The art of self-gratitude.
Sorry if this is a little preachy but it’s important.
Respect the power of thought because your mind can be a terrible thing. Depression is real, debilitating and can make you very sick. How we think shapes how we live, how we feel and what we attract into our lives. A positive mindset changes everything.
Mindfulness, Gratitude, Optimism, Faith, Hope and Love. All of these are choices…skills that we should practice. Choose to love yourself and all the wonderful things you are. Remind yourself to take time for yourself. Treat yourself with kindness and live with gratitude. Forgive. Don’t allow anger to be baggage that you have to carry. Living a life of gratitude and forgiveness are the main roads to a life of wellness and happiness.
Happiness is not a destination but a way of thinking, a lifestyle that you can achieve simply by focusing on the positive aspects of what you think and do. Treat yourself with respect. See yourself as love and and give that away freely. Calm the hell down. Nothing has to be a certain way. Accept life the way it is. It’s perfect. Be happy. Sounds easy doesn’t it?
The art of happiness is being practiced and studied under the terminology of positive psychology. It is imperative that people trying to heal their body realize the mind is the engine that propels the coordinates of our existence. Our immune system is the seventh sense, guiding our ability to fight disease and keeping our body on this planet alive and well.
Key elements in achieving this balance are as follows:
Try to wake up with excitement for life. Positive affirmations, meditation and prayer are wonderful ways to start your day. Remind yourself that “Every day is a gift.”
Have a sense of community and value your friendships. It is not the amount of friends and family you have but the quality of those relationships. Surrounding yourself with a positive network of people that inspire you or just make you feel good about yourself is essential to a healthy lifestyle. Be picky and choose your friends wisely. Make time for the quality people around you and share the love and power that comes with good and caring relationships.
Live with kindness and pay it forward. I don’t know if it’s better to give than receive (especially if it’s a yacht) but it feels good to do good things! Although “giving” can involve volunteering as part of an organized group or club, it can be as simple as making someone smile at the grocery store, acknowledging a friend’s value or helping a neighbor take out the trash. Laugh, it’s contagious! Simple acts of kindness go a long way and have a ripple effect that affects the entire universe. So go out, contribute today and see how good you feel!!
Exercise! Yoga, aerobics, dancing, soul cycling, walking…whatever gets your goat. Do you even have a goat? And if so where is it? Exercise prompts the release of mood-lifting hormones, which relieve stress and promotes a sense of well-being. In addition, the rhythmic muscle contractions that take place in almost all types of exercise can increase levels of the brain chemical serotonin, which combats negative feelings. Looking good and feeling good - what’s wrong with that? Overwhelming evidence proves that lack of daily physical activity are primary causes of chronic diseases/conditions. Incorporating daily exercise is a natural, rehabilitative treatment for many dysfunctions in the body. As we like to say, “Work it out!”
Finding a joyful state called "flow" involves finding your special gifts and talents and, well -- going with the flow. Many kinds of activities, such as sports, theatre, playing an instrument, teaching, cooking etc… can produce the experience of flow. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, a pioneer of the scientific study of happiness describes flow as a type of intrinsic motivation. So discover your strengths and virtues. Do what you love and love what you do and you will never “work” a day in your life.
You came into this world with nothing and you will leave the same way. You are everything that you need. Spirituality, God or the Universe - whatever you chose to call this massive energy, are why we are here. Be authentic. Living a life with purpose is sometimes obvious but other times is a life-long journey. Either way, you are on the path of a purposeful and meaningful life.
Rejoice! YOU are a miracle.
How a healthy lifestyle helps
Studies suggest that a healthy lifestyle can help keep the immune system balanced while less healthy situations can trigger the immune system to overreact. For instance, low vitamin D levels have been shown to be a risk factor for multiple sclerosis. Obesity has been linked to many autoimmune diseases, including MS, rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis. Stress and anxiety have been shown to cause all kinds of autoimmune flares. On the other hand, anti-inflammatory dietary choices can lessen rheumatoid arthritis. Getting the right nutrients, maintaining a healthy weight, managing stress and sleeping regularly can help prevent an autoimmune flare.
“It is current knowledge that nutrition, the intestinal microbiota, the gut mucosal immune system and autoimmune pathology are deeply intertwined,” reads a 2014 study, entitled “Role of ‘Western Diet’ in Inflammatory Autoimmune Diseases” and published in the journal Current Allergy and Asthma Reports. In other words, what we eat and the health of our digestive tract are directly connected to our autoimmune system. Other studies suggest that autoimmune issues can be managed by healing a damaged gut.
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