In the now, continued...

Lifetime Art Impressions, LLC photo

Click on the below article link to obtain background information to this blog post:

Examiner article

I have had many friends who were single and did not understand why there were but from the outside looking in, it was easy to see; these wonderful individuals really were not happy with themselves. It doesn’t mean these were not smart and heartfelt women, of course they were; it just means that they needed to see and believe in themselves as much as what the people in their circle of love saw and believed in them. We saw the beauty of what they were instead of what they were not; this is what they needed to learn how to embrace. We can all look at another person and say, “Boy I wish I had her waistline or …”. I’ll let you fill in the blank here.

But, what about our own attributes; I can tell you my waistline has expanded significantly since my early adult life but I’m not letting this taint my everyday world. I’m grateful for my body even in the condition it is in today (I’m at my biggest currently). Even though my weight is up I am still positive my body is healthier today because of all of the healthy trends I’ve implemented over the past several years. Yes, I’ve still have a lot of work to go, more change to implement, but my psyche is still positive regardless. I love myself for all I have accomplished, for what I bring to the table today, and for all that I will yet accomplish; I am a confident person and this energy is genuine and in my aura.

I think when we get caught up focusing on what we do not have we are robbing ourselves from the pleasures of our current everyday lives. Of course there isn’t anything wrong with striving to do better and have more but there is a cost to this if we’re not in a healthy mindset when we are attempting to manifest our needs and/or desires.

If you’re looking for a good self-help book, check out Sydney Bank’s Enlightened Gardner. It is a fiction, quick read that is quite empowering. I’ll repeat the quote I inserted in the article because it is worthy of a repeat. In his words, “Living in the now is seeing what is instead of what isn’t. And what isn’t is created from living in the memories of the past and contaminating the now.”

Lifetime Art Impressions, LLC painting exercise

Click on the below article link to obtain background information to this blog post:

Examiner article

I did this exercise in my Expressive Art Therapy course and I believe it has made a difference in my life. Even the pain from a migraine lessons its hold when I practice this process.

I realize it might be a bit hokey pokey for some but if there is a chance it can help, why not give it a try?

I’ve included my photo above when I first did the work; I used the exercise to depict my migraine and it did soothe it; the drawing is prior to the meditation/release.

While I was researching my topic, I came across the below detail about stress, I found it worthwhile to share.

“Stress Spot: Your Nervous System 
When you're stressed, hormones flood your body, helping you focus your attention, sharpening your vision, and preparing your muscles to take action.

The Fix: Tap the power.

For short periods, facing adversity can energize you to handle challenges. Recently, University at Buffalo researchers monitoring 2,398 people found that those who'd experienced some adversity scored higher on measures of mental health and life satisfaction than those who'd seen either high levels of adversity or none at all.

‘In moderation, whatever doesn't kill us may indeed make us stronger,’ says study author Mark Seery, Ph.D.

Stress Spot: Your Muscles 
Neck and back tension caused by mental stress, plus long days spent hunched over a computer keyboard, can trigger pain.

The Fix: Try the corner stretch.

Stand facing the corner of a room. Raise your elbows to shoulder height, and place your forearms, elbows, and palms against each wall. Lean in to flex your chest and back muscles. Hold for 15 seconds, breathing deeply. Do this every 2 hours or whenever you feel tight.

Exercise helps reduce stress levels. Build a stronger upper back and improve your overall posture with this shoulder workout.

Stress Spot: Your Gut 
Increased stomach acid from stress can churn your gut and loosen your bowels. Stress can even alter the way your body processes fat, causing you to store more of it in your abdomen.

The Fix: Twist yourself into a pretzel and laugh, laugh, laugh.

"Laughter yoga" practitioners swear that combining yogic breathing and stretching techniques with forced laughter helps them cope better with life's stresses. Studies have already demonstrated the ability of yoga to ease stress and lower blood pressure. And laughing appears to do the same. For example: Two reports presented at the 2009 American College of Sports Medicine's annual meeting showed that people who watched comedies had more-pliable blood vessels and improved bloodflow for up to 24 hours after the chuckling commenced.

Stress Spot: Your DNA 
Not only can stress make you flatulent, but it can screw with your DNA too. A 24-7 bath of stress hormones can cause telomeres to shorten. Telomeres are genetic structures that protect the ends of chromosomes; if they shorten too much, cells can no longer multiply.

Fix: Meditate.

A recent Harvard study found that the physiological response from meditation, tai chi, and breathing exercises can counteract cellular damage from stress.

Just breathe: How to meditate.” [How to meditate is linked to information on meditation]

Catastrophizing, continued...

