Joyfull Living – May 2017

If you hold a pencil in your hand for a few minutes, it will not have much of an impact on your arm. If you hold it for hours… your hand, your wrist, and your shoulder start to hurt and over time this little pencil feels like heavy concrete and can cause your body severe pain and injury. There is one simple solution to ease or prevent the injury: Put it down! It’s the same when you hold your negative thoughts and worries about life’s problems in your mind for a prolonged period of time. It not only contributes nothing to a solution but over time it can cause serious health problems. The same solution for preventing the ill effects applies: Stop it! When we worry about our loved ones we are sending them an energy that contributes to their hardship and activates the harmful stress hormone in our body—nobody wins.

As a mother, I know it’s hard not to worry, especially about our children. I think the most difficult thing when someone we love is challenged is not knowing what to do for them. We feel helpless, and worrying gives us a socially acceptable thing to do. When you realize that worrying is like sending a wave of “yuck,” it can help you change this useless habit. Instead of calling in more bad energy, take a few gentle breaths so you can create the calm in the storm within you. From that place you can call in the healing opportunity for yourself and your loved ones. It takes the same amount of time to send good energy like Light and Love, and it is one of the most empowering things you can do to contribute to your higher good and the higher good of all.

The Power of a Positive Thought:

The mind is like a magnifying glass; what we focus on, we multiply. By taking a few minutes each day to focus on positive thoughts and gratitude, you can diffuse the ill effects of stress caused by worry. Émile Coué (1857-1926) was a French pharmacist and psychologist known as the grandfather of “The Law of Concentrated Attention.” He states that whenever attention is concentrated on an idea over and over again, it spontaneously tends to realize itself. If you are constantly mulling over the negative stuff, you keep creating more of the same. Coué introduced the practice of “Autosuggestion.” He said that it was an instrument that we all possess at birth that has “a marvelous and incalculable power…”

In times of stress, worry or depression how do we turn to a more positive way of thinking?

Cultivating a positive attitude does not imply lying about the reality of the situation but rather choosing to focus on the healing opportunity and bring in positive thoughts that can help pull you out of the undertow of worry. A positive state of mind becomes easier when you make it a daily practice to connect to the peace in your heart and from there, use a positive affirmation like this one inspired by Dr. Coué’s most famous one: “Every day, in every way, I’m opening to the healing opportunities in my life now and I choose to feel better and better.” Bringing this type of positive affirmation into a daily practice is a very powerful way to infuse the body with positive energy.

Another great tool for you to use daily or anytime you need a positive shift is The Prayer of Peace, Light and Love. You can use it for yourself and anyone else in your life. Pick up a postcard copy at JoyFull Yoga or go to www.foundation4yourlife.com to download an audio version you can listen to anytime you need to shift your negative mind and create a healing environment in your mind, body and spirit.

You can also register for a Sound Healing & Meditation Session (May 7 & 21.) These group sessions are a powerful antidote to worry and can help you clear negative energy. Each session offers you a deep restorative, healing experience that reduces stress and promotes inner peace and radiant health. You will also learn tools to develop a direct relationship with your body’s natural life force to restore well-being in mind, body and spirit. Breathe in Gratitude ~ Live in Joy.