living next to us… and even more different than our friends and families we know intimately.

And that’s how I came to grips that this life is about gathering experiences.

…It’s not a spectator sport like the famous baseball player, Jackie Robinson, said.

Life is like a sport that’s constantly in play and you never know what will happen until it happens.

The good and bad plays are the experiences that make us grow and gain new perspectives.

Good experiences make us want to go back, and bad ones…well, they add burden weight if we allow them to.

…But they also makes us head in another (often opposite) direction to grow even more and get past, if we’re open to seeing it that way.

…And feeling overwhelmed is one weight indicator that can make us want to choose a better or another path.

When I worked in the corporate world for two decades for multiple industries, stress was a frequent common daily response.

You got used to it (even though the body never does).

Stress is the body’s way of coping for unnatural circumstances (that stress is processed in the mind-body).

And longterm chronic stress is not the good life habit we want or need to live.

…So when I left the corporate world, it took years for a new life and breakthroughs (rebirth) to break out and sink in. Because I was still the same person.

It was like I traded in a familiar used car for a different and new set of wheels (life). Then I was like those transformer toy cars (…maybe you’re old enough to remember?)…

…Flipped around, they could change styles in a heartbeat, as they were built with two styles… and you could choose which one you were experiencing at any moment.

Almost like two personalities or people…

I could use my old corporate skills that came in handy (minus the stress headaches in the job 😉)… and bring creative energy to my newfound work with a different daily design.

My new life was anti-aging compared to the old one. It came with normal 6-8 sleeping hours without an alarm clock.

I didn’t feel like a robot going through the motions of the week. 🤖 And I didn’t feel like a panicky human with constant heart palpitations lurking around every corner.

I could enjoyably stay up late to watch shows and not pay for it the next day.

…And when I lost all my computer data that can happen often with this new digital age, I didn’t freak out like I would’ve before in the corporate days.

I didn’t even worry one iota.

Instead I looked at it as a way to save me from the hassle of having to delete and make micro decisions on files that would be outdated soon enough.

My new assistant was technology working! 😁

So I went from one paper-filled world when I was working with foodie event contracts to paperless and data less.

And less data clutter is a metaphor for re-routing me.

But that was just the beginning……

When I reported to myself in this newly defined role of working for myself for the first time, I no longer felt overwhelmed.

I sometimes worked 8 hours a day, but those hours felt productive.

I didn’t watch the clock in excitement for the work day to end.

I also found time to do yoga. All you need is a mat and a few minutes. 🧘🏻‍♀️

And I worked on what inspired me as leading me to the path that I was meant to go, that’s purpose and spiritual.

…I could also ran errands on my time. Those mini-escapes let me have more quiet time…

…Quiet time allows for the inner self and spirit to get a word in edgewise.

I could find what my season is about on any day… I didn’t have to wait 6-months later for reality to kick in and feel like I was in a never-ending rat race job I didn’t like… or was missing out on something like a life opportunity..

…That btw is where every job I held in the past eventually landed.

In this new life, I could navigate and adjust daily what my next life step was and is.

There was a peace and calm in knowing that it would work out or else I would be doing something else I was meant to be doing.

But didn’t come without some stress like learning to trust that the Universe would provide.

Some stress is good because it keeps us motivated.

If you don’t have a bear on your back, you tend to get comfortable.

But when you’re backed into a corner, you tend to put pressure on yourself to make things happen quicker.

And I’ve come to grips that stress means you’re working, coming up with solutions, and contributing to our world of chaos.

Those gray hairs come from stress turned platinum. 😁

…And those platinum hairs are purposefully chic because you still care what you look like in the mirror and how others see you daily. 🪞

You’re also showing up for your part, so your stress is not in vain.

…And you’re on your journey to finding that sweet spot of your purpose and what you are meant for.

That’s spiritual and beyond outward talent that’s important.

…But talent is ever changing and your spiritual essence is not. Talent can die at any time. Spirit moves and changes with you until the end.

You’re not likely to be overwhelmed by your spirit that is quietly whispering and subtle.

