SIMPLIFY. SIMPLIFY. SIMPLIFY….
Lack of Sleep is Epidemic
March 9, 2021
Do you toss and turn at night, yearning for a good night’s sleep? According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one-third of American adults have a sleep disorder that can affect their lives in serious ways. Chronic diseases such as diabetes, depression, high blood pressure, cancer and obesity and many more are linked to poor sleep. Car accidents, industrial disasters, occupational and medical errors, as well as reduced quality of life and productivity are also linked to sleep deprivation.
Many of us turn to sleeping pills or other medication aids. But a study says popping pills may not be the most effective way to get some quality Zzzzzzs. Best avoid the addictive side of many medications.
Train your brain, instead. Cognitive behavior therapy, or CBT, is a psychological treatment that focuses on changing specific behaviors and thinking processes. In scientific studies CBT helped insomnia patients go to sleep 20 minutes faster and stay asleep longer, improving sleep efficiency by almost 10%.
If you’re anything like me, the stress of this past year led to some bad habits which led to night after night of poor sleep. I’ve found that CBT helps, you just have to do the work.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/02/health/smartphone-addiction-effects-on-sleep-wellness/index.html
Become Connected to Spirit & Land
January 11, 2021
Last summer several Indigenous Knowledge Keepers gathered in Manitoba to discuss the current challenges that are affecting our world and the Earth itself. Their largest concern was the disconnect of human beings to spirit and land. They believe this detachment is the root cause of imbalances in our world today—imbalances such as climate change, the COVID pandemic, the global loss of habitats and biodiversity, racism, and the opioid crisis.
In the pursuit of healing for all Nations, the Knowledge Keepers suggest we light a Sacred Fire and keep it burning all day to teach us that the elements of earth, air, water and fire, the roots of life, work together to ensure balance. They believe through the Sacred Fire comes instruction from the spirit. Its light and warmth help us in journeying towards our true identity, our purpose and our dreams. This is the first step in transforming ourselves to be People of the heart, and learning to lead with love for ourselves, each other, and all living things. It is the first step to ensuring our survival as human beings.
There is fire in each of us that needs to be nurtured. The fire acts as the entrance to the spiritual realm. By going into this ritual with humility, and requesting the help of the natural forces that govern the universe and the land itself—we can begin to heal ourselves and, in the healing, cleanse the earth from impurities causing the destruction of life. With humility we might evolve to take better care of the earth, and accept with gratitude this collective responsibility.
Through the help of the Sacred Fire we receive direction that can help us reach a deeper level of understanding, and lead us into balance, harmony, and peace with all life on Mother Earth.
Appreciate the Night Sky
November, 2017
The Milky Way – that flood of stars splashed across the inky night sky … and the galaxy we call home – has been a source of wonder ever since humanity has had the capacity to muse about such things. It has served as a source of inspiration for ancient Egyptians and enlightenment scientists, modern artists and poets, and everyone in-between. And we’ve squandered it away, made it disappear; we're depriving generations of people from ever knowing its profound beauty.
Thanks to our incessant obsession with artificial light, we have ruined the nighttime sky. More than 80% of the planet's land areas – and 99% of the population of the United States and Europe – “live under skies so blotted with man-made light that the Milky Way has become virtually invisible,” writes National Geographic.
It is an enormous loss of nature; yet it’s one that brings, perhaps, the least distress to me. Restoring ruined nature is a generally a daunting concept, but restoring the night sky is easy: Just turn off the lights.
Toward that end the International Dark Sky Association has helped create 53 Dark Sky Parks throughout the world, including 37 in the United States. To find out where they are, check out darksky.org on the Web.
In addition, there are only 11 dark sky reserves – which have a larger size requirement than parks – and none of them are in the U.S. But if the state of Idaho gets its way, the U.S. will soon have one. The state has applied to become the first-ever dark sky reserve in the U.S., the 12th in the world. The designation would be awarded to a stretch of land about 300 miles southeast of Boise – 1,400 square miles of Blaine County, Custer County, and surrounding areas.
Kudos to the citizens of Idaho for embracing such a concept.
