How to Get Present: 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique

Greetings all!

All of us feel overwhelmed at times. So how can we cope with the anxious thoughts and emotions? I recently was listening to Daily Jay on CALM (read my post about CALM meditation app HERE), and I loved the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique he mentioned so I read up on it.

Image from CALM app

InsightTimer blog summarized it nicely, “Anxious thoughts … may feel objectively threatening, but are nothing more than electrochemical flutters in the brain, skipping right over the present moment and dwelling on past regrets or future fears. If we are being steamrolled by thoughts, we disconnect from the present and get carried away, like a small boat being tossed on choppy waves… There is only one way to reconnect to the present: through the body. The body can only ever be in one place, and that’s the here-and-now.” 

Isn’t it interesting how our thoughts are usually disconnected from our body – we have regrets about the past and concerns about the future – but what about here and now, this very moment that is happening regardless of where our mind is? 

The 5-4-3-2-1 technique can help us get to the “here-and-now”! Start with focusing on your breach, then focus on your surroundings and your senses. As I am typing this post, I can see, hear, and touch my keyboard, and I can smell and taste my coffee – these are my anchors to the present moment!

Image from https://www.mondaycampaigns.org/destress-monday/unwind-monday-5-4-3-2-1-grounding-technique

Sources:

• https://www.mondaycampaigns.org/destress-monday/unwind-monday-5-4-3-2-1-grounding-technique
• https://insighttimer.com/blog/54321-grounding-technique/

Drop me a line! Stay grounded!

Thought of the week - True Happiness

 

A Blessing for Wedding

This post is for a friend of mine, whose daughter just got married! Congratulations!

A Blessing for Wedding

Today when persimmons ripen

Today when fox-kits come out of their den into snow

Today when the spotted egg releases its wren song

Today when the maple sets down its red leaves

Today when windows keep their promise to open

Today when fire keeps its promise to warm

Today when someone you love has died

     or someone you never met has died

Today when someone you love has been born

     or someone you will not meet has been born

Today when rain leaps to the waiting of roots in their dryness

Today when starlight bends to the roofs of the hungry and tired

Today when someone sits long inside his last sorrow

Today when someone steps into the heat of her first embrace

Today, let this light bless you

With these friends let it bless you

With snow-scent and lavender bless you

Let the vow of this day keep itself wildly and wholly

Spoken and silent, surprise you inside your ears

Sleeping and waking, unfold itself inside your eyes

Let its fierceness and tenderness hold you

Let its vastness be undisguised in all your days

 

~ By Jane Hirshfield

 

Source: 

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/53393/a-blessing-for-wedding

Selection of Funnies: Cats and Puzzles

 

Source: https://mixnews.lv/fun/2022/05/08/koshki-i-pazl-dve-veschi-nesovmestnye/

CALM: June-2022 Calendar

Greetings all!

Here is the June-2022 calendar from CALM: so many wonderful ideas to nourish our well-being (from https://blog.calm.com/blog/june-2022-calm-calendar). Take a moment for yourself and remember to breathe!

Image from https://pixabay.com/photos/sunset-sky-clouds-dusk-nature-4086848/

My favorite ideas are from June 2, 7, 18, and 22. The ones that I need to work on more are from June 12 and 24. What do you think?

June 1 - Prioritize getting outside today.

June 2 - Take 10 minutes to do nothing today.

June 3 - Set an alarm to stretch a few times today.

June 4 - Notice what emotions are present today.

June 5 - Loosen up with the Daily Move.

June 6 - 10-min free write: let your mind flow!

June 7 - Try doing one thing at a time today.

June 8 - Focus on flowing with the day.

June 9 - Take one thing off your to do list today.

June 10 - Stay connected to your body today.

June 11 - Practice a kind attitude today.

June 12 - Go to bed 30 minutes earlier tonight.

June 13 - Follow your curiosity today.

June 14 - Do something that feels good to your body.

June 15 - Focus on accepting where you are today.

June 16 - Practice mindful eye contact.

June 17 – Offer a mindful hug today.

June 18 - Prioritize joy today.

June 19 - Build heat with rigorous movement!

June 20 - Notice and adjust your posture.

June 21 - Give yourself a quick massage.

June 22 - Be authentic with your responses.

June 23 - Gaze at the clouds today.

June 24 - Sit in stillness without a device.

June 25 - Repeat: “I am safe, loved and present.”

June 26 - Wake up mindfully today.

June 27 - Use your imagination today.

June 28 - Express gratitude to yourself.

June 29 - Try Calm’s Commuting meditation.

June 30 - Spend time in nature.

Have a great week and remember to be kind to yourself and others!

Rent-A-Pineapple and Forever Young Cocktail

Greetings all!

Did you know that several centuries ago pineapples used to be a status symbol and could cost thousands of dollars in today’s money? Native to South America, pineapples need a tropical climate to grow so only wealthy people could afford to buy one.

If you could not purchase a pineapple, you could still rent one – but not to eat! Instead, you would walk down the street with your rented pineapple, or display it as a dinner centerpiece, or bring it with you to a luncheon as an accessory! I wonder if a pineapple warranted a separate invitation as a “plus 1”? 

If you could not afford to rent a pineapple, you could then buy porcelain dishes and teapots in the shape of a pineapple. Things starting changing in 1900s, when James Dole planted pineapples in Hawaii and made the fruit more available and affordable. 

Today, food pictures rule Instagram but in the 17th century, paintings were the order of the day. Just look at Charles II being presented with a pineapple – pineapples were a huge deal!

https://www.rct.uk/collection/406896/charles-ii-presented-with-a-pineapple

If you like - and can easily buy - pineapples and pineapple juice, here is a drink you might enjoy.

Image and recipe from https://www.totalwine.com/cocktail-recipes/forever-young

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. vodka
• 2 oz. lemon-lime soda
• 1 oz. pineapple juice
• Pineapple wedge for garnish

Instructions:

• Pour vodka, lemon-lime soda and pineapple juice into chilled glass with ice.
• Stir well.
• Garnish with pineapple wedge.

Additional Sources:

• https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/65506/super-luxe-history-pineapples-and-why-they-used-cost-8000
• https://historydaily.org/pineapples-arent-native-to-hawaii-the-story-of-james-dole-and-hawaiian-gold
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Dole

What did you think? Drop me a line!

The 7 Levels of Financial Freedom – Where Are You?

For more details, see https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2022/05/10/the-7-levels-of-financial-freedom-according-to-a-millionaire-50percent-of-us-workers-are-at-level-2.html