Om Shanti Om ~ peace in body, peace in mind, peace in spirit

Chili Cook-Off, Foster Dog, Emotional Assistance Animal all Rolled into Life

Welcome to my 5-minute podcast. Opening remarks... Life is…well…sometimes life is funny.  That could mean what is happening around me or to me, produces a lot of joy. Maybe even a belly laugh.  Or, it could be that what is happening is so surprising that if I don’t perceive it as funny, I may be tempted to judge it harshly negatively, and that never adds benefit to my mental wellbeing. A couple of weeks ago, I put in a foster application at the local SPCA.  I took their test, passed with flying colors, still the overachiever I guess, and have been patiently waiting for a foster opportunity.  For lunch yesterday, I went to our community's annual Chili cook-off where all proceeds are going to our local volunteer fire department.  The turnout was phenomenal, and I thoroughly enjoyed just hanging out, having random chats with people I have never met, and enjoying this gathering of the community to eat some good chili and support our fire department.  I liked being a part of the experience. I like to participate in making my community resilient, strong, and purposeful.  I left Paradise Pub with a smile on my face, but it left me wanting something...more. About an hour later I received an email from SPCA seeking a Foster for Gertie...

Wake up to what's possible...

Thank you for listening. Openings remark... If you are a Thomas’ English Muffin fan, you will notice this message is posted on their packaging.  When I read it this morning, I was struck by how my energy shifted…I smiled…and I felt my focus shift to the present moment.  I cannot recall the last time I felt so optimistic while consuming my breakfast.  Think about it…it’s a magnificent head space to begin the day. It has a child-like approach to life.  Looking for the magic…the awesomeness…the joy.  From a mental health perspective, it promotes an inward sense of health and well-being which is then extended outward to people we meet and experiences we encounter.  It gives us a chance…an opportunity…to be successful in whatever way we define success.  To meet the day with hope and to feel empowered to meet the challenges that will, undoubtedly, be presented.  While it doesn’t guarantee that we will be ‘able to leap tall buildings in a single bound’, it does give us the confidence to take the next step...

Om Shanti Om ~ peace in body, peace in mind, peace in spirit

Monday's musings. Welcome and thank you for listening... Opening remarks... When you think of peace, what comes to mind?  Is it reading a book and allowing your imagination to transport you to another time and place?  Is it sitting outside on your deck and listening to the birds sing? Is it taking a walk in the forest and reflecting on what you are grateful for?  Or is it entirely something else? I believe carving out a space for peace during our day is as important as drinking water, providing nourishment to our bodies, or having a good night’s sleep.  It is necessary to have space for the mind to rest…to consciously allow thoughts to pass by without a need to judge them or change them.  This is the practice of mindfulness...

Life...challenges...mindfulness...

Welcome and thank you for listening. Comments from the podcast... Life will always present us with a challenge and the form doesn’t matter….it is still our personal challenge to work through. My adopted granddaughter, Marissa, and I just completed reading The Mindful Twenty-Something by Holly Rogers, MD.  It is a magnificent book on mindfulness which I highly recommend whether you are a novice or a master. As we become more present in each moment…we give ourselves the opportunity to practice mindfulness and view our thoughts and feelings from a place of non-judgment.  And when we do this…when we practice mindfulness…everything changes.  The tsunami waves may crash all around us, but we can experience calm in the eye of the storm.

Is there a stigma surrounding mental health?

Welcome and thank you for listening to this 6 1/2 minute podcast.  Opening remarks... While great strides have been made over the past 70 years, I believe a stigma remains surrounding mental health. I have spent the last 2 years and 10 months in the Master of Social Work program at the University of Texas at Arlington, with a concentration in mental health and substance misuse. I entered this program for two reasons: 1) to help my brain heal from the TBI I experienced and 2) to ultimately provide pro-bono mental health services to veterans on a part-time basis…my give-back for this last chapter of my life. During my tenure at UTA, my experiences, biases, knowledge, and beliefs surrounding mental health have been challenged. My shame over my personal mental health challenges has been obliterated and this is perhaps the greatest gift I have received from the program. For if I cannot view myself without condemnation, how can I possibly view another as whole, perfect, or worthy? For everything I perceive outside of me is merely a reflection of what is going on within me…and this holds true for all of us. Every moment of every day we are creating our reality through the stories we are telling ourselves. We give meaning to our experiences and label them as either good or bad and we deem ourselves worthy, or not, and we look upon another with the same sense of judgement. How often do I look upon myself with compassion or grace? For it is certain that if I cannot extend compassion to myself, I cannot extend it to you...