Star Trek

I have to admit....I'm a trekkie from a long way back. I just enjoy the world of Star Trek...especially the new Star Trek movie. As my daughter can attest, I was very skeptical of the idea of a prequel, but once I saw the new movie, I was very impressed. Any of you who enjoy Star Trek, I hope you have seen it. However, that isn't why I'm writing, per se.

Star Trek is one of the ways that I get away from the stresses of life. It seems that the level of stress - nationally, locally and on the home front has increased exponentially over the last year or so; I see it affect people in my world in all sorts of different ways. Star Trek is just one of the ways that I use to deal with that kind of stress. You can't get away from it because it is all around you, you feel it in the workplace, at home, in groups that you belong to and it takes it's toll on you emotionally and physically.

I would encourage you to find good ways to deal with the stress in your lives, even if you can't get away from it. De-stress your life as much as you can...if your schedule is over committed, take a look at it and see where you can bring more balance to your life. Over commitment is a very good way to sap physical and mental energy. Another excellent way to de-stress is to bring your daily life into a good balance of time - try to get up and go to bed at the same time each day. If you don't vary your schedule more than an hour in either direction, you avoid the effects of "jet lag", which is very difficult for the body to adjust to on a daily basis. Eating at close to the same time, three times a day builds a balanced flow that is peaceful to your physical and mental well being.

Other ways to escape from the daily stresses that can afflict us are the use of deep breathing techniques, meditation, prayer and those "mini-vacations" that disengage us from life and allow our minds to wander and rest....like diving into the world of Star Trek for a Saturday! Breathing techniques such as square breathing bring the heart rate and blood pressure into a more peaceful and balanced place. It doesn't have to be for a long time, perhaps 5 or 10 minutes a day, but just the practice of doing these things gives you a feeling of balance that is good for the soul. Irregular heart rates, shallow breathing and high blood pressure can mimmick panic and feelings of anxiety that build stress into our lives that can easily be avoided.

Exercise is also a convenient and inexpensive remedy to stress. As we are heading into Spring, the days are getting a little longer, the weather is warming up little by little and the sunshine is coming out more. Getting out, walking and being in the sunshine gets those Vitamin D levels moving in the right direction which also makes us feel better. Fresh air, sunshine and a change of pace from being in the car, sitting at a desk or behind a computer can be just what is needed to refresh our minds and bring the peace we need.

In closing, I want to bring to your attention the fact that walking is more than just exercise for our physical bodies....it is bi-lateral stimulation for our mental and emotional selves as well. Bi-lateral stimulation is the means by which our creator built into us a natural processing mechanism. Walking can help work out those emotional issues you have been dealing with, help figure out a problem that needs to be solved or just help process through the stress of the day because it is the way our bodies naturally deal with stress. What we don't get worked out during the day, we work out at night through REM sleep in our dreams. Our bodies are magnificent creations and we have quite a few avenues that naturally help us deal with stress if we are willing to use them.

I really encourage you in the next few weeks to take advantage of some new ways to be peaceful each day and see how you feel at the end of two weeks. You may be amazed at what happens! :)

360 Degrees of Reality

Now that the flurry of New Year activities has subsided, it's time once again to get down to the business of life. New year resolutions have either been tossed aside or continue to be a goal out in front of us, but I know that there is one thing that I continue to see, no matter what time of year it is...that is the idea of what is real and what is not. As a counselor, I have the opportunity to speak with a lot of people and the one thing that I can count on is that everyone believes that their version of reality is the correct one. Depending on your state of mind, hormonal balance, food allergy response etc reality can change dramatically.

So, if we have a sense of reality that has as many facets as there are degrees in a circle, what is real? Answer - life doesn't change as fast as our emotions do. What is real should be based on what is consistent over time, what produces good fruit over time. In regard to people, what is real is based on the things about them that don't change. Our personal identity doesn't change....it is the way God made us. If you are a musician, you will always be a musician. If you have brown eyes, you will always have brown eyes. Basic values that you hold near and dear very seldom change and if they do, they change very slowly, over time.

If you want to do something good for yourself this year, get to know who YOU are and then live your life authentically....in congruence with who you are. You can only have confidence in yourself if you know who you are. Once you know that, you can admit your strengths, your weaknesses and have fun with life. You will know the type of person you want to have as a friend, the type of career you want to have and where you want to go in life. It doesn't work the other way around, in my opinion.

The important thing is understand that everyone has an opinion, but it is your opinion about yourself that matters. If you know who you are and life is going well, then you have the optimum balance. If you know who you are and life is not going well, then you can consider other opinions about what might need to be changed, but it is ultimately up to you to decide what to do next.

This is not to say that we are alone in the universe and God has no place in all this. On the contrary, He has much to do with it. He made us, He knows us better than we know ourselves and He is a resource that we don't often turn to for this type of information. I would encourage you to go to the Source, the one who holds the blueprint for your life and begin to explore the wonderful, unique creation that is YOU!