You and I don’t have to be seniors to know that… and between the two of us, you and I have seen so many examples of those we know who didn’t find their changing purposes guided by their spirit in life.

…Over time the shiny and new transformers became dull and listless.

Their engines aren’t revved up because they’ve given up on change in themselves.

But that won’t happen to you as long as you don’t give up on growing… you’re bound to succeed in your desires.

But if you feel you need a tune-up, maybe instead of doing the same things you’ve done, consider taking a moment to do something radically different for your day to escape the regular rhythm flow.

The world and your work will still run with your pause.

Like: escape and read a book you would never consider before, with hopes to learn something new about yourself. 📚

Self-discovery is underrated because it’s invisible in the air, but we can inspire our wonder and stimulate our curiosity.

I find that reading books about other’s lives and memoirs helps me to stay grounded and learn things about my own life… and not take life so seriously!

We’re on a spiritual journey in life and when we know that, we aren’t as overwhelmed with what’s going on around us.

And enjoy the daily ride for all its parts. 🏎️

And if reading isn’t calling you: you could start writing a personal essay journal-style if you don’t want to feel overwhelmed.

Dare yourself.

Let out your thoughts and emotions. You can always crumple it up and delete it later.

Let the intention be that you learn more about your inner self.

And maybe discover your creativity.

Creativity is an escape and a sign that you’re out of overwhelmed feelings.

It’s a spiritual gift.

And you could find your calling that way.

That’s what happened to me… I wrote over a hundred 100 personal essays and put them out in the world.

And I never stopped…

…But I could’ve easily missed the writing calling.

And I almost did… had I chosen to stay in the corporate working world.

Because then and there I would be worrying what I would say and put out in the world.

That would create more stress and overwhelm than worth sharing.

But in my chosen new way o life, I creatively write and post during my previously forbidden corporate work hours.

And those are my carved out, glorious sacred work hours…

The world freezes around me and my blood pressure lowers in this cool, calm healthy environment. ☃️

Hopefully this inspires you to escape and find a way to emerge from any overwhelmed seasons… and find your spiritual schtick.

Anxiety Is Not The Way

Anxiety has become part of our living on this planet existence. It’s not healthy but it can be reality.

It’s no longer for just those born with the strong trait (ahem, Vatas). 🙋🏻‍♀️

Anxiety is part of our culture’s zeitgeist… and this article is about helping you remove daily anxiety in your life.

Because anxious feelings is not a part of the way you’re intended to live.

…Some stress, yes. But not anxiety.

And you can get out of the anxiety lifestyle in your inner spiritual journey.

…At least that was my story as I developed better discernment in my life as I defined what the Universe meant to me growing into faith… relying less on what I could do and more on what I was made for.

And for one, that led me out of the anxiety work lifestyle (aka corporate work).

…These days you hear so many people leaving their cushy golden-handcuff jobs for more purpose and passion filled work… free of anxious environments that cubicle walls and office hierarchy create in our remote world.

And the pandemic was a radical change disruptor that no one likes to talk about much these days, but started the whole Life pivoting movement.

That’s when today’s anxious culture began…

Anxiety was looming in the air all during the pandemic.

…That affected changes in how we did our daily lives. We experienced job losses and technology changes like AI (making some previous jobs obsolete).

And even now, in the post-pandemic inflation era where the dollar doesn’t stretch as far as it used to.

Everyone has been impacted in some ways.

It’s in the air.

So anxiety is contagious.

…Oh, and then there’s politics.

I grew up and lived in the Washington D.C. metro most my life, so that was front and center for me even though I never ran in those circles, and I choose to talk about it less because I know it creates divides.

But it was always in the air.

And the biggest elephant in the room: climate change. There’s no air in this world that isn’t affected by those two common “c” words….

And climate change has affected every type of business. If you think about cars, home insurance, shipping, and of course… food and farmers, to name a few.

That has made for a tougher and more complicated life in many ways.

Plus, there are so many more daily distractions.

Finding the inner-self becomes much more of a challenge.

I grew up before the internet entered the world so I remember the way it was…

And then social media was born.

