" Wake up ... "

Movements come and movements go

Leaders speak, movements cease

When their heads are flown

'Cause all these punks

Got bullets in their heads

Departments of police, the judges, the feds

Networks at work, keepin' people calm

You know they went after King

When he spoke out on Vietnam

He turned the power to the have-nots

And then came the shot

Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!

Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!

~ Rage Against The Machine ~ Wake Up ~

***

Those moments when you were awake enough but hit the snooze button anyways.  Those moments when you pushed away precious opportunities.  Those moments when you were actually postponing your life.  Those moments.

We all have those moments.  Some are on purpose, others unintentionally, yet we identify with them.  Time when we didn’t take action because we were afraid ... we told ourselves weren’t enough.  And we build on those moments.  We sabotage ourselves, we get in the way and we ignore all the signs.  Until ... (roll the music) ... THE wake up call.  

There is a great deal of casual talk about wake up calls.  What it is and whether or not you’ve had yours.  I saw casual talk because in some circles, it seems to as frequent as ordering a daily latte.  I use to wonder how come all these people say they are having wake up calls but they’re behavior stays the same.  Well, I can honestly say that I’ve had mine.  And albeit loud and clear, I’ll admit, I still have a habit of hitting that snooze button ... when it isn’t convenient or simply because I am paralyzed with fear.

Prior to my diagnosis, I would say no to opportunities that pushed me out of my comfort zone.  Afterwards, I struggled with the idea that I could start living this life fully, regardless of the cancer in my body.  Yet I knew that this moment was designed for a purpose.  I’ve reflected on how one moment, one event,  has changed my entire world.  There has been great pain and enormous sadness, that I couldn’t just push away.  I had to accept that life was happening through me.  It wasn’t something to escape.  I started to lean into that moment of extreme grief which brought extreme clarity.  I knew that I needed to make a drastic change, that my life wasn’t over ... yet, and I had to stop acting like it was.  I had to start to care, about me, I had to start living for me because reflecting back, I think I was just giving up.

we don’t have to wait until your wake up call 

becomes a full blown alarm.

We are aware of the many things that are happening in the world that appear to be unfair, yet when we wake up, we become aware of all the beautiful things.  Without the ugly, we would never know the beautiful ... and beauty is in the eye of the beholder anyhow.  

are you running on your autopilot or inner pilot

I am learning that going through the pain is a necessary part of moving into a space of joy.  Wake up calls help us to experience the full spectrum of emotions, not just the ones we feel we can control.  The last few years have been some of the hardest moments that I have ever experience, but they have also been the most beautiful moments.  I am no longer okay with postponing life.  Maybe because I don’t know how the real plans for this dis-ease.  I realize I have no control, so I am learning that living consciously is about taking control of my life.  It is about thinking about my decisions rather than making them without thought, about having a life that I want rather than settling for the one that befalls me.  

Awareness is the enemy of sanity, 

for once you hear the screaming, it never stops

-- Emilie Autumn

www.walkstrong.ca

" I'm Sensitive ... "

So please be careful with me, I'm sensitive

And I'd like to stay that way.

I was thinking that it might do some good

If we robbed the cynics and took all their food

That way what they believe will have taken place

And we'll give it to anybody who has some faith

So please be careful with me, I'm sensitive

And I'd like to stay that way

~ Jewel ~ I’m Sensitive ~

***

There is a great deal of talk about having issues with Gluten.  After recent discussion with family and friends, I realized that I needed to understand what it is and why so many are intolerant or sensitive to it.

Did you know that gluten comes from a composite formed from different proteins?  

Within gluten, there are actually four main proteins: albumins, glutelins, globulins, and prolamins.  Glutelins and prolamins are found in higher concentrations in wheat, while albumins and globulins are more plentiful in corn and rice.  

