What does harmony mean to you?

A few definitions I found…

1. Harmony is when you feel happy. Harmony is when people are all getting along together. Harmony is when people are nice to one another. Harmony is the flow of life.
2. Harmony means peace. In music, it can also mean that the notes are sounding good together. For example, that couple live in harmony and they seem to perfectly complement each other.
3. armony is a concord or agreement in facts, opinions, manners, interests, etc.; good correspondence; peace and friendship; as, good citizens live in harmony.

What I’m noticing in myself (and others around me) is that our first reaction to seeing a new situation or person is that we see the differences first.  It’s almost like that’s our conditioned response to something new if compare what is different to us.

In other words we see what we don’t like or don’t want with greater speed… The next step is to recognize that in yourself and then find what it is you DO like or what you CAN harmonize with.

If we truly embrace that we are all connected then it is up to us to find a pleasing reflection and harmony all around.

Much love and harmony to you!

In order to relieve stress meditation is usually practiced regularly. It is possible, of course, to sit down and meditate whenever you feel especially stressed, but often times this is not convenient. Anyway, you will get better results if you practice it often.

Try to meditate every day at the same time. For most people the best time is either first thing in the morning, last thing at night or after an exercise session.

Anti stress meditation does not have to be practiced for very long. It is much more effective to sit for 10 minutes, six days a week, than to meditate for a whole hour once a week.

So here is how to do it. First make sure that you will not be interrupted during your stress meditation time. You might want to put a ‘Do not disturb’ notice on the door. Switch off your phone. Use some kind of timer or alarm so that you do not have to keep looking at a clock.

Then find a comfortable position either sitting or lying down. Lie flat on your back on the floor or on a mat, with no pillow. If you are sitting, you can be crosslegged on a cushion on the floor in the traditional meditation posture or use a chair. Be sure to keep your back straight. In a chair, have both feet flat on the ground.

Be aware of your breath flowing in and out through your nostrils. You can either close your eyes or have them slightly open, looking down. You may find it helpful to work through the body, relaxing each part. Do not forget the muscles of the face, which carry a lot of tension.

You will find that thoughts and emotions arise while you are doing this. Try to let them go. They will pass by themselves if you do not get caught up in them.

Some people find it helpful to listen to some relaxing music or sounds or water, birdsong etc while they meditate. There are many relaxation CDs that you can find in a music store or online. It is better to get something that is specially designed for relaxation and does not include any lyrics. Songs can be very emotive and can arouse strong feelings, making you more stressed instead of less.

Alternatively, you might want to investigate binaural beats which play a special rhythm designed to set the brain’s waves to a frequency that is associated with deep relaxation. You can play these on an MP3 player with stereo headphones. Just one warning: you may want to do this in the evening rather than earlier in the day, because binaural beats played during anti stress meditation can be so relaxing you will want to go to sleep right after you finish!

If you don’t believe that, just think about it for a moment. How often have you been glad to receive a gift from somebody even though the gift itself was not something that you really wanted? If it was chosen for you, or made for you, or just made special in some way, it becomes a valuable present. It’s the thought that counts, as the old saying goes!

Keep in mind, however, that a cheap gift will not be appreciated unless it shows some imagination. Many people will enjoy a quirky or fun gift, no matter how cheap it was. But if you give them a cheap and boring grocery store shower gel, it will not have the same effect. Your gifts must be special in some way if they are going to pass the test.

If you do not have a lot to spend, one of the best ways to make a gift special is to have made it yourself. You will probably be surprised to find how easy it is, for example, to make candy, chocolates or Christmas cookies.

If you are skilled at needlepoint or other crafts you have probably already created some beautiful gifts, but if not, there are still many things that you can do. Grandparents will love pictures of your kids made into bookmarks or calendars. For other family members, you could consider customizing regular cheap CD holders or other items.

The second important point to remember when you are looking for cheap or home made Christmas gift ideas is that with inexpensive gifts, packaging is everything. That home made candy will be appreciated much more if it comes in a box or jar that you have decorated yourself.

Wrapping is important too. Regular Christmas wrap is cheap, and it’s worth buying a roll of gold or silver ribbon so that your presents will have that extra special touch.

Of course it’s true that if your kids or grandkids are hoping for a new bicycle, an Xbox or some other expensive item, they may be disappointed if all they find under the tree is a box of home made candy. And when kids are disappointed, they tend to show it, sometimes loudly and violently. In the worst cases, this can completely ruin Christmas for everybody.