But I don’t think social media, television, and streaming devices in and of themselves cause more anxiety.

Because having information available at our phone fingertips can calm anxiety.

…Like, you don’t have to go to the library to research limited information anymore or operate in the dark.

How we used to find our way around town with maps… or meet up with others based on watch time alone was operating under the Stone Ages compared to today.

And everywhere you turn over the past few years, you hear wellness recommendations to turn your devices off or spend less time on social media (like those old days).

So people hop on the social media strike bandwagon..

But how has that helped anxiety?

We don’t seem any better off as a society if you check the stats.

People are still feeling anxious today.

With devices, these days you know what you’re signing up for… you knowingly choose or change your friends and what you want showing up in your feed.

It’s no surprise anymore why you’re getting certain information in your feeds.

So the information we choose to get is what makes the difference.

The enriching information I choose that inspires me is educational, and/or entertaining for me.

I learn something new and what I positively intake, challenges my mind.

I shut off everything else. I’m not tempted by negative garbage that provokes anxiety entering in the mind-body..

…That’s a healthy choice we each get to make..

And like most, I watch shows everyday. I like HGTV and food channels where you can trust that there won’t be something inappropriate shown where you can’t change the channel fast enough.

I share this with you because from my journey, this is how I know the healthy choice is deeper than self-discipline.

For me, it has to do with aligning myself with spiritual purposes and who I want to be and how I want to feel at the end of the day.

And if those ideas inspire you, but your anxious feelings don’t support that, the starting questions you can ask yourself are… What do you want your life to be about? What healthy change in your daily life would make you feel better?

And when you’ve decided on those or similar answers, then you can come up with a matching plan that you’re daily happy with and can stick to with discipline because that’s what you want your life to be about.

Your wants are stronger pulls than being tempted by the garbage-in information… and being aware, you’re no longer interested in heading in that other direction. So from there, you make small tweaks to bring in more healthy influences and eliminate more of the garbage.

One simple goal could be: I want to feel good by the end of the day.

Then, like an invisible string, the healthier ways are drawing you in and your deeper spirit is helping you along in that direction… 🧭 The Universe is watching 😊

And that better ensures you don’t have anxiety the same way you did by the end of the day and when you wake up.

Anxiety For Young People

I had inner struggle with this myself in my 20s and younger where I felt pulled into culture’s definitions of happiness that builds up ego and was growing my pride.

Then I came to a point where I felt so depleted by the end of the day and I wondered why. It was like I needed an internal shower cleansing from all the garbage I had in my mind that mostly came from the external influences surrounding my life.

But gradually I became more content with less wanting of those ways, and that developed a deeper, calmer sense of happiness.

I moved away from mean gossip, judgment, and noisy/busy influences.

Those created unnecessary more fear and anxiety, shutting out calm and peace.

Believing that there’s a better plan or reason for what was happening to me in situations also saved me from anxious moments or the old ways I would have reacted.

If you go to church regularly, you know how it feels on loving Church Sunday. But by work Monday you’re back to the anxious rat race and people.

Letting that Sunday headspace permeate more days, helps to quiet down the negative external influences. Instead of being so heavily influenced, you and I could be the healthy influence to ourselves and others.

“Be the Change.”

It’s the negative chatter and staying busy that can keep us small.

It was like that as kids too…

We would see non-age appropriate footage that created nightmares for years to come.

Think of movies like classics, Mommie Dearest and Jaws, that left scary impressions on a 13 year old or younger mind that doesn’t know the world as well as a 30-year old.

Young brains don’t forget as easily and that can haunt forever in brain storage.

It’s the more mature mind that knows how to file those memories away as not real life. That comes from having more life years and experience.

And that’s what I think is happening to the youth today as they’re in their dark virtual reality worlds where an 80/20 balance deep breath of healthy real life would help.

For any of us, if the environment you’re around 80% of your waking hours are keeping you in the dark, then finding a way out is going to give you the best life you deserve. Just something to think about. 💭

Thanksgiving Quote For Happiness

Thanksgiving is a universal reminder time of thanks. One way that often takes a back seat is to love ourselves.

That way, we have more room to give love and pass on the abundance to family, neighbors, and others on our journey path.

Loving ourselves means forgiving ourselves and others, like God forgave us. We want to feel grateful.

If you’re stuck, maybe ask: what am I hung up on that I don’t have?

Because we have so much more to be grateful for than what we don’t have.

Our brains easily fool us into focusing on the wrong and negative things.

And part of what we don’t have that we think we want right now is going to be what gives us a better future.

Because life is rigged in our favor in our belief and faith.

This isn’t something we’re born with knowing, but over time and experience you grow wiser and the knowing inside you becomes more clear.

Daily thought choices determine our future view of ourselves, our lives, success, and happiness.

Thanksgiving quote:

“Every time you are tempted to react in the same old way, ask if you want to be a prisoner of the past or a pioneer of the future.” – Deepak Chopra

Even though none of us know the future outcomes no matter what age we are.

But the answers are inside us waiting for the ripe-ready reveal time to birth.

That’s a spiritual way to look at it and how I see it from my reflecting back lens of life experiences. I didn’t see that back in my 30s (so don’t worry if you think you’re a late bloomer).

It’s a gradual shift like time.

And over time, you can realize nothing in your past was wasted. The hard things you went through made it easier for you now or in the future. And the dumb things done (we all have them!) made you smarter now.

It’s in our future where we get new revelations.

And most of our answers to our life’s purposes are already inside us.

We first have to grow up, learn to change our auto-responses, and heal from our past hurts that will help us.

…That’s how this one Life we get to live keeps getting better, and our perspectives change because we allow them to with our open curiosity.

The famous saying is that this (as in life) is not a dress rehearsal.

But for those of us who believe in Heaven, it is.

We’re here for experiences and growth.

And as we gather more experiences, we learn and grow. That’s the purpose of this life as I believe. And we do that by ourselves and with others.

And if you want to make this a new season different than past ones, then dig deeper in the well for your answers.

They’re there! 🎯

You only stay stuck when you box yourself in… I remember years ago where I spent a couple Thanksgivings abroad. It’s always a weird feeling because that special Thursday is only celebrated in America.

Initially I felt I was missing out. But then, it made me realize I could be thankful anywhere I was.

Thanksgiving holiday is not about the food… entirely (as I’m from the foodie world 🥘). But getting away from the holiday food traditions helped me to break out of the “this is how it is.”

And that breaking out allowed for embracing growth in future seasons. And not just for new situations, but also a new hopeful attitude.

I found early-on in my journey that my ego blocked these types of beliefs in my auto-thoughts. And I allowed it to because I didn’t know any better.

The brain would serve up the woes-me thoughts for what I didn’t have and wanted.

Part of the process and journey was learning this unhelpful built-in ego feature as a first step.

I wish it didn’t take me beyond 35 years to learn, but I’m glad it didn’t take another 35 years (or never) 😉

And breaking through, when I could tap into my deeper compassionate and feeling sides, that’s when I got more breakthroughs.

…I was less judgmental about myself and more forgiving that projected out to the world… to judge less and forgive more.

Imagine if that radiating energy caught on in most of us. It would be one big ball of massive fire in the world! ☄️ We could use that energy to help and grow our world filled with challenges.

But starting with ourselves is the first and most important place to begin, and keep daily renewing…

Breaking down self-judgment walls and bringing back self-love keeps us growing.

…It helps you and me see better.

Especially if you didn’t feel the love when you were younger or in your more recent situational past.

…When I felt the self-pity from setbacks in life, I bounced back by finding my gratitude and giving spirit (thanksgiving)

Giving can be sharing, donating time or money, providing, spending time, encouraging words, and sending positive loving vibes to the world. 💕

It can be as simple as recognizing that it’s not all about you or me.

It can be about paying forward gratitude for the blessed things I already have or experiences I had.

Getting sensitized and feeling again knocked me out of gray confusion clouds and into sunnier skies.

We are meant to keep growing forward in life so we don’t put ourselves back in the shoes of our former selves. Been there done that.