Lifetime Art Impressions, Craft

Click on the below article link to obtain background information to this blog post:

Examiner article

I love the quote I closed with in the article. I have learned through practice and by challenging my core beliefs through rational thinking to “unlearn” the negative catastrophizing mindset that I unintentionally took on from such a young age. Keep in mind this impacted me physically at an young age; I had a nervous stomach in my early elementary school years but I was embarrassed to share this healthy issue. I used to spoon the Kaopectate daily like it was a vitamin to address diarrhea I suffered. My worrying coping mechanism was self-sabotaging; I was later diagnosed with Ulcerous Colitis as a young adult.

Today, I have come along way in my healing process as I said I had to unlearn this modeled behavior and reframe my thoughts in order to rationally weigh risks instead of hexing the unknown with a worst-case scenario. I use the work “hex” because I believe in the power of thinking, and my negative thoughts were powerfully energized with my emotions, this manifested much of what I had feared.

Of course I do still worry but when I started going down this unhealthy path I recognize it pretty quickly and then I channel the energy into a positive coping mechanism instead. I’ve shared before, I have learned to turn anxious energy into curiosity; anxiety is harmful but curios energy is a positive. 

What have you carried unintentionally from your childhood? If it is impacting you negatively, it is time to reveal the toxin and let it go. If you do the work, you’ll free yourself from the hardship!

The mind's eye, continued...

Lifetime Art Impressions, LLC photo

Click on the below article link to obtain background information to this blog post:

Examiner article

Amy Purdy talked to Oprah about how she visualized her life while in the hospital after losing her legs from the knees down. She explained that she knew and believed that she would snowboard again. She said not only could she see it but in the moment of this vision, she could feel it; Amy could feel the wind against her face and her muscles twitching as if she was snowboarding. She said she didn’t know how she would get to this point again but she whole heartily believed she would get there.

In the end of my Examiner article I ask you what you see for you life? This question is not about how you are currently living but more about that crisp vision that is holding on in your psyche that instills a thought wrapped by a celestial presence that silently empowers you with a knowing that you are meant to do more with our life.

I, my friend, have this vision; it is clear in my mind’s eye. I feel this knowing in my core that I will achieve a mark in some aspect of a new human services role. I believe this to be my calling into Art Therapy. In order to get to this credential I first felt the need to obtain a Master’s Degree in Mental Health Counseling. If all goes well I will obtain this degree by the Fall of this year. It feels like a long ride but I’m getting there. Somehow, someway, I will land into a position that will enable me to use my God-given creative talent and my therapeutic skills that are growing, to serve others; to make a difference in the lives of others one person at a time.

I sense this, I see this and I feel this.

What are you seeing in your mind’s eye? I would love to read about it. Drop me a note and let’s correspond!

Honoring our parents, continued...

Lifetime Art Impressions, LLC photo

Click on the below article link to obtain background information to this blog post:

Examiner article

It seems to me like many people reside in extremes degrees of adult Parent relationships, on one end adult children are living with parents and these parents are practically raising their grandchildren or their parents are not included in their adult lives or minimally when they need something. I believe family connection that honors or nurturers our roots or those who have helped us get here, is beneficial to all involved. It is a bond that grows and strengthens with age.

The Huffington Post offers these statistics and insights, “

“With single parenting on the rise, more and more grandparents are stepping up to help their adult children raise kids, a report released Tuesday found. The research, conducted by US 2010, a research project on changes in American society funded by Brown University and the Russell Sage Foundation, corroborates a recent study by the Pew Research Center that showed that 7.7 million U.S. children -- one in 10 -- were living in the same household as one of their grandparents in 2011. In most cases, that meant living in their grandparent's home.

So why are so many seniors playing such pivotal roles in raising their grandkids? In an interview with the Washington Post, Amy Goyer, AARP’s expert on multigenerational and family issues, cited the 2007 recession as one the biggest reasons for the uptick in multigenerational households. ‘Grandparents have always been a safety net,’ she said, adding that nearly 20 percent of grandparents with grandchildren in the house are living below the poverty line. The study concluded that almost one-third of grandmothers who live with their grandchildren are the primary caregivers. Black and Hispanic grandmothers are more likely than white grandmothers to live with grandchildren and black grandmothers are more likely than Hispanic grandmothers to be the primary caregivers, the report found.”

Why are grandparents involved? Because they care about their loved ones and they want to help even if they are unable to afford it. Or, maybe they regret not being able to give you a better upbringing so they are trying to make a different by helping you and their grandchildren. Whatever the reason, it needs to be honored.

If you are not actively visiting and helping your parents in your adult life, I challenge you to pick up the phone and make the effort; a little bit will go a long way. If you don't believe me, talk to an adult who has lost his or her parents and get their perspective. Most would do anything to talk to their deceased parents again.