If you’re committed to natural health, don’t forget your mind …
We live in a time when there is an abundance of information, and conflicting opinions and recommendations, on what will make us or our children healthier. In this article we will share a new perspective on how you can successfully improve your health and potentially help your children.
Think of this scenario. You are in space, as a mind only. You are not a human or a spirit but just a mind. Along with many other minds in space, you are watching earth and human life, the interactions between humans and the earth and other animals. You do this for a thousand years – and you are fascinated, and excited that one day you will be on the earth living a human life. You admire all the human bodies in their various shapes and colours. You can’t wait to be born and live this life.
Your understanding of life is very advanced and is based on this principle: The mind is external to the body, and the body is a supreme yet very specific design. The mind is capable of operating the body, absolutely.
Mind:
Did you know you are just like a computer? A computer, in actual fact, mimics a human perfectly. The intelligence behind a computer’s creation stems from an understanding of what the human being is. (Some people may not realise this.)
The mind of the computer – the hard drive – has the expertise to tell every part of the computer how to behave and operate. Compare the following to your mind:
– It can be programmed to operate the parts in a particular way.
– There is a place for storing memory and using the memory to operate.
– It can get sick with viruses and can be helped.
– It needs to be re-booted frequently to refresh the system, especially after being overloaded.
– It goes to sleep to preserve power and refresh.
– Applications can be installed – or added – to the system.
– Applications need regular review and updating to make sure they continue to be relevant and perform at their optimum.
– The operating system regularly becomes out of date – unable to keep up with the demands of society – and so we install the latest software.
– An old computer that hasn’t had its operating system updated will still work so long as its plugged into power. But it may, over time, have greater trouble fitting in and working with other products. New applications may not work well because the operating system is running on an outdated version.
Can you see the disadvantage in learning something as a child and never revising or updating your beliefs, or welcoming new ideas, with the information that your society is providing? We need to welcome new ideas and update our thinking. This can be hard, but is absolutely necessary. Don’t live your life according to what you were taught as a child. Your childhood was your beginning and makes you YOU, but you are designed to grow out of it.
All of the services available to you are essential to your life and will help your mind and body run at their optimum. New age thinking will introduce you to alternative therapies and ideas. This is PERFECT and you are clever to take advantage of new opportunities – ideas from others on how to have a healthier body. Such as:
– Chiropractic care
– A new exercise regime
– Yoga
– Acupuncture
– A change in diet
– Reflexology
– Chinese Herbal Remedies
– Homeopathic Remedies
– Naturopathic supports and vitamins
– Reiki
– The list goes on.
The best way to ensure these therapies will work is to believe they will work (you always need to prepare the computer to be ready for an update.) None of these will be perfect for you forever, only at different times in your life. If you start something new you can stop again once you have become a better mind or body from the experience. Moving on does not represent failure; it represents success! But you must be able to identify that you are moving forward and becoming healthier, and not opting out because of fear or complacency.
If you would like to start welcoming new ideas and updating your mind, here are some ideas on how you can do it:
1. Take a time-out, it might be only 1 hour per week. The time-out needs to be all about you and doing what makes you feel good. It might be talking to a councillor about the clutter or stresses in your life, taking the kids for a relaxing walk outdoors in nature, going to the gym, getting a massage, going for a swim or surf, meditating/yoga, reading a book on self-healing, writing an entry into your journal, or lying on the grass in the sun. You need an opportunity every now and then to clear your mind a little and realise your needs – and you will be able to relax and do this if you are somewhere you like to be.
2. If you find yourself regularly stressed or frustrated, ask yourself questions and make decisions on how to change things so you will feel better. For example, what are you worried about? (Answer). What is so bad about that? (Answer). And what is so bad about that? (Answer). Get to the bottom of why you are frustrated and decide how you will change it. If you find this hard, consider talking to another person who is understanding yet forward-thinking and can help you see your options.
3. How would you like to see your life right now? Paint a picture with words. Don’t talk about what you don’t want – talk about what you DO want. For this to work you must use positive language and think positive thoughts.
4. Realise that you are the creator of your life and what you believe about yourself brings more of the same to you. Discard any beliefs that you are stuck, or you are a victim, or you can’t do something because of somebody else or the situation you are in. (I urge you to read Louis Hay’s best seller ‘You can Heal Your Life’.)
5. Start challenging things that you have always done, said, eaten or believed.This is fun! When doing activities during the day – such as cleaning, talking, driving – or acting out your regular dinnertime or sleep rituals – question whether there could be a better way that would improve your health. Most importantly: decide to change. You don’t need anyone else to change with you.
6. Rebuild your identity as YOU and what you want YOU to be (not the product of someone’s else’s ideas). This simply involves imagining, in your own mind, who you are and how you see yourself. Include mental health, and the health of your body. In other words: start programming.
7. Liken yourself to a computer and ask what you can do to make sure your computer is healthy? Regularly clean out old, unused ideas. Reboot every morning (take a shower and start fresh). When you’re overwhelmed, take a time out to restart: acknowledge all open/running thoughts that are keeping your mind busy, then close them for addressing at a later time. Have periods of rest during the day. Show your body you appreciate it by nurturing and caring for it.
8. Become aware of how often you are thinking of the future or past instead of the present. Catch yourself mid-thought and mid-sentence and realise you are not present. Leave the past in the past, and deal with the future when you get there. Clean your mind and see where you are, hear the sounds around you, and feel the ground at your feet.
9. Become a Yes person. Rather than find a reason to say no, say yes by default then go ahead and DO. When you are asked to play with your kids, play. And when you play, be present (not absent). Smile a genuine smile and allow yourself to enjoy simple pleasures. Realise that something that scared you in the past is not a reason to fear doing it again: the future can be whatever you want it to be.
10. Move outside your comfort zone. If you find yourself opting-out of new experiences, or discrediting new ideas, or arguing with others about why you don’t want to participate – catch yourself and simply give it a go. Trying new things is always good for a laugh!
Please remember that everything you learn and understand here can be taught to your children. Even if you find it difficult to explain these ideas, just living by them will be an inspiration. (Young children copy their parents, and older children believe their family’s ways are right and normal until, one day, they realise they can be different.)
Part 2 and 3 in this article Mind, Body, Energy will share ideas on how you can improve the health of your body and understand the way your mind and energy can be used to improve your health, and the health of your family.
And a thought that may help you today, by reminding you of your simple needs to survive and be healthy:
What would a computer do?
Day by day we aim to repair our bodies and have trust, faith and optimism for the future. You can join me as I walk to wellness in the private facebook group Joanna Haley Homestead (Journey to Wellness)
Joanna Haley, Author