In today’s moments, we can acknowledge that we’re in a better place by finding examples from our past.

Comparing our new level today with our past level gets us to our next better level of tomorrow.

Proof of this is easy to find for all of us…

If you go waaayyy back to the past as kids (or young adults we were called) that none of us are anymore… back then, we were more impressionable as our younger selves.

We had to get everything okay’d before proceeding as how culture and life is setup.

As pre-adults, we didn’t have the means to do the things we can do today on our own.

And if we did do them then, we’d probably have gotten lost and would be ungrateful as we didn’t fully understand what we had in front of us.

We were still developing our adult minds.

Today as found former-lost baby sheep, we have wiser perspectives to draw from. 🐑

Congratulating our growth is one small step and happy way we can be thankful for this season in life even if it doesn’t look anything like we hoped for!

The focal point sign that we can dwell on is “you’re here”… and it’s years later and you no longer have the same problems you had back there.

So you could come up with a list of what you’ve arrived at today.

Imagine if you had the same challenges and choices you had as a young adult, you’d be so frustrated because you’re no longer with that same mindset. But you’re not there, so that’s one thing you can be thankful for.

And those little thanks help you to embrace where you imperfectly are.

We’re still and always will be dynamic works-in-progress.

Thankfully so because that means we’re alive! 🤸🏻

And collecting up all those fond past memories that you can re-live in present moment happiness helps to keep us rejuvenated.

Then in the tough times (the ones that so blind-shockingly happened), those help grow us into better people.

We become more deeply grateful for what we have… maybe not immediately, but we end up developing stronger character in survival and in the process to get to the other side. 🌈

Even wasted time we feel now was well spent because we learned the lesson to never go there again. And now we don’t have to painfully back track and re-learn the same lesson.

And all of us are walking examples of lessons learned.

We can keep going, getting inspired daily, and FEELing-thinking our way to our thanksgiving.

Holidays like Thanksgiving are welcomed reminders that give us reason to be thankful.

…And to say “thank you” more often.

Focus on “you.”

See yourself through others.

And practice old-fashioned manners and simple Thanksgiving sayings like please that never gets old and goes a long way.

Mindfulness From Healthy Relationships (Love Is Blind Lessons )

Mindfulness brings in happiness because in the present head space, you have the chance to let it go and bring in light.

As a visual, walking down this art deco outlined carpet can be the amount of time needed for loving mindfulness.

You have the now space to make the better choice.

You can count 1-Mississippi as a mind gap or mind the gap that is popular from the London tube words.

It’s as simple and complicated as that.

In the mindfulness space, you get to choose your positive or negative thoughts and responses despite your initial thoughts.

Thoughts are better negotiated if you want your best outcomes.

Plus, practicing being mindful is an opportunity to grow.

And as an easy test, you’re in the now if you understand these words.

Whether you’re here or not 😁, good mindfulness lessons (especially for love relationships) can be learned from an entertaining reality relationship show like Love Is Blind. 📺 👩‍❤️‍👨

Have you seen the worldly Netflix series? 🌎

The premise of the show is that you can fall in love on a blind date (potential partner unseen) behind the pod walls.

The goal: to find your person and get married at the end.

But the healthy spiritual growth way to look at it is that you come out a better person no matter what happens. Because not all relationships are meant to turn into marriage as a sign of success.

…You can come out with new friends of both sexes, learn more about yourself, and grow up in the process. 🎉

The latest season was in the DC metro backdrop where I spent most of my years… and is always in the news especially these days.

…And not for mindfulness reasons.

In the LIB love reality show microcosm, you see the raw moments that aren’t edited.

Where blindspots are made transparent…

And it’s easier to learn from others watching on the sidelines.

When tested in our own relationship situations… that’s where the rubber meets the road. 🏎️ 🛣️

But more knowledge leads to better self-awareness, and these are some gleaning points that can help you…

In Love Is Blind DC, the couples embark on the engagement journey that ranges from loving couple selfie-video filming to fiery heated disagreements. 🔥

...Ugh, that’s how the show can be renamed “Ego Is Blind.”

