Today my dear readers has been incredibly busy – Demands on my time has been persistent . Today’s writing is about sharing what I do for checking in -when I find myself zooming through the day !!!

Here is a list of things I do to keep my pace on check :

• 

Make time just to focus on my breath – even if it is 5 min – this gives awareness and reminds me to slow down – cues me to take responsibility on how I manage myself

Write a note to myself on what has already been achieved in a day – this helps to acknowledge my sense of self and practise compassion on the my self

Make an intentional pause to give a kind word or share a treat with a colleague or a friend – this energises me and fills me up

Remember to smile and connect with my pets or briefly with my favourite humans – my adult sons or friends close to my heart – whoever is available

Connecting to you all my dear readers gives me an additional sense of purpose and gratitude ….how do you check in and take a quick audit on your wellness… love to know

• 

Finishing with 3 of my favourite Dalai Lama’s sayings –

1. Respect for self – Respect for others – Responsibility to one’s actions

• 

2.When you want to show kindness to others show compassion

3.When you want others to show kindness to you show compassion.

• 

• 

Today’s world is full on with the challenges we face in dealing with COVID; simultaneously we are now also dealing with so much of divide between communities . All of this has an impact on individual wellness – on how each of us feel given the current context .

To be mindful that this big world of ours is small – and that each of us still remain connected through our experiences , and perspectives is one avenue to bridge the divide .

Another constructive experience that I intend to share here is the story behind one of my dear friends turning 60. I decided that my gift to remember my friend’s 60 th was to cook and donate 60 packs of food to one of our food banks . This marathon of an excercise resulted in me feeling totally zonked but very happy and energised.

I decided that I will include making food for our local food bank as a weekly happening at my home. So what was meant to be a one off event is now a weekly occurrence . I make anywhere between 5 upto 12 packs or 18 packs . It gives me great joy that I am now able to serve and give back a teeny weeny portion to the community . I find this rewarding and intriguing as I don’t know who is going to be eating my yumm rice dish with lentils and vegetables; neither do they know that it is coming from my home . But I know that this connects me to my community and connects the community to me. I am thankful for the values I have been imbibed with , that teaches me to keep serving – and aspire for this to be the culture of my home for my kind adult children and one day -their children’s children … One of the best lessons come to life when – “children do as they see”

Using this forum to communicate and share what I have found useful – has been a gratifying experience – Thank you all dear readers for keeping me at it 😉❤️

To my dear readers , some of my main readings about knowing the brain has helped me immensely in learning to be connected to myself – this has had such a positive impact on my own wellness .

What we think , what we feel and what we do is a very integrated process . Our brain is structured in a way that if have a happy thought changes happen internally in our feelings and manifest externally in our actions .

Reading Dan Hughes . Dr.Bessel Van Der Kolk has helped me immensely . I am attaching one of my favourite clips by Dan Seigel’s

This is the intention of my rationale for advocating connectedness to our own selves . Being connected to ourselves means we acknowledge our positives and accept all of our weaknesses and our strengths. This allows us to also make social choices that are important to us . We learn to gravitate towards people and experiences that bring out the best in us.

So being connected to our selves and knowing ourselves really well is the first step towards being socially astute and emotionally intelligent.

So what are things that excite you -make you happy –

what unsettles you ??

-Talking to a trusted friend helps

Make a plan that is comforting

Choose a positive thought – a happy thought leads to a happy feeling which leads to a kind and happy action

My example : I find driving on new roads very unsettling – I either make a plan to be supported in the task – like being open and asking for help or find an alternative pathway … it always helps –

So let’s get that one step closer to a positive mindset -we always have the power to choose the way we think …

“Your beliefs become your thoughts your thoughts become words- your words become actions- your actions become habits , your habits become your values , your values become your destiny.” – Mahatma Gandhi

Dear readers -wishing you all a very Happy Friday !!!

The intention of this post is to share some good learning that I gained in watching a YouTube clip -on plant based wellness and how it helped to get to where I am …. closer to integral wellness

I have always loved and relished red meat and fish … in NZ we get to have the world’s best lamb ( so I say ) and some fantastic Kai moana ( sea food in Te Reo ). I have grown up eating fantastic meat based food… my grandmother definitely one of the kindest people whom I have grown up with enjoyed her meat based diet and her fish – my mum an exceptional expert where food is concerned – has made and continues to make the. Yummiest of meat based culinary delights ….