Adapted from https://www.treehugger.com/natural-sciences/11-dark-sky-reserves.html
Sources: http://www.darksky.org/idsp/parks/
Dealing with Stress
By Linda Mason Hunter
March, 2018
We live in interesting times. Life on earth at the beginning of the 21st century is highly stressful. Such stress finds its way into our homes, families, and daily lives. It’s crucial, at a time like this, that we remain calm and balanced, kind and compassionate, and not cause problems for others. Here’s what I do to limit my stress:
(1) Live simply. Eschew fashion. Be practical. Don’t buy things you can’t afford.
(2) Pay off your debts. Get to a position where you pay as you go. Don’t buy things you can’t pay for.
(3) Invest wisely. I don’t invest in the stock market because I have no control over it. Instead, I focus on investing in my home and try to keep it maintained and as up to date as possible.
(4) Don’t buy a car unless you can afford to maintain it. Walk. Take the bus. Ride a bike. There are lots of ways of getting around and getting your exercise at the same time.
(5) Exercise daily. Studies show that exercise is the key to well-being and to long life.
(6) Live in nature. Take cues from the cosmos. Pay attention to lunar and solar eclipses. Learn to identify the planets and find them in the night sky. Plant a garden. Feed the birds.
(7) Simply love those close to you and treat strangers in need as close to you.
(8) Minimize cynicism and maximize hope and optimism.
(9) Believe, as I do, that democracy is self correcting, that truth is more powerful than falsity, that this is not a nation of hate but of pursuit of common interest. It will be hard, but people of good will can make justice and love happen.
(10) Be a person of good will. Start in your life, every day. Make love a priority.
The Pale Blue Dot
March, 2017
Astronomer Carl Sagan called Earth “that pale blue dot,” “a mote of dust in the great cosmic dark.” Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p86BPM1GV8M
The Power of Gratitude
November, 2019
Happiness is an inside job
Happiness is an inside job. It’s all a matter of perspective. In a world where we are constantly made to feel like we are lacking and always ‘wanting’ more, it can be difficult to achieve or experience actual happiness. Many of us are always looking toward external factors to experience joy and happiness, when really it’s all related to internal work.
According to research coming out of UCLA’s Mindfulness Awareness Research Center, having an attitude of gratitude changes the molecular structure of the brain, keeps gray matter functioning, and makes us healthier and happier. When you feel happiness, the central nervous system is affected. You are more peaceful, less reactive, and less resistant. Now that’s a really cool way of taking care of your well-being.
Researchers from U Cal Berkeley identified how gratitude might actually work on our minds and bodies. They provided four insights from their research suggesting what causes the psychological benefits of gratitude.
· Gratitude unshackles us from toxic emotions
· Gratitude helps even if you don’t share it
· Gratitude’s benefits take time & practice. You might not feel it right away.
· Gratitude has lasting effects on the brain
So this Thanksgiving week, pause each morning when you wake up and think about what you are grateful for. Make that pause a daily habit and see how it transforms your life.
Source: “Scientists show how gratitude literally alters the human heart and molecular structure of the brain,” by Arjun Walia. Collective Evolution, Feb. 14, 2019. https://www.collective-evolution.com/2019/02/14/scientists-show-how-gratitude-literally-alters-the-human-heart-molecular-structure-of-the-brain/?fbclid=IwAR0-v3pHriSG_5JJevaR6EFYIFK5Mfjt42sKqo1XvP8twQc1shIv1yIYDjk
Walk Softly
Thanksgiving week turns my head toward the first Americans who inhabited this land, a people who walked softly upon the earth and considered nature to be sacred. In this era of climate catastrophe, we could learn a lot from their customs and their words.
Considering climate change, here are a few of my favorite words, from Sitting Bull, at Powder River Council in 1877.
“Yet, hear me, people, we have now to deal with another race—small and feeble when our fathers first met them, but now great and overbearing.
“Strangely enough they have a mind to till the soil and the love of possession is a disease with them. These people have many rules that the rich may break but the poor may not.
“They claim this mother of ours, the earth, for their own and fence their neighbors away; they deface her with their buildings and their refuse.