And in those difficult moments, we see what’s going on behind-the-scenes…

A beautiful budding relationship unravels and goes reality life awry.

Not the couples’ faults… learning about ego devise is something that takes time to learn (if caught on and learned).

Egos (not eagles 🦅) invisibly soar and hover over us and are more magnified in relationships. 🔎

💡 And that’s the main issue in every relationship issue.

…Did you catch that?

The masks are unveiled, gloves come off, and differences are an ego mind playground to create more divide.

Since the LIB participants are 20 and early 30-something young adults, they don’t have the same experiences they’ll have in 10 or more added years as mature adults. That’s just a fact of life.

You trade in youth for wisdom if you’re on the growth track. 📈

And in the episodes we can see that they don’t know what they don’t know that lessons-learned experiences could provide. We’re all in that boat for one area or another.

In relationships, couple happiness comes from letting go of the petty stuff. And that’s where mindfulness can be the handy solution.

Being tired or moody any day can derail from that mission, so staying alert and wise to know yourself enough can help your conversations and situations you get roped in.

They help in my situations.

A simple “can we talk about this another time?” is sometimes all that’s needed.

…And if the other person can calm their momentary crushed ego and say, “sounds good” and stick to that, then there’s no issue.

And that way, you make the issue smaller to ego as you stay objective and get further away from emotions.

Let your pot simmer down inside you first.

Because situations will arise. Everyone is different. Another fact of life. So embrace the differences, even if it’s your close partner.

…Just remember they grew up different than you even if they grew up down the street. They are them and only YOU are you. 🪞

You’re the only one you can change and are fully accountable for.

Show up mature as you can be. And if both are mature, then saying yes! at the altar has a better chance (despite what it seems like or is said weeks before that… which btw, the ego mind will chomp at).

Every moment has potential for ideas to collide even with the person you think you know best or as well as yourself.

One day, what seemed perfect is no longer.

Expect that to happen.

When that happens…

Talk it out.

Have fun again.

Tyler and Ashley do this well taking sky diving and sharing moments. 🪂

Garrett and Taylor do this well laughing, playful, and enjoying each other’s company.

Those loving honeymoon period ways get them through their tough times.

Those are the couples that make it through LIB married at the Reunion.

That’s the relationship experience they signed up (and hoped for)… a life partnership that’s enhanced with two.

When they ran into a disagreeing situation, they let upset emotions out which is communication. They also moved on in their own mindfulness moments.

Maybe smartly asking themselves in the break: “why was I really so upset?”

…Usually it’s from an experience or idea from the past that was traumatic and is now pulled into the gray matter.

The secret is knowing that most of it is curable in self-discovery that improves relationships, and not about changing someone else.

And in tough relationship times, we can learn 3 lessons:

Lesson #1: Wisdom teaches us to move peacefully in the moment.

The most mismatched couple in LIB DC was Nick and Hannah. They had a parent-child relationship that was obvious wouldn’t end well.

Usually there’s a honeymoon period but for this couple, it was obvious from the start who would wear the pants.

Words deeply matter. Saying aloud things like: I’m not the same person I was who had fun before…” is nothing short of putting a dog’s tail between its legs. But that’s common ego power trying to dominate in language.

Nick could have addressed that comment, walked away, and let Hannah think about her words. But since he kept taking it to the end of their relationship, it just got worse.

And so it turned into passive-aggressive behavior.

A lesson in mindfulness: at the late group mini-reunion, she could’ve sat down with Nick and her best friend in the pod at the table rather than let her jealous emotions creep up later and address privately.

Wisdom say you never get a second chance with the moment.

Mindfulness thinking: you may never have another chance with this person again so embrace the moment (as in “in the moment”).

That situation could have been avoided if she acted on her deeper feelings at the moment in a peaceful way.

That’s how mindfulness practice could have helped.

Practicing mindfulness on a yoga mat or away from social situations (alone) when things are good, can allow breathe-in space to be brought into awareness in impromptu situations. 🧘🏻‍♀️🧘

Lesson #2: Be the giving person. Two giving people are better than one.