However from time to time I would always have this quest within me to try the pathway of vegetarianism …. It was nothing to do with religion or spirituality – it had everything to do for my love for animals . As much as I tried to follow a vegetarian diet – It did not happen – the burger would urge me to have a bite or I would crave for something else that is not plant based.

The luxury of time that came with COVID resulted me watching the following video it’s a conversation Oprah has with Suzie Amis Cameron ….For me this clip did something intrinsic for me – What appealed to me was the advocacy towards plant – based diet was very realistic -For example Suzie talks of one plant based meal a day ; What allured me to this was the fact that even a small change like one plant based meal a day by one person for one year saves 200000 gallons of water -it was not just about being healthier and more active . To me it felt like a calling to make a small difference to the conservation of our planet .

To add to this my son shared a video called “ game changers”- that went into lots of detail about going plant based ….I cherish moments when my adult children invite me to be participate in their millennial perspectives

My intention to lean into a plant based diet also gave me scope to learn to make the yummiest of vegetarian food – I did this by planning what I needed to eat and making sure that I had my proteins , my greens and including the colours of a healthy 5+ a day

A suggestion by a friend to try options from Hellofresh further enhanced my insights into perfectly healthy sumptuous vegetarian options

Above – one of the salads from Hellofresh Below are the links attached …. fingers crossed it works – the interview – which inspired me into choosing vegetarianism

In the next https://youtu.be/J8kGq5QXSCQ

So it’s now been three months and I get to relish plenty of vegetarian options . I am not sure if I would become a vegan but for now I am loving every bit of being a vegetarian -I feel just as healthy as I did before but I do feel a sense of accomplishment for eating a diet that is totally in sync with my love and compassion for the animal kingdom

• 

New learning experiences

Creates a context where new learning and new social connections can happen . I am writing about this today with the intention of motivating you to try finding “ a new thing to do .” and then go towards kind connections that make your being thrive day after day

• 

I graduated as a registered psychologist well well well into my adulthood . Swimming , French and learning to crotchet were very new to me .

Immersing ourselves in new learning experiences – is a neat way to know yourself better. We become our own teachers as we gain insight into what helps us learn. I find this fascinating and it has brought a new dimension into my personal and professional outlook -of how children and adults learn and what motivates the learning or the mastering of a technique to the next level …

What makes the new learning experience worthwhile -every time – is the link -to the context – the connections – the influence of the individual directing the learning experience . For example in my swimming – in my tryst with crotchet – and in my lectures – the adults directing the sessions played a huge role in motivating me to be where I am now – happy – confident – grateful and well.

Everyday when I am at work – I feel incredibly happy – for the people that I work with – the people that I meet – lessons and teachings that come about in plentiful abundance Blessed is he who has found his work – Thomas Carlyle

I am also sharing a Maori proverb that affirms the significance of relationships most beautifully . What is the most important thing in the world ? He Tangata, he tangata , he tangata It is the people , it is the people , it is the people –

• 

The day I turned 50, one of my cherished gifts included a poem written by Derek Walcott, a Caribbean poet – he won the Nobel Prize for Literature.
This poem is poignant – extra beautiful – as the lines very simply tell us to take a moment to pause and look into our own selves. It reminds me of what the scriptures have to tell us – of looking within for comfort and solace.

Thich Nhat Hanh the Mentor from the East affirms that learning to love others can happen easily when we love ourselves. The science of resilience begins when we accept all that we are and develop a connectedness to our own selves.

This poem is so clever that it encapsulates the philosophy of the East ,the modernistic trends of the Western World and some of the timeless teachings of our evolving world- the notes will forever ring to eternity.

In sharing this poem I advocate for wellness through reflection and connectedness to the self

So here below is Derek Walcott`s

LOVE AFTER LOVE

The time will come
when, with elation,
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror,
and each will smile at the other’s welcome,
and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,

the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.

