Alternative Health – Page 14 – Pilgrimage Studio

Tag: Alternative Health

24 Hours

by Beth Haley

With school starting up again for me in just a few days, I’ve been thinking more about organizing my time for productivity. I am getting nervous about fitting all this into my schedule. I look at what well-known people have accomplished and wonder how they managed it all. But here’s the thing: Oprah, Stephen King, Brene Brown, and the president of any nation… they all have the same 24 hours in their day as I do. So why am I not president already? 🤔🙄😲

Words we associate with time:

It’s a fight against time.
I don’t have enough time.
There’s never enough time.
Time Slips away.
I lost track of time (my favorite).

Yet, time is an energy that responds to how we use it.

When do we use these excuses to explain why we aren’t farther along with our projects?

A lot of the “time”?

Maybe the truth is that many of the things we procrastinate with, really aren’t a high priority. It is more empowering to know that we are not a victim of time, but need to define what is the most important for each day.

Time management is an individual experiment and process. Each day seems to have its own flow and some practices work well at certain times and not as well at other times. Sometimes it seems like it is a moment to moment process, and adjustments are needed as we go along.

Some things to consider for time management are as follows:
When replacing a time-waster habit, replace it with something that helps you toward your goal. What are you wanting to accomplish? Instead of replacing one bad habit for another, such as replacing chocolate chip cookies for eating cocