The Importance of the Heart

As part of my own recovery, and creating of my own health, I want to use this blog to share with you any interesting activities, processes, information, and resources that I've found healing:





Here is an interesting snippet from Deepak Chopra regarding the importance of the heart. In it, he says that the number one risk factor for premature death from cardiovascular disease is hostility, mistrust, cynicism. This is a risk factor that is controllable.
I know personally that in the past, I have spent too much time in an environment of hostility and cynicism.
A recent report from Ohio State University evaluated whether or not emotional stress affected healing. Forty-two married couples participated in the research project in which they received small blisters on their skin (ouch!) and then engaged in either a loving, supportive conversation or an angry, hostile disagreement. The researchers measured the concentration of immunological chemicals in the blood and tracked how long it took for the wounds to heal. The results showed that one hostile interaction slowed healing by almost twenty-four hours.

For today,
1. Intend to create an environment of compassion, love, and acceptance.
2. Practice the law of detachment by letting others be who they are, and take a few minutes
to meditate for peace.
3. Put your attention on your heart and inwardly repeat these four words:
Peace, Harmony, Laughter, Love.

To your health,
Chris

Lessons from Geese

Lessons From Geese
1. As each goose flaps its wings it creates an “uplift” for the other geese that follow.
2. By flying in a “V” formation the whole flock adds 71 percent of extra flying range.
3. When a goose falls out of formation it, feels the drag and resistance of flying alone.
4. Every goose quickly moves back into “V” formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the other geese in front.
5. When the lead goose tires, it drops back into the formation and another goose flies to the point position.
6. The geese flying in formation honk to encourage those up front to keep up with their speed. 7. When a goose gets sick, two geese drop out of formation and follow it down to assist and protect it.

"Lessons from Geese" was transcribed from a speech given by Angeles Arrien at the 1991 Organizational Development Network and was based on the work of Milton Olson.

I love when I get these serendipitous urgings from the universe to investigate certain themes, images, etc.. that start showing up in my life. Today, I received this wonderful video, describing the lessons we can learn from Geese. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I've always loved geese, for example, on an earlier blog post, I included a picture of a flock flying in V formation, accompanied by a poem from David Whyte entitled, "The Journey". The other day, I was cross country skiing, and really experienced a thrill of coming across a huge flock of geese gathered at the one end of the lake that was not yet frozen. I couldn't help but marvel at the dazzling array of honks, quacks, and other sounds from the geese communicating together on that beautiful winter day. I've included a picture, below.

Create Your Health, by becoming conscious of the symbols, metaphors, and themes that begin to show up in your life, to begin to digest and integrate the lessons and messages they represent for you in your life.

Namaste,
Chris


FYI: Canada geese (Branta canadensis) are the most familiar geese in Alaska and across North America. They are classified into over 15 subspecies varying in size and shading. All have a distinctive black head and neck with a white cheek patch; most have a full or partial white ring at the base of the neck, brownish wings, back and sides, white to grayish-brown breast and belly, white rump patch, and black legs and feet. Common characteristics of all geese include similar coloration of males and females, life-long pair bonds with mates (although those that lose mates will re-pair), first breeding at 2-3 years of age, well-adapted for walking on land, feed primarily by grazing on vegetation, and they are very social except during nesting. Pairs generally establish a nesting territory, produce four to five eggs per nest, and raise their young as a family unit. Later, families often combine to form “creches” guarded by several parents. As with most other waterfowl, geese are flightless for about a month in mid-summer, while new wing feathers are grown. Predators of Canada geese and their eggs vary widely among areas and include foxes, coyotes, wolves, bears, wolverines, gulls, eagles, and ravens. Canada geese are popular and accessible to many wildlife watchers, even in urban areas. They are prized by hunters across the continent