So in that situation, be sure to sit down with your kids a few weeks before the holidays and explain why you cannot get them a big, expensive present this year. Tell them that you love them and you would love for them to have everything that they want, but your priorities have to be keeping food on the table and a roof over everybody’s heads right now. To make sure that they feel involved, you might want to ask if they have some inexpensive Christmas gift ideas for themselves or their brothers and sisters.

One of the reasons that we hear a lot more about stress these days is that it is a modern term. The use of the word stress in psychology and biology only dates back to the 1930s. Before that, it was only applied to physics and engineering. So that is why we do not see the word appearing in literature from one hundred years ago or more.

Stress is defined as an inappropriate response in the body to any kind of demand. So technically, stress is not the situation, but our response to it. The situation or demand causing the stress is called the stressor.

The first effects of stress on the body are similar to those felt in times of danger. The heart rate will tend to increase, adrenalin begins to surge through our system and the body prepares for a ‘fight or flight’ response to the danger.

However, in our modern lives, it is not usually possible to respond in these ways. If your boss dumps yet another 100 page report on your desk asking for a summary before lunchtime, you may be tempted to either hit him or run from the office (the two responses that your body is preparing you for) but you probably will not do either one.

The result is that the adrenalin has nothing to do, and instead of being used for its designed purpose it continues to circulate around the body for much longer than it should. That is why stress is called an inappropriate response: we don’t need all of that adrenalin to handle our boss.

As well as obviously stressful situations like that, there are many other stressors in our lives that we don’t even notice. Noise is one example. Conflict is another. These are things that we may be used to or even enjoy, but in primitive terms they were usually associated with danger and so our bodies will be preparing for the classic ‘fight or flight’ action.

The physical result of living like this is that we may have high levels of adrenalin circulating in the body all of the time. This can lead to many of the physical effects of stress, from headaches through chest pains, digestive disorders through serious illnesses.

What is stress on a psychological level? It means that we live most of our lives feeling slightly worried with moments of severe anxiety. It is common to suffer from insomnia, depression, irritability, mood swings, and more.

We may withdraw from friends and family, neglect our responsibilities, procrastinate, and become more dependent on substances like alcohol, cigarettes or drugs (prescribed or recreational). Eating habits are also likely to change: some people eat more, others eat less, but most people will either lose or gain weight when under stress.

Clearly, many of these effects can cause stress in themselves. Withdrawing from friends makes us feel more isolated and depressed. Neglecting our work leads to anxiety about job security. So we can easily find ourselves in a vicious circle. To break out of the circle it is not enough to know what is stress: we also need to know how to deal with it.

Stress is a physical reaction to a threatening situation. At the beginning of our history, we needed it to prompt us to flee or fight when we were in physical danger. Now we feel stress in situations where running away or punching somebody are not usually good options. We need other options, or the stress will go on bugging us until it causes real damage.

So below you will find my top 3 ways to relieve stress. But before we begin, let’s just remember that reading them is not enough! You need to actually do them to have any effect on your stress levels. So pick one and start right now!

1. Relax

It may seem impossible to do when you are stressed, but regular use of relaxation techniques is one of the best ways to manage the stress of our modern lives. Take time out at least three times a week to relax with meditation, yoga, a binaural beat soundtrack, guided visualization or a positive form of prayer (not a list of your faults!)

Relaxation techniques like these will make you feel better right away. More importantly, they will also reduce your tendency to react to stress in your life in the future, if practiced regularly. They will also help you to sleep, which is often an issue for people who are suffering from stress and looking for ways to relieve stress.

2. Establish Healthy Habits

If you are in the habit of reaching for cookies, chocolate, beer, cigarettes or even coffee when you are stressed, it’s worth trying to change. Sure, when you are under a lot of pressure it may not be the best time to try to quit those bad habits completely, but do try to reduce your dependence on them instead of increasing it.

All of those substances will make you feel less than your best physically. They are a drain on the body’s resources. However good they may make you feel for a few minutes or seconds, the truth is that they are the last thing you need when you are looking for ways to relieve stress.

Instead, eat a balanced diet, drink water when you are thirsty, and take a warm bath or go for a walk or run instead of reaching for your usual stimulants. Playing with a child or a pet can be a great stress reliever too.