“That nation is like a spring freshet that overruns its banks and destroys all who are in its path.”
Think about it.
Five tips for better sleep
#1. Create calming habits. For example, you don’t want to smoke or drink too much or have caffeine late in the day. Be sure to get regular exercise. Yoga is a super choice.
#2. Create a sleepy bedroom paradise. Keep your bedroom quiet, dark, and cool—the right temperature for you. If you struggle with insomnia don’t have a TV in your bedroom. Don’t stay in bed if you can’t sleep. Get up if you’ve not fallen asleep within 20 minutes and only go back to bed when you are sleepy.
#3. Try meditation. Get up if you can’t sleep and try relaxation techniques. Meditation is a proven winner.
#4. Use your imagination. Relaxation training is really helpful. Try muscle relaxation, or imagine yourself in a safe place that is quiet and calm.
#5. Stay away from electronics. Avoid turning on the TV, and don’t check your email or Facebook. The light can stimulate your senses.
#3. Don’t give up. Training your brain and body to get a better night’s sleep takes patience and commitment, but once you do you’ll get much better quality sleep, you’ll go to bed and to sleep quicker, without drugs and side effects.
Hope, Choice, and Our Relationship with the Earth
November 20, 2020
By Tami Simon, from “Insights on the Edge”
Environmental activist and author Joanna Macy is now 91 years old. If you look up a picture of her, you will see her blue eyes shining with brilliance, depth, and vitality.
A few years ago, when Joanna was 88, I had the honor of interviewing her for Insights at the Edge. I began by asking Joanna to share with me the "secrets" (if you will) of her amazing vitality and engagement with life. She answered, "I often tell my friends to ‘act our age.' And that's not 66 or 16—but our true age, which is billions of years old. Everything we are comes from the living sacred body of Earth."
We proceeded to talk about "deep time" and what it means to expand our temporal context beyond our lifetime and invest our creative energy into concerns that will outlive us. Joanna even confessed at the end of our conversation that, feeling some nervousness before we began our interview, she decided to "ask the future ones" to be with us, noting that when we pour ourselves into creative acts that will bear fruit for future generations, it "sprinkles nobility" into everything we do.
I have to be honest with you, this is one of my favorite Sounds True podcasts of all time. Joanna and I covered so much ground, including:
How there are three narratives happening right now in human history—"The Great Turning," "The Great Unraveling," and "Business as Usual"—how they are all true, and how our choice must be to invest our energy into The Great Turning
Joanna's definition of "active hope"—hope is not something we have but something we do
The profound discovery that when people seem apathetic, it is often not because they don't care, but instead a refusal or inability to suffer—and how "unblocking our energy of engagement occurs when our pain for the world is experienced and expressed"
The importance of sharing with another the completion of this sentence: "When I look at the natural world, what breaks my heart is …"
How paralysis and panic are like twins on a seesaw, and how to break that pattern
The drive all living systems have to evolve
Recognizing our mutual belonging with the Earth and Joanna's statement that "I will do anything I can to preserve the fertility, the verdancy, and the intricacy of lifeforms on this planet.”
Source: “Sounds True,” with Tami Simon. Podcast with Joanna Macy. https://resources.soundstrue.com/podcast/joanna-macy-we-belong-hope-choice-and-our-relationship-with-the-earth/?utm_campaign=N201025-Podcast-Macy%20%28UqwrF7%29&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Customer%20Service&_ke=eyJrbF9lbWFpbCI6ICJsaW5kYUBodW50ZXJpbmsuY29tIiwgImtsX2NvbXBhbnlfaWQiOiAiSk1EZ2FxIn0%3D
First Mindfulness, then Social Action
October, 2019
We are living in perilous times. It’s only natural to sink into despair. But how do we avoid that? Getting angry only makes things worse.
Thich Nhat Hanh, the 90-year-old Vietnamese monk considered to be one of the world’s leading spiritual teachers, believes mindfulness is the key to what he calls “Engaged Buddhism,” a theory that mindfulness gives people the ability to find peace in themselves so that their actions come from a place of compassion.
