" Rest ... "

“ ... You'll have to excuse me, I'm not at my best

I've been gone for a month

I need home for a rest ... 

There so-called vacations

By the light of the moon she'd drift through the streets

A rare old perfume so seductive and sweet

She'd tease us and flirt as the pubs all closed down

Then walk us on home and deny us a round ... “

~ Spirit of the West ~ Rest ~

***

Rest is not what most people think it is.  It isn’t recreation like hiking, watching TV, gardening, reading or getting wasted.  They may provide a restful space, but they are not rest.  

Rest can be defined as a kind of waking sleep, experience while you are alert and aware, like a bridge to sleep.  We achieve rest and sleep the same way, by allowing it to happen.  

When we rest, we allow our bodies to dissolve stress.  The body’s relaxation response can lead to physlogical changes, similar to yoga, meditation or a day on the beach.  

And the spiritual benefits of resting is profound.  When you slow down and get quiet, you can actually begin to hear you own inner knowledge.  When we make space in our lives, it helps us to make sense of life on life’s terms.

Having the ability to take a few conscious breaths, during which you focus on your inhalation and exhalation or the space between breaths ... 

Having the ability to make a statement and do nothing, does something for you.  Having the desire to put boundaries around so you can claim that time ... 

Most of us need to learn how to rest.  The more we integrate periods of rest and silence into our daily lives, the bigger the payoff will be.  And  during crisis, more rest and silence are called for.  It is similar to preventive medicine.  So important to make it intentional and make it a sacred time.  

The yang lifestyle can cause damage to our quality of life.  So this activity of REST, allows us to restore our body, mind and soul.  Concentrated rest confronts stress in both ways.  It reduces the demands of the situation  and it reduces our energy for that demand.  We have an opportunity to reflect, strive for balance, and again hold reserves for life’s emergencies.  

Properly developing a discipline of concentrated rest requires both inward and outward changes. So, stop focusing on what you don’t have and start enjoying the things that you do.  And plan your rest.  It is hard to simply be but test will come only from intentional planning and planning rest will come only if it is truly desired. 

Fortunately, we can decide that we are not a victim of time demands, we are creators and acceptors of them.  We can take responsibility of our life.  And so, we are as busy as we choose to be.  Embrace simplicity of a life that focuses on your values and not your possessions.  That concept in itself, will slow things down.

Remembering that rest is not a sign of weakness, but a vital choice to only further enhance your overall growth.  Living is when we starting enjoying rather than just producing ... resting included.

www.walkstrong.ca

" Freeze frame ... "

I could see it was a rough-cut Tuesday

Slow-motion weekdays stare me down ...

There were no defects to be found

Snapshot image froze without a sound ...

Thursday morning was a hot flash-factor

Friday night we'll dance the spotlight grind ...

Now I'm lookin' at a flashback Sunday

This freeze-frame moment can't be wrong ...

Freeze-Frame! (Freeze-Frame!) 

Freeze-Frame! (Freeze-Frame!)

Freeze-Frame! Now Freeze!

~ J. Geils Band Lyrics ~ Freeze Frame ~ 

***

I think professional framer’s are fortunate people.  They can transition paintings or photographs within moments using different frames and colored matts, placed around the edges.  Certain highlights or perspectives are displayed ... entire readings of it that you hadn’t noticed before ... presenting a new meaning for you.

So what if we applied this to our own life by re-framing experiences therapeutically.  A way of taking an image or thought and seeing it in a new way.  Basically, viewing your life from a different perspective.  What if we try out some new "frames" and see what it does ... will it transform in some way so that it is easier to cope with?

Think about it ... 

• are there some thoughts, experiences or expectations you would like to take a fresh look at?
• what areas of your life might you like to try a new frame on?
• what kind of frame could it be?
• which aspects of the situation, or of yourself, might you like to highlight?

Interesting how two people can undergo the same painful experience in life, but one appears inspiring to others while the other appears to continue suffering and be a victim.  Why?  well it’s not so much our past but how we see it.  With any mistake we have made in the past, many of us continually beat ourselves up for it and blame someone else.  Instead we could reflect back happy that we learned from our mistakes and things are so much better now.  Stepping back and looking at the broader view may help us recognize that there are different layers of meaning.

How we perceive our story determines the quality of our life.  The quality of our lives has less to do with the details and more to do with how we perceived those details. The meaning we assign it and the story we tell ourselves will determine how we live the rest of our lives from this day forward.

I know that there are moments in my life that are just plain hard.  I feel like I am getting nowhere and no matter what I do, I feel like I am barely keeping my head above water.  Yet if by re-framing, maybe the very fact that I’ve kept putting one foot in front of the other has its own worth and meaning.  I’ve kept on trying despite the odds.  And I’m learning what doesn’t work, so I might be getting closer to figuring out what does.

Even the smallest, seemingly plainest of frames can help. Something as straightforward as: ‘right now, this is a really tough time’ itself acknowledges the level of challenge I'm facing, as well as the possibility of transience and that this hopelessness will eventually relent. It offers some hope to keep me going.

The beauty of re-framing is you can experiment until you find the one that feels right for now ... and also decide which elements you might like to highlight in some way.

" Higher ... "

I do this just for kicks, just for the thrill (thrill)

I got this high without taking a pill (pill)

This groove has got me way over the sun (sun)

I'm dancing like I am the only one (one)

'Cause I can't get enough, I can't get enough

I can't stay on the ground (whoa)

I can't get enough, I can't get enough

This is taking me now

~ Taio Cruz ~ Higher ~

***

As mentioned in my last post, my Gerson Therapy is producing encouraging results.  To give my immune system a kick in the pants, the Gerson doctors recommended ~50 grams/week of vitamin C intravenously.  Yes, that is a very generous amount, considering the recommended daily intake is ten times lower.  So whats with the higher dose?

Well, first some history ... the “Father of Vitamin C”, Dr. Linus Pauling realized during his research, that large doses of vitamin C have significant effects on our immune system and anti-tumour effects.  

So how does it work ... vitamin C works in two ways.  First, in high enough doses it can destroy cancer cells.  It is thought that vitamin C overwhelms the ability of tumour cells to suppress hydrogen peroxide production and this build up of H2O2 in cancer cells kills them.  Secondly, cancer cells produce an enzyme called “hyaluonidase” that destroys healthy tissue around them thus facilitating tumour growth and metastasis.  High doses of vitamin C inhibit this enzyme.  

In summary, some of the benefits include ... 

* increase quality of life
* prolong survival
* enhance action of some chemotherapeutic agents
* limits body wide tissue damage from free radicals (created by chemotherapy)
* safe and non-toxic to healthy cells

Also it is worth to note that “the excitement around vitamin C and cancer was diminished by a later trial done by the Mayo clinic that could not repeat the findings by Cameron and Pauling, leading to a dismissal of its potential role in oncology.  We now know that the results were not reproducible simply because the Mayo clinic used oral dosing of vitamin C, whereas IV administration is the only way to reach the required tissue saturation levels for vitamin C to act as just described above”.

Unfortunately, it can personally be an expensive undertaking as most insurance companies consider this experimental.  Yet a growing number of naturopath oncologists are integrating intravenous (IV) vitamin C into their cancer treatment protocols ... hopefully it is just a matter of time until integrative cancer care will be the norm.

 ... give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way ॐ