Never go into a relationship seeking gain for your life, and expect it to end well. The other person wants to be loved and that’s the agenda.

The couple that became a hot mess was Tim and Alex. Their perceptions of each other were completely off. Another ego power trick.

They had miscommunication and unrealistic expectations.

There are no mind readers as Alex pointed out and especially with unspoken expectations.

There’s not one right way with two people involved, but there’s usually a point in the right direction.

In the moment, a person can directly tell the other partner their needs. Both will feel better about it no matter what it is.

…It’s how it is said that’s most important.

When you say “I feel…” it’s totally different than ego judgment words like “you always…” Those 2-words are the difference between love and ego. 🥰❤️‍🔥

Practicing using more loving words helps direct the mind to those ways. Let the other person be themselves and not come up with a list of “all I want you to do is…” Leave that legacy to their mother that can get away with that agenda impact.

Lesson #3: Respect should never be a word tossed around in love relationship communication.

When the other mentioned they felt disrespected, that was a bad sign. The “respect” word doesn’t belong in relationships.

Respect is a word you use in an office place that’s an arm’s distance business-to-business arrangement.

Respect is usually earned from deed or time. Co-workers know when they are respected because work boundary lines aren’t crossed. It’s nothing personal.

In love relationships, it’s all personal.

In a loving relationship, you don’t want to earn love or your place to the other. That’s inferiority vs superiority (ego power).

Your loving partner wants a soft place to fall, not a daily enemy they face. Those common feelings happen when out-of-alignment or out of happy mindfulness.

Besides, respect means different things to each person mostly based on upbringing. As a couple, if you grew up on opposites sides of the grass, then respect definitions are wildly different based on their grass past life experiences that can’t be defined in one 7-letter word.

But bringing in more self-awareness, mindfulness, self-discovery helps to turns things around and bring more peace to lives and relationships.

Remember changing your words said can change your relationship.

Do unto others as they would like to be treated, keep growing, and doing your best. Good luck! 💘

Circadian Rhythm Is Affecting Your Happiness

Circadian rhythm is our internal body clock that’s a part of nature and Ayurveda (the study of life). It affects how birds migrate and the happiness of our house plants. 🪴 These things affect us.

And circadian rhythm indirectly affects our mind-body and how tired or happy we are. 😊

Circadian rhythm quietly affects our sleep, feelings of energy or zapped energy and our cognitive ability or disability.

It’s an underrated important factor in our happy daily lives.

In this article, you can learn all about circadian rhythm from changes in our daily environment and easy tweaks you can make, so you can impact your happiness.

Circadian rhythms are deep and affect our spiritual lives deep within us.

It has a ripple effect from the outside…

So we want to make healthy tweaks to our lifestyles to keep the circadian rhythm balance humming along nicely.

One powerful way we can control our circadian rhythm is with the light and dark influences in our lives.

That’s as natural as the first verse and creation chapter of the Bible..

In modern terms, if you work night shifts and sleep in the day, your circadian rhythm changes.

Work shift shifts create mood swings. Try saying that 10 times fast.

We need natural visible blue light in the day that’s naturally strong from sun light.

…And yes daylight is the same blue light we’re warned about that comes from computers, but 100,000 times stronger. 🌞

💡And that’s the first easiest impact we can make.

My first understanding about circadian rhythm was not from light vs dark lessons, but in an Ayurveda class discussion about sounds.

From the experience we each received a unique, natural primordial sound that was happening at our time of our birth. It starts with “Om.”

As a miracle, those sounds are as natural and spiritual as birth.

These are part of the first earth sounds we heard in our echo chamber sound booth coming out of the womb. We could probably feel the sound energy happening then because we’re spiritual beings tied to an energy bigger than ourselves.

So I learned that circadian rhythm was part of light and sounds… and as part of our sight and hearing, it closely affect our minds.

Our minds are wired to our affected wakefulness, alertness, memory, mood, and slow (or quick) cognitive function that end up impacting our daily happiness and mindfulness with relationships.

And if our happy mood is down for a season, then we can feel dark or void inside.

As a visual, all you have to do is shut your usual window blinds for a week and that throws your circadian rhythm off.