“Mindfulness must be engaged,” Nhat Hanh writes in his new book At Home in the World. “Once we see that something needs to be done, we must take action. Seeing and action go together. Otherwise, what is the point in seeing?” He goes on to say that those who are passionate about taking action should learn from the nonviolent approach of the civil rights movement.
“Nonviolence is not a set of techniques that you can learn with your intellect,” he says. “Nonviolent action arises from the compassion, lucidity and understanding you have within.” He suggests that in the face of aggression or discrimination, it can be helpful to first sit and find your center, rather than immediately reacting to events. While anger can bring about change, it can ultimately lead only to more conflict. This is equally true in our personal lives as in the fate of a nation.
Nourish yourself. Take time to rest and be quiet. Walk softly in your life. Be mindful. Get in touch with the refreshing and healing elements inside and around us. Then you’ll be ready to take social action from a position of compassion and love.
Source: “A Zen Master’s Advice on Coping with Trump,” by Joe Confino. Huffington Post, Feb. 16, 2017. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/zen-and-the-art-of-activism_n_58a118b6e4b094a129ec59af
Be Frugal, Be Happy
July, 2018
Being frugal is intimately tied to living a green and sustainable life. By making do with less, you actively protest rampant consumerism and lessen—ever so slightly—the demand for new manufacturing and extraction of resources.
Frugality also makes people happier. With frugality comes liberation from financial concerns, which brings a great sense of happiness.
In his book The Wisdom of Frugality, Emrys Westacott details specifically how frugality makes a person happier. Here are a few of his key points:
1. Frugality allows a person to work less and have more free time.
2. Frugality promotes serenity through detachment. The less you have to do, buy, or maintain, the fewer things you need to worry about or feel attached to.
3. Frugality prepares you for tough times. If the crash of 2008 taught us anything, it taught us to prepare for tough times ahead—invest, save an emergency fund, buy insurance, establish a strong social network.
4. Frugality enhances your capacity for pleasure. People tend to appreciate luxuries more when they are fairly rare, so make “treats” a rare event, not an everyday occurrence.
5. Frugality fosters self-sufficiency and independence. A frugal person is less dependent on others, both in terms of interpersonal relationships and in terms of needing goods and services.
6. Simple living keeps you close to nature, which is—at it’s most basic—what it means to be green and sustainable.
7. Simple living promotes good health—fresh clean air, fresh fruits and vegetables, lots of outdoor exercise—where many elements of modern life tend to promote poor health—pollution, excessive noise, fast food, extreme stress, tight schedules.
Sources: “The Wisdom of Frugality: Why Simple Living is Thought To Make Us Happier,” by Trent Hamm; July 5, 2018. https://www.thesimpledollar.com/the-wisdom-of-frugality-why-simple-living-is-thought-to-make-us-happier/
“Be Frugal, Be Happy,” by Katherine Martinko; July 5, 2018. https://www.treehugger.com/culture/be-frugal-be-happy.html
Practice Mindfulness
May, 2017
We are in the midst of extraordinary times, living in the wake of change and turmoil with an unpredictable future looming before us every day. Such lack of equilibrium shakes the psyche with anxiety, fear, anger, confusion. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t suffered from it in one way or another.
In such darkness and confusion it’s tough being a human being, but it shouldn’t be. It’s ignorance that keeps us in that boat of suffering. That’s not the way it’s supposed to be. We’re all going to the same beautiful goal. That’s the way I see it. Whatever really and truly takes you there, we’re all on the same path. We’re all one on the most fundamental level. We’re all sparks off the Divine Flame.
And we can realize that, perhaps not intellectually but we can live it. We can know it by being it. This is what mindful meditation does for a human being. You’ll know it by being it. It’s a field of pure knowingness.
The practice of diving within in meditation makes ideas easier to catch. The enjoyment of the doing increases exponentially and you appreciate people more – you seem to almost recognize everyone. It becomes fun to work. It’s not the kind of thing you even think about, it just grows naturally. You can still get angry, but you can’t hold onto that anger. You can still get sad, but you can’t hold onto it.