When most of us think of gluten, we think bread ... as mentioned, wheat and also barley and rye.  Baked goods enjoy gluten because of the texture and chewiness it provides.  But did you know that gluten is also used as a thickener, binder, flavor enhancer and protein supplement?  This leads to the following foods that contain gluten ... and some may surprise you:

• cereal grains such as durum, spelt, einkorn, farro, graham, kamut and semolina
• soups, broths, gravies and sauces such as ketchup, salad dressings and marinades if used as a thickener
• bouillon, spice blends, coffees, dairy products, vinegars and liquors if used as flavor enhancers
• imitation meats or wheat meats such as seitan in vegan and vegetarian diets

So why is it estimated that up to 15% of North Americans are intolerant or sensitive?  This is a term that is used to describe three conditions: wheat allergy, non-celiac gluten sensitivity, or celiac dis-ease.  As the body starts to produce an abnormal immune response in the presence of wheat or its proteins, some of the following symptoms have been reported: 

• Significant unexplained change in body weight
• Nutritional deficiencies due to mal-absorbtion e.g. low iron levels
• Gastro-intestinal problems (bloating, pain, gas, constipation, diarrhea)
• Fat in the stools (due to poor digestion)
• Aching joints
• Depression
• Eczema
• Head aches
• Exhaustion
• Cramps, tingling and numbness

Many people are unaware of what this all means, as every individual with some level of gluten intolerance or allergy may experience different shades of these symptoms.  But always consult with your medical practitioner if you think you may be sensitive to gluten.  Self diagnosis is not recommended as it can be just as dangerous to your health.  Better tests are now available for raised levels of certain auto-antibodies in our blood.  These antibodies are produced when the body sense a dangerous intruder allergen, like gluten.  If the results indicate an allergy to gluten, the doctor may perform a small intestine biopsy. This will reveal the damage to the villi in the small intestine.  Note: it is important to eat an ordinary diet including gluten, before being tested.  

Just another reason to understand what is in your food ... read labels carefully.  

A great place to start is to know what you are sticking in your mouth first.

" Rushing ... "

"This year, this Christmas forever,

And the weeks and the months go rushing by

This year we've learned to live

How to forget, and how to forgive without fear"

~ Moby ~ Rushing~ 

***

What's the rush?  I guess it is easy to ask that question when your days are filled with the schedule I have, but seriously ... what IS the rush?  Pretty much everyone seems to be in a hurry, have lots on their plate, feeling burnt out, run down, and have very little time to do much of anything.  Plus with the holiday season upon us, there are plenty of parties and festivities and expectations ... take that busy crazy life and double it!

Recently, I read that highly sensitive people don't like to work under stress and pressure.  It makes them nervous and lessens the quality of their performance.  Makes sense to me ... a highly sensitive person.  With a high level of consciousness, I have had conflict between wanting to do well and feeling unable to do so ... building an intense internal struggle.  Yes, no wonder burn out was familiar territory ... then a sense of pressure ... and then rushing.

So why do we rush?  You see, within our internal battlefield, we are driven to perform, excel and succeed ... do good work, earn more money .. or have fear that we don't have enough.  For some of us, we feel flawed for being overly sensitive and try to prove that we are not.  We feel behind in life accomplishments or over-scheduled because we don't want to miss anything ... but in the end we do things that are not important to us.  Sometimes, we postpone the things that bring us pleasure until we have completed our tasks ... but they are never ending it seems.

Sometimes we don’t use our time wisely ... we play games, answer lots of email, create complicated solutions to our small problems ... and then rush to compensate.  Rush because we feel we have limited energy for any one thing and cram it all into as much possible time available.  Maybe we rush because we are afraid to stop ... to see what is underneath, emotionally, when we slow down.

So how can we stop the busyness and feel less rushed?  We can start by making new choices.  Recognize that rushing is a choice.  We can choose to follow our intuition about what is the next important thing for us to focus on.  Honour deeper intuitive messages that guide our lives.  Become conscious and deliberate about the choices we make.  We can observe, not absorb, the energy of rushing around us.  We can build counter-rushing time into our schedule.  

So plan to slow down to the speed of your life and ask yourself if the choice you are making is in alignment with who you are here to be ... and remember, from a spiritual perspective: 

You are right on time.