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Gratitude & Peace Go Hand-in-Hand Gratitude is one of the surest ways to lasting peace. This is not simply a religious claim. A fairly recent interest by science is showing gratitude’s benefits in study after study. It increases psychological and physical health, increases life satisfaction, and counteracts things such as materialism, envy, narcissism, and cynicism. … Read more
The World Mirrors Me Great spiritual teachers have used metaphors of mirrors to describe how we encounter reality. One such metaphor is that the world reflects back to us what we project out to it. If we project love, compassion, and mercy we will see love, compassion, and mercy mirrored back to us. If we … Read more
Death. Love. Peace. Today is the last day of a difficult yet graced filled year bookended on both sides by death. It is a good day to prepare again for a novena of peace. As 2018 began, my husband’s father fell ill with what seemed to be a terrible cold. By mid-January he had pneumonia … Read more
After another enjoyable time on the Architect of Change radio show, Connie Whitman asked me to share Dr. Sauvage’s 4-Step Spiritual Action Plan and a version of St. Ignatius Examen. Both can help with the spiritual discipline needed to be an architect of change for yourself and the world. During the show (which I will post … Read more
Nurturing Your Body: Loving Yourself From Opening Hearts Chapter 5 Healing & Nurturing the Body The body is a miraculous self-repairing system of awe-inspiring complexity. To maintain adequate function and prevent disease, the body requires a few vital things from us: good nutrition, adequate exercise, and protection from toxins and the elements. Making good choices … Read more
Opening Hearts is a book I collaborated on with Lester R. Sauvage, MD in the last eighteen months of his long and fruitful life. The book was generated from Dr. Sauvage desire to leave an enduring healing legacy following an amazing career as a cardiovascular surgeon. In a series of posts, I have been sharing Chapter 5 of this … Read more
Toxins Are Avoidable Deadly Foes, Especially Smoking From Opening Hearts Chapter 5 – Healing and Nurturing the Body Some people combat stress by ingesting toxins in a variety of ways and smoking cigarettes may be one of the worst of the bunch because the well-known dangers of smoking cigarettes greatly outweigh any relaxing effects of … Read more
Rule 4: Manage Stress by Finding Balance and Inner Peace From Opening Hearts: Chapter 5 Five Cardinal Rules for Healthy Living Excessive, chronic stress can literally kill you. Our emotional, mental, and physical response to actual or perceived threats triggers the adrenal glands to release a flood of hormones including cortisol and adrenaline.42 [Footnote 42: … Read more
From Opening Hearts, Chapter 5’s Cardinal rules for healthy living: Rule 3 Exercise Human beings are created for activity; our bodies are made to move. Yet in our technological world too many of us spend most of our lives sitting. We sit in cars, at computers, in front of televisions and desks, and at sporting … Read more
Rule 2: Maintain a Healthy Weight From Opening Hearts: Chapter 5’s Five Cardinal Rules for Healthy Living; Weight – The Shape of Your Physical Self Weight literally shapes the person you see in the mirror. An underweight emaciated person appears gaunt or even skeletal while an obese person often resembles an apple or a pear. … Read more