Leadership Lessons From A Border Collie

Not only are dogs man’s best friend, some dogs have special skills.  A Border Collie is a born leader.  And yet with all of its skills, it does not try to take over the world.  He simply tries to do his best at each job each day, and to keep all those around him happy.   Don’t we wish all leaders would do the same?   The Border Collie, Magic, gives us these simple lessons.

1. Begin each day with a good stretch – the yoga pose downward facing dog and upward facing dog work well.
2. Eat a good breakfast of protein – it gives you energy through out the morning.
3. Do not force your leadership.  Sometimes you must take the long way around to get the herd facing the correct direction.
4. Fun is serious work.  Allow a good hour or two of fun in your day.
5. Stick to a routine of sleeping, eating, working, and playing.  This will keep you sharp and your charges will gain confidence in your choices.
6. Anger does not lead.  It puts fear into those you must care for.  Fear awakens doubt.

Blessings,

Judy

Daily Necessities

A Statue of the Buddha in Tawang Gompa, India  From Wikipedia

 

 

 

I enjoy the teachings of Buddha and all of the various advices from Buddhist teachers.... the following daily advice is something that "zinged" through me and made me feel like I had discovered a hunk of gold in a cold stream.  

Tips & pointers for building a spiritual life from scratch 

Pray 
Meditate 
Be aware/Stay awake 
Bow 
Practise yoga 
Feel 
Chant and sing 
Breathe and smile 
Relax/Enjoy/Laugh/Play 
Create/Envision 
Let Go/Forgive/Accept 
Walk/Exercise/Move 
Work/Serve/Contribute 
Listen/Learn/Enquire 
Consider/Reflect 
Cultivate oneself/Enhance competencies 
Cultivate contentment 
Cultivate flexibility 
Cultivate friendship and collaboration 
Lighten up 
Celebrate and appreciate 
Dream 
Give thanks 
Evolve 
Love 
Share/Give/Receive 
Walk softly/Live gently 
Expand/Radiate/Dissolve 
Simplify 
Surrender/Trust 
Be born anew 
~~~~~from Awakening The Buddha Within by Lama Surya Das

Feel the peace and enjoy the journey!

Many Blessings,

Judy

Tumeric Root

A picture of the Turmeric Root  from www.chinesemedicinenews.com

Cold and flu and covid!  How do we stay healthy and strong?  One of the oldest solutions to fighting disease is to eat or drink food with tumeric in it. Here is what you need to know.

 ""Turmeric has strong antioxidant activity. It is more potent than either vitamin C or vitamin E. In the body these important disease-fighting substances mop up unstable oxygen molecules called free radicals that can otherwise damage cells and cause diseases such as cancer. One component, dimethylbenzyl alcohol, normalizes cholesterol in the blood, while curcumin removes accumulation of cholesterol in the liver. Turmeric normalizes arterial health. Turmeric is also called for when indigestion, gas, and eliminatory issues imbalance the body.   From http://www.bellybytes.com/nourish/turmeric_root.html""

  After reading the information above, it is easier to understand what our Ancestors wanted to do with  roots and creating medicine from combinations of food.  Yogis and herbalists have worked to create many recipes that both balance the ACIDIC/ALKALINE levels in our body as well as working to provide good nutrition.  

Other properties of Turmeric are that it lubricates joints, cleanses the skin, cleanses the mucous membranes and cleanses the female reproductive organs. Yogis advise that Turmeric lubricates the spine and helps break up calcium deposits.  One of the drinks that Yogis recommend is "Golden Milk".

Golden Milk Recipe

1/4 to 1/3 teaspoon Turmeric       1/3 cup of water

8 ounces of milk, dairy or non dairy,  1 teaspoon almond oil and honey to taste

Boil Turmeric and water for about 8 minutes.  If water boils away, add more water.  Add milk and almond oil.  When mixture boils, remove from heat and add honey.  Makes 1 to 1 1/2 cups of Golden Milk. 

(from Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan, written by Shakta Kaur Khalsa).

Blessings,

Judy

Relaxing by Stressing

Meditation picture from www.ehow.com

 

 

 

One of the things that I have learned about meditation is – there are many more ways to meditate than one could practice in this lifetime.  I quite enjoy the Buddhist meditations.  Here is one that I thought would be a good one for these times that seem to be creating a lot of stress for people.

           *****************************

RELAXING BY STRESSING 

A very effective method to relax the body by stressing all the muscles, holding that 5 to 10 seconds, and then releasing the tension.

1.  Sit or lie in a relaxed way.  
2.  Put an extremely tense expression on the face, straining as many face muscles as possible. (If you practise Yoga, then you might use the Lion’s Pose here.)

3. Take a deep breath and forcefully hold it. (Use a count of three to start with, and then, as you practice, increase the count for holding the breath to ten.)  
4. Now slowly release the breath and the tension of all the face muscles, feel as if you breathe out all stress.  
5.  Inhale deeply again and stress all neck and shoulder muscles, and then let go. (If you feel slightly dizzy, simply keep breathing until the feeling passes.)  
6. Inhale, make fists and stress the arms, and then let go.  
7.  Inhale, stress chest, belly and back and then let go. 

8.  Inhale, stress buttocks, legs and feet and then let go.  
9.  If you still feel tension at some places, just stay relaxed. Don't hold the breath now and slowly breath out, and release all the tension while breathing out. 

Now, sit in this moment of relaxation, and ask your body to enjoy the feeling, and to remember the feeling, so that your body can recall it at will. Note that this will take some practice.  

Let me know how this meditation worked for you! 

Blessings,

Judy

Yoga Poses To Relieve Anxiety

 

                                         Picture from Paleohacks…..

Several months ago, a friend sent me the poster/picture above that shows a series of yoga poses that may be used to relieve anxiety.  Each pose uses the wall to achieve balance and to make the moves easier.

She told me that the Covid pandemic caused her to become anxious about life.  She did not want to take medication so she searched for a remedy for the tightness that she constantly felt.  She said that she could not identify one thing that made her anxious, it just seemed life was a cause for anxiety.

I have worked through the routines several times and I have shared them with several friends and asked them to try the routines for at least five days.  The question is, “Do these moves actually relieve anxiety?”

While none of us could identify a real anxiety in our lives, we all noticed that this routine simply made us feel better!  We all felt a new balance in our lives.  

Try this routine and see what you think of the moves. 

Blessings!

Judy

The Angels Say "Be Strong"

        

The Angels tell us that we need to be strong.  Strong in our physical body and in our emotional body.  By staying fit, the Angels say that we can more easily deal with the issues that are arising because of the chaos in the world right now. 

When we are strong in our emotional body, we do not get so upset that we cannot focus on what needs to be done.  If we are emotionally weak, we let our physical appearance fall into disrepair, and we can forget to eat.  Our Ancestors knew the value of staying strong.  With strength comes Confidence and Abundance.

What exercises help us the most?  Interestingly, walking or jogging slowly, or doing stretching yoga, are the exercises that will both keep you fit and will ground you.  These exercises will also help you keep your emotional body stable.  Sitting or walking meditation will support both your emotional body and your physical body.

A simple meditation that you can use many times during the day is this:

• Put your tongue to the roof of your mouth
• Set your timer on your phone for a minute
• Close your eyes, or not
• Breathe in and out for a minute, counting a breath in and out as one, the next breath in and out as two, etc.
• The number of breaths in a minute is your 1 Minute meditation. 
• Your pulse will slow down and your body will relax.

If meditation doesn’t work for you, try praying.

Many blessings,

Judy