Negative emotions are what guides most of us. For one reason or another, you desire to go this way or that way. With a meditation practice you can still hit troubled waters, but at some point you say, “wait a minute, maybe I’m going in the wrong direction,” and you adjust. When you start getting the green light it’s an indication you’re going down the right path.
I’ve found with meditation I enjoy life more, I have clarity, the ability to focus, and the ease in gaining knowledge. It’s the weirdest thing.
It’s easier to meditate in a group. So if you’re interested, find one that meets at least once weekly and try it out.
Po-Wa-Ha
By Linda Mason Hunter
August, 2017
It’s a minefield out there in the real world. It can be tough to negotiate the pitfalls of advertising and politics, trying to distinguish between what’s real and what’s fake. Well, here’s a tip to help you through: Be mindful—in all you do, in every step you take.
The ideal mental state is one of balance—being careful and thoughtful in all things. How you walk through life matters. Try to move along with earth’s natural rhythms.
Remember, the earth's natural rhythm is medium to slow. Make that your rhythm, too.
A New Way of Thinking
By Linda Mason Hunter
April, 2017
I've always wished I lived in Paris in the 1930s. Now I've gotten my wish, or come close. I live part-time in Vancouver, BC, the multicultural home of cutting-edge biologists and deeply spiritual philosophers solving age-old riddles of the mind-body connection. Their views make so much sense to me and are a critical aid in my personal evolution.
Take Dr. Gabor Maté, for example, author of When the Body Says No and In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts. In the link below, this Hungarian-born medical physician, known for his work in palliative care and with addicts on the city's downtown east side, discusses his views on the widespread diagnoses of ADHD and depression, the link between healthy emotional expression and overall well-being, as well as how the body can be an effective teacher. Finally, Dr. Maté comments on how mental health issues can often be rooted in compensating behaviors from childhood and how healing can be approached from a bio-psycho-social perspective. (68 minutes) Worth your time.
http://www.soundstrue.com/store/weeklywisdom?page=single&category=IATE&episode=12043
I've been steeping myself in Mate's YouTube lectures lately. This one spoke to me about our toxic culture. "The Power of Addiction and the Addiction to Power," ranging from drug addictions to addictions to oil and consumerism, to why the earth is in crisis right now, to finding the light within yourself to solve problems instead of looking to others.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66cYcSak6nE&feature=youtu.be
Another deep thinker who speaks to me on a spiritual level is Eckhart Tolle. Today I came across this gem.
“Your life has an inner purpose and an outer purpose. Inner purpose concerns Being and is primary. Outer purpose concerns doing and it is secondary. Your inner purpose is to awaken. It is as simple as that. You share that purpose with every other person on the planet —because it is the purpose of humanity. Your inner purpose is an essential part of the purpose of the whole, the universe and its emerging intelligence. Your outer purpose can change over time. It varies greatly from person to person. Finding and living in alignment with the inner purpose is the foundation for fulfilling your outer purpose. It is the basis for true success. Without that alignment, you can still achieve certain things through effort, struggle, determination, and sheer hard work or cunning. But there is no joy in such endeavor, and it invariably ends in some form of suffering."
—-Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth : Awakening to Your Life's Purpose
Wise Words
September, 2024
I first read this quote from John Fire Lame Deer several years ago, but it never fails to wake me up and to urge me to be a better steward of the land. Indeed, our consumer culture gives us innumerable riches, but at what cost? In a few short words, Lame Deer tells us:
"Only human beings have come to a point where they no longer know why they exist. They don't use their brains, and they have forgotten the secret knowledge of their bodies, their senses, or their dreams. They don't use the knowledge the spirit has put into every one of them; they are not even aware of this, and so they stumble along blindly on the road to nowhere--a paved highway which they themselves bulldoze and make smooth so that they can get faster to the big empty hole which they'll find at the end, waiting to swallow them up. It's a quick comfortable superhighway, but I know where it leads. I've seen it. I've been there in my vision, and it makes me shudder to think about it."
It makes me shudder, too. Perhaps it’s time we listen to our native ancestors and pay more attention to the earth, our home and our mother. It will survive long after we humans are gone.
