Do you know how to reduce toxic stress?

Everything is stress. Stress is the link. Stress produces toxins in our body. Some of us tend to worry excessively, which causes extreme anxiety. If we have a tendency to worry, there are many things we can do to shift our thinking. I used to be that way when I was young. I came by it honestly as my mother was a worrier. I picked up those habits of thinking as a small child. My mother picked them up from her mother.

Our attitudes for the most part are shaped in our first few years of life. Therapists will tell you that the first 7 years of our lives is crucial in forming our attitudes and who we are at our core. Once, in conversation with a friend, she pointed out the correlation between my fear of my father and my fear of God. It had never dawned on me before that there was a correlation. That conversation allowed me to start looking at my thinking of God and learn that God was a loving God. As long as I thought God would punish me, I was always feeling bad about myself because even though I was not a bad person, I could not be good enough.

Today, I know I am a sensitive. Many of us are. We wanted to be close to God, to be Godlike. The purpose of the church was to help our society be a better one by implementing rules for living and punishment if we did not live by those rules. For those of us who were sensitives , who had extremely sensitive consciences and who wanted to be as close to God as we could be, these attitudes were harmful.

There were many things that led to my collapse. My interpretation and internalizing of the rules of the church was a part of that. I worked myself into a frazzle. Stress, along with lack of proper diet, water intake, exercise and sleep, all led to my collapse. My spirit was totally depleted. It was nonexistent. Like an onion, I had to look at the layers and peel them back one by one so I could heal.

I have read many good books throughout the years which have helped me shift my thinking. My very favorite is ‘The Feeling Good Handbook’ by David Burns. David talks about black and white thinking and has exercises to help you shift your thinking. You always need to do the exercises if you want to see the growth. The more you put into them, the more healing and shifting there will be. Even if you have worked on shifting your thinking (all of us grew up with stressful thinking), you are still human and stress affects you.

Check out my website, TheSpiritMindHealthConnection.com, there you will find the book mentioned that will help you shift your attitudes as well as other books you might find helpful in your journey.

Subscribe to my blog for more helpful information relating to your spirit, mind and health!

The spirit in me honors the spirit in you!  Namaste!

Rhonda

 

 

Coming back from the dark night of my soul!

11/9/08

 I woke up this morning thinking about last night. We celebrated my brother’s birthday last night. It was nice to be with family. I never know what to say. After these past 7 years of healing, I still do not know how to socialize and talk to people. I do not know how to chitchat. There used to be a time that I could chitchat with others easily.  I guess that is the last step in my healing. I was pretty quiet. I talked some, but not a lot.  I do not feel connected to my family. Even though they are all nice people, I feel like they are strangers. Why? I think it is because it still does not occur to me to be helpful to others. I need to learn that again. I remember that it always felt nice to do nice things for others. I actually just remembered that.  I used to be that way. I would do anything for others, just to see them smile. There is nothing in my mind to signal me to do nice things. I used to love to connect at a deeper level. Connecting on a soul level is what feels good to the spirit.  It was so strong that I would feel the other person’s emotion and I would internalize it. I would get the feeling in my stomach. It was so intense that I actually had to stop talking to people-connecting that way, because it was making me sick.

I like to think I have come a long way. I guess I have, but I am still not where I need to be. You see, I had a collapse. While no doctor ever told me (very honestly I do not trust doctors), I think I had a nervous breakdown. I went through a time of extreme anxiety. I was always pushing myself really hard. My fight or flight reflex was always activated and my stomach was always in knots.  Even today, I feel like I am working all the time, but I do not seem to get anything done. It is all busy work. I used not be able to make myself do anything work related. That is after the collapse. I have no desire, for life, for anything. It was that way for a long time, then my desire came back as I honored my spirit. Lately, I have been pushing a lot again.  I have been too busy to honor my spirit.

The only thing that feels good is things of the spirit. Everything else in the world is mundane and boring to me. I have gone through most of my money. In retrospect, I should have found a way to go on disability. I grew up with the concept that I should not be a burden on society, that it was my responsibility to take care of myself.

 I do not know what else to say about our family gathering last night.  It is interesting to me that I seem to connect better with extended family (relatives of relatives) than I do my own family. Maybe that is because I only seem the occasionally. I simply do not know what to say, other than ‘How are you?’ After that I do not know what else to say. I am different than them. Because my attitudes are so different and I think they would not understand me, I am quiet. I hide. I do not share my life.

One of my extended family members has a child that has eczema. She is only 2 years old.  I started talking about alternative health, then found myself trying to not say anything. Most people do not understand about alternative health and go a traditional route, which includes medicine.  Legal drugs were a big part of my illness.  I was the drug queen. I had taken the pill for 25 years, not to mention that every time I had something going on, I was taking antibiotics. Not to mention that I took over the counter medicines constantly. It all added to my collapse. The legal drugs, the over work, the stress and anxiety, the mundane of our world, all of those things led to my collapse.

What else is there to say?  I have no desire to do all the mundane things that we do in our culture. I used to be a paperwork queen.  I was good at it. I could push myself to get it done. For a long time after my collapse, I could not focus on a paper. I would look at it and could not read it. I could not comprehend what I was reading. I got my real estate license. It was a place for me to heal, a way for me to learn again. The real estate industry is a difficult industry. If I had it to do all over again, I would not choose real estate. There are only a handful of people who make their living in real estate. The majority of agents are part timers who do a deal here or there, and while I did much training so that I would be good at what I do, most of them do not. Like the corporate world, it takes one away from their spirit. I do not like the industry. It leaves me depleted. It stretches my spirituality.

