Hi All,
First off, thanks so much for all the wonderful comments on this post. I really had no idea how many people actually read this and how many people the "Happiness" post hit affected.
So what's going on with me. Still doing weekly acupuncture (thanks Kirsten) and it's feeling incredible. Last week during my apppointment I went "deeper" into a relaxed state that I hadn't felt before. And sleeping that night and since, feeling so rested. Probably the best sleep I've had in 6 or 8 years. My 4 am wake-up has move back a bit to more of a reasonable hour - 5:30. Still up here and there at 4 but able to get back to sleep within 10 minutes. In addition to the acupuncture I've started taking some Chinese herbs (again, thanks Kirsten) which address the insomnia, calm my mind and work on nourshing my blood and deal with my yin deficiencies in my lungs, heart and kidney. Also reduces my "heat" (no worries, i'll still be hot, just not a furnace, lol).
I've still been reading The Power of Now, listening to a lot of the Marillion cd and meditating. Also, have been pretty much kicking the coffee, on the green tea. So it's probably a combination of things, but I'm feeling absolutely incredible and my mind is becoming more and more clear of "noise".
I also seem to be managing my workload better. Better time management and juggling schedules. Things just seem to have clicked into place.
I've also been doing a good job of catching myself when I start stressing or feeling hurried. Reminding myself to breathe.
All is well and rolling on my journey.
Thanks for listening.
This really isn’t a branding or marketing post, but it seems like some stuff I need to get out. A few weeks ago on what felt like everything crashing down on me I seemed to have pulled myself out and am now stronger than ever. And how it started were some very interesting coincidences that I experienced.
- New book I started reading, The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. It’s about living and concentrating on the present rather than in the past or in the future and also turning off the “noise” in your mind.
- New cd by Marillion, Happiness is the Road. It’s a double cd and the first cd is based on The Power of Now by Echkart Tolle.
- While traveling on business was talking to a show shine guy in the hotel lobby. At first I thought he started preaching to me, but actually was talking with me about living in the present and keeping my focus there.
Weird. Somebody was telling me something. I also just started daily meditation for mental, physical and spiritual health and weekly acupuncture treatments to help balance my flow of energy or qi. Cutting back on the coffee, drinking more green tea, eating more organic and changing my diet. With the work and schedule stuff, I’ve also been eliminating “stuff”. Stuff that doesn’t really matter. What I do with my time, who I spend time with and how I use it to help others in a variety of ways. I’m consciously striving to make this world a better place.
Right now my missing link is regular exercise and getting back to fight club. I’m still working on balancing the schedule for that but it’ll happen soon. And I’m still not sleeping that great. I usually wake up around 4am and can’t get back to sleep. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, that’s an indication that my lungs are out of wack so we’re working on that with the acupuncture. One other interesting thing, the lungs are related to shellfish allergies, which I just developed about a year ago. Hmmmm.
Anyway, the overall result? I feel absolutely incredible. I feel truly transformed and different. Awake and alive and happy like I haven’t felt before. Less stress, more relaxed and better centered. Not sure if this is some sort of New Year’s resolution. Maybe.
Thanks for listening and have a great New Year’s.
Some lyrics from the above Marillion song that really hit home with me:
You're focusing on all of your bad yesterdays
The worry lines are getting deeper every day
And deep inside you
No surprise - there's a crisis!
You might have been to blame
But you can't go on this way
Must I watch and pray?
While you torture yourself with what's behind ya
Torture yourself with what awaits ya
Draggin' that guilt and regret inside ya
Anxious of the goals that always evade ya
Your mind will find a way to be unkind to you somehow
But all we really have is happening to us right now
HAPPINESS IS THE ROAD
And each baby..
A human sunrise
Each baby - a human sunrise..
Look around you
Feel your soul inside you
Look inside you
Feel the life course through you
The life that's giving In every thing that's living
The plants and the trees
The birds and the bees
And apes like you and me
HAPPINESS IS THE ROAD
You're a slave to your mind
But you are not your mind
You are not your pain
Say it again
You are not your pain
Say it again
You are not your pain
Happiness aint at the end of the road
Happiness aint at the end of the road
Happiness IS the road
The road
HAPPINESS IS THE ROAD