And sliding down that slippery slope, you’d feel off. It doesn’t matter if you’re a sensitive person or not… all that matters is you’re human.

…Like when we change our clocks for daylight savings and we’re off of our rhythm for a day or two.

And this rhythm is tied to our sleep and how tired we feel.

When you sleep closer to 9 hours and still feel tired, you can rationalize the tiredness with working more hours, clock time changes, stress, season changes, or even getting too much sleep.

But more sleep isn’t the answer.

When you’re cranky and it feels like you woke up on the wrong side of the bed and maybe carry around the bad moods, they creep into lower quality or less productive work. It takes more energy to get the same bare minimum things done.

And that can lead to our loving sides affected and our relationships taking a back seat.

This can become crippling if you shut out love and let in the negative and fearful spiritual tendencies that become the surrounding air breathed.

This can happen as easily as when you’re too preoccupied busy to notice your surroundings, or you let your ego take over your thoughts and play thought tapes over and over again.

It’s subtle to you as you pay less attention.

E.g.o. (edging God out) clouds over and those behaviors hurt productivity and happiness.

Letting in more light wind (spirit) is going to sway you in the right direction out. Instead of south, you head north in the opposite direction.

You can naturally find your way out when you know from experiences which way is up (as your natural wisdom helps you).

Knowing can come from tapping into your quiet space and spiritual self that often comes from gut instincts (not logic).

Sometimes answers pop right in… and sometimes you have to mull on the peaceful thoughts longer.

Because light and dark is a spiritual battle not based on reason…

Some of the battles can be avoided.

How? Patching a simple early fix like more blue light in the waking hours already mentioned, so you have more energy ⚡️ in the day that circadian rhythm regulates… and this helps you get to bed at normal times.

Blue light is a good answer, but it often gets a bad rap because of warnings to shut off digital devices late at night… which is good to do.

But in the same light, it’s not emphasized enough how much natural blue light you need in the day.

Tip: Be just be sure to wear UV-protected sunglasses and sunscreen in sunlight.

Because UV and blue light aren’t the same for your health, but often gets confused in today’s world. UV is harmful.

With enough blue light, then you can get the normal sleeping patterns that can reset the lower spectrum or first few hours of deep sleep (Delta sleep) when the body mostly resets and repairs.

That’s why you hear of people who only need 4-5 hours of sleep… and it’s enough.

Often they have a strong purpose (or busy season) and what they will do in life, like getting up for the New York Marathon race, voting, or taking in a new travel adventure.

Then sleeping at the bare minimum for the daily body repair is enough because excitement carries over or their Pitta drive drives them.

But if the minimum sleep isn’t achieved, then no amount of coffee, 80’s music, or a jolting pine eucalyptus candle is going to revive.

Sleep is irreplaceable.

In summary, these are a few healthy reminders:

-Get back to your light-dark/day-night schedule and normal sleep times.

What unnaturally took you off your circadian rhythm can be restored with natural healthy moves, such as:

-Listen to nature sounds like birds chirping by the river, or the pitter patter of rain. Those were part of nature when you were born and can revive you. Today, you can use technology to get those effects and drown out manmade construction and technology sounds.

-Add sleep-inducing foods with melatonin and B6 to help your sleep like eggs, bananas, nuts, yogurt, and avocado.

Those sound like breakfast food 💭 and if you’re having a hard time sleeping, like warm milk, these types of foods are helpful.

-Create a 3-day rule for yourself in self-discipline. If you don’t get better in 3 days or after the weekend has ended, then commit to fixing it in other ways like changing your routine that isn’t working for you now and in your quiet spiritual space.

-Breathe in words of inspiration like that from the Bible to get back to nature and your loving roots.

The Book of Psalms is one love letter full of natural wisdom and blessings of peace, love, and hope.

The timeless words are in weddings and funerals because those are the biggest pouring out-of-love events.

And those loving feelings and words can help turn your off-balance circadian rhythm feelings into happy good.

Turn on the light and naturally get a ‘lil happy today. You’ll be glad you did! 😎