Today I am writing on what we already know – and am including my own perspectives – the changes that I have made and will continue to do so ….. as I grow well into my years …

Wellness is about keeping the balance through diet , excercise and staying mentally active .

Diet : Eating a wholistic diet with proteins – minerals – healthy fats play a significant role in our physical health . In recent times I have opted to go vegetarian and I must say that it feels like quite an achievement for me . I am enjoying this and I intend to stay this way …. I would like to eat less sugar and hopefully I would achieve what seems to be a simple goal- but poses quite a challenge to me.

Having grown up with very good food and fantastic tastes … I am very thankful and appreciative of good soulful food – that adds to my wellness . I recommend you to pay attention and relish the food nourishes you.

Excercise : This is a powerful tool to improve our mental health and physical health. Yoga is an inherent part of my day – I put aside twenty minutes to breathe , to be grateful and to put some thought on the day ahead of me . Besides this I attempt to hit 10000 steps each day and I walk my faithful dog my gentle Fern every single day

Staying mentally active : I am thankful for the work I do that keeps me switched on. I’m recent times I am also learning to play the piano – this is happening at a snail’s pace …😉keeping up with my reading – working on my blog and thinking of my art projects all keep me going .

This moment I feel grateful that I am able to share this with you …. I would like you to add a new dimension to your diet , excercise and mental mind based activities

Diet : how do you keep the balance – what is one new food you are trying or one ingredient you wish to quit ….

Excercise: How many steps do you do in a day ?? How much of time do you set aside for excercise

Being switched on : Working on a new recipe , learning the lyrics of a song and working out the dress code for your next event is all part of the switched on fun ….

Let’s join together to imbibe nurturing wellness through nourishing food , through energising movement and purposeful action day after day after day

Every man is the builder of a temple called his body…we are all sculptors and painters and our material is our own flesh and blood and bones. Any nobleness begins at once to refine a man’s features , any meanness – to imbrute them – – Henry David Thoreau

Following on from yesterday’s blog , today’s writing is about reinforcing the power of self talk , visualisation and setting goals .

We use the top most part of our brain cortical region of the brain – to engage in self talk or visualisation or goal setting . The cortical region is where learning and thinking happens.

Another word for learning and thinking skills is cognitive skills. So when we are able to engage is self talk , visualisation and set goals we exercise the topmost or cognitive part of our brain. Using the cognitive part of our brain to manage our emotions is also known as “top down strategies.” This can be an effective way of managing ourselves – when we are able to keep our cool

Hopefully I will endeavour to put yesterday’s writing and today’s into a light illustration.

Studies in science say that goal setting or visualisation or self talk are good ways of learning to manage ourselves when we feel challenged or when we wish to achieve a target goal.

Self talk can be powerful in influencing and calming our emotions. Visualisation and goal setting also works well as it gives us an element of focus . It empowers us to stay positive .

Some ways that I use my top down cognitive skills are I write simple clear scripts to myself – either through a picture or words …

Even surrounding ourselves with empowering words can add to our treasury of wellness . However my dear readers it is very very important to keep calm and believe in the power of the wellness words we use and surround ourselves

I am finishing today’s writing with Emerson’s words on selflessness – Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting some on yourself.”

Walking , timed breathing , swimming , cross training, horse riding , singing add immense value to brain health and wellness

The books that I have found useful, share information based on evidence based studies . In sharing this I aspire for you to take up an activity that adds to brain health and increases your everyday wellness

The brain is hierarchical – things happen in order – in steps -starting from the bottom the stem of the brain -that looks after our instructive responses – refer my blog on brain and wellness 🌟

Then to the area that looks after our movement

Then to the part of the brain that looks after our feelings and

Then the top most layer that looks after our thinking and our learning.

So when we excercise and engage in breathing swimming or meditative practice – we regulate the stem of our brain . This regulation has a positive impact on the movement area , the feelings area ( limbic region ) and our learning area ( cortical region) . The regulation begins from the bottom most area and travels upwards – so the movement or regulation is ‘bottom up’ .

Using the power of the breath and engaging in mindful activities are referred to as “bottom up strategies” – so let’s breathe and excercise and move and sing a toast to our everyday wellness quotient

I will illustrate this on a later day 🌟