3. Realistic Scheduling

Plan your day, but don’t plan more into your day than a person can realistically do. If you are making to-do lists at work, keep the list short. Keep in mind that most of the things will take at least twice as long as you expect, plus you need breaks.

If you can come out with a well balanced, realistic plan for your day, you have a good chance of doing everything that you planned. This will give you a sense of achievement and will mean that you can relax at the end of the day. In fact, it is one of the best ways to relieve stress.

So – here’s why I’m opposed to body weight being surgically removed (or having how much you can eat surgically manipulated)… if you don’t deal with the emotional issues about your body image and don’t change your mindset – I believe that your pretty much guaranteed to have the weight come back on.  
Maybe you won’t – but these problems or issues WILL show up in some other way… perhaps binging in another way such as shopping, hoarding, sex, etc.

I firmly believe that the ONLY way to live a healthy balanced life is to treat all aspects of what you need in life with honor and respect. By that I mean nurturing your physical, emotional, mental and spiritual needs.
Physical – nutrition, exercise, etc. Emotional – journaling, self-expression, etc. Mental – reading, inner dialogue (how you talk to yourself!), etc. and Spiritual – meditating, visualizing, feeling connected.

Quick fixes may get you where you THINK you want to be, but unless you adopt a holistic approach and realize that a healthy body is NOT a destination, rather – this body of yours is a sacred vessel which allows you to truly deeply enjoy your life experience… this is it, the journey is the gift.

Part of our conversation was around reframing the idea of having to do something to choosing to do it!

Think about it – how do YOU feel when you have to do something… for me, that energy feels heavy, like a burden – taking away my power of choice and feeling of being in control of what I do.

And yet – when I choose to do something… the energy is much lighter, life affirming and fun – because I’ve taken control and got my eye on what the end result is going to be.

This idea relates to pretty much any part of your life… but let’s look at exercise as an example of something that you may be struggling with doing.  Do you try to exercise from the viewpoint that you have to exercise in order to lose weight (or just maintain a healthy body)?

Would you be willing to start shifting that focus to be that you choose to exercise and move your body on fun ways so you can feel healthy and happy?

I’d love for you to try this out for yourself and let me know how it feels for you!

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Because it has become so popular, this time Stephanie has joined forces with Carolyn Hansen, renowned fitness professional, Gillian Hood-Gabrielson, exercise physiologist and intuitive eating coach, and Self Esteem Expert, Dr. Joe Rubino.

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Come and join Carolyn, Gillian, Stephanie, Joe and me and see for yourself.

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The reason I’m writing about this here, is – recently there was a large phase of the upgrade completed and now I get to drive on a completely new road which runs parallel to the old one… on the very first day I drove this road – I found that I could not visualize or work out where I was driving in relation to how it used to be.  It was as if the old route never existed for me.

To bring this into the idea of looking after your own health, weight and well-being.  If you look at yourself as you are now, paying no heed to what you have changed and accomplished – it can feel like a never ending battle, to get fitter, feel better, maybe even drop a few more pounds.

So I’m encouraging you to be proud of the work you’ve done on yourself… of course we are all “works in progress” but it is REALLY important to enjoy the journey.  Remember it’s not necessarily about the destination (when you get there – there will always be somewhere else to go!!) – the journey (and detours) are what make the experience tranformational and exciting!

I think Abraham-Hicks provides this wisdom brilliantly in the following quote:-

You have the ability to quickly change your patterns of thought, and eventually… your life experience.

Take 15 minutes daily, thinking of pleasant scenarios regarding your body, with the sole intent of enjoying your body and appreciating its strength and stamina and flexibility and beauty. When you visualize for the joy of visualizing rather than with the intention of correcting some deficiency, your thoughts are more pure and, therefore, more powerful. When you visualize to overcome something that is wrong, your thoughts are diluted with the “lackful” side of the equation. In time, your physical condition will acquiesce to your dominant thoughts. ~Abraham

So I really encourage you to gift yourself with that 15 minutes of thinking of pleasant scenarios about your body.  To help you with that – hop over to my other site – www.DivinelyInspiredWeightLoss.com and sign up to receive “Your Divine Body Kit” — one of the items in the kit is a list of 50 Body Loving Affirmations.

Start loving what YOU see in the mirror today!