Back to last night. And not being able to think of anything to say. It is better than it used to be. While at one time, I was very social and could talk with pretty much anyone, when I had my collapse, everything that was in my mind was gone. The only thing I know how to relate it to is a DOS screen. My mind was there. But there were no thoughts. It was clean. I had to relearn how to think. Relearn how to talk. In the beginning of the collapse, I would smile at people. That was once I learned how to smile again. There was nothing in my mind to say. I take that back. The only think that was there was the ego, crying out what has happened to me? Ego was afraid and angry. There was nothing that it could share. I was in physical and emotional pain. I was on the verge of tears all the time. If I did talk, which was seldom, not much was said. People did not understand the pain I was in. They thought I was complaining. I guess I was. It would have been nice to have someone to talk to, really talk to.  I did go to therapy. I actually worked with a couple of therapists.  They helped me tremendously. However, I had to do the work. I was the one that had to work toward coming back into a place of balance.  It is interesting to me that all that was there was my ego and my original belief system, you know, the one you learn when you are very young.  For me, it was the religious things I learned. And yes, I guess my little kid was there.  I wonder if the ego is the same thing as my little kid.  I am not sure. The one therapist I went to sent me to someone in his office who was a doctor in the psychology area. That doctor thought I had not had a nervous breakdown. He said my cognitive thinking was good.  My little kid was trusting.  I felt bad about money. I felt like money and working too much was the reason I was in that place.   I could not work for a long time. I was embarrassed.   While I am working again, I still do not think I could hold down a traditional job.

I am always hiding because my views are so different than others. Having come back from the dark night of my soul and reconstructed my life, my views are so different than they were previously.  A big part of that is because the views I had previously did not work for me. They were part of the reason I collapsed. So I am quiet and rarely feel connected to others. I guess that is the real reason I do not feel connected to my family, or others. The things that are in my mind today are so much different than others. Maybe it is not about not having social skills so much as knowing that most people would not understand my perspectives of life. I have always been a sensitive. Sometimes I think I must be from another planet. The only thing that feels good is things of the spirit. 

My blog is about my journey, my fall and my coming back from the dark night of my soul.

Check out my website, TheSpiritMindHealthConnection.com, there you will find the book mentioned that will help you shift your attitudes as well as other books you might find helpful in your journey.

Subscribe to my blog for more helpful information relating to your spirit, mind and health!

The spirit in me honors the spirit in you!  Namaste!

 

Testing your Alkaline level and the importance of Chlorophyll

Chlorophyll is what makes plants green. Green vegetables alkalize our body and it is chlorophyll that is in the green plants. Eating green plants such as different types of lettuces regularly will help alkalize our body.

Most of us try to eat properly, but in our fast paced world, even if we take care in what we eat, it is difficult to get a full spectrum of plants in our diets. Much of the food we eat out has too much sugar, enriched flour and yeast in it.

Taking chlorophyll will help alkalize your body. There are test strips available so that you can test your alkaline level.

If you would like to test your alkaline level, you may purchase test strips at WholeFoodVitaminsandHerbs.com

 

Muscle testing gives great insight!

 

Muscle testing is a great way to evaluate your body’s imbalances and assess its needs. Testing the body’s responses while applying slight pressure to a large muscle provides information on the energy in your body and can be used to test the body’s responses to herbs and other remedies.

Typically, to do muscle testing, you are given an herb to hold at your belly button or solar plexis. You extend the other arm and are asked to keep it straight. By the practitioner pressing down on this arm and the opposite shoulder with equal pressure, the practitioner can ascertain if it is something your body needs.  If the herb is something you need, you’ll be able to resist the downward pressure and hold your arm rigid. If you do not need it, your arm will weaken with the pressure and will not stay rigid. The same procedure can help determine how often and how much of the herb you should take. 

 

One way to self test is to touch the thumb to the middle finger of each hand to form two rings, linked through each other. Say something true—for example, “My name is [give your name].” At the same time, pull the linked fingers of the right hand against those of the left, but do not allow them to separate.

Then say something false—for example, “My name is [give someone else’s name].” Do the same thing as done before with the fingers, but this time deliberately separate them, as though they were flying apart or repelling each other. You can make the statements to yourself silently so long as you do it each time.  

You can also check your responses by holding something detrimental while self-testing—such as sugar or candy and see what response you get. You can put the container in your pocket or hold it under your arm while you test. Then try holding something good for you—an herb or an organic vegetable—and test.  

Muscle testing can help you know which herbs or vitamins will be beneficial for you to take. As you practice testing yourself, you will become comfortable with the process and in trusting the process and answers you receive. You can also find a practitioner, such as at a health food store who is familiar with muscle testing and ask them to test you. 

 

 

Drinking Plenty of Water

Why You Need To Drink Water

Many experts say our body is about 70% water. Your body needs water to regulate body temperature. Water helps mind focus and removes waste and toxins from your body.

Dehydration Signs

According to experts, symptoms of mild dehydration include lack of mind focus, kidney aches, chronic pains in joints and muscles, lower back pain, headaches and constipation. If you have a strong odor to your urine and a yellowish color, that is an indication that you may not be getting enough water. Thirst is a sign of dehydration.

How Much Water Do You Need?

Experts say to drink 8 to 10 eight ounce glasses of water each day. If you exercise, are active or into sports, you should drink even more water. Water is always the best choice for a beverage. Sodas and other drinks are not always the best choice for you to drink. If you do not particularly like water and wish to add a little something for taste, try lemon or lime juice or add a couple of drops of peppermint.

Drinking Enough Water

It may be difficult to drink enough water on a busy day. Be sure you have water handy at all times by keeping water with you so that you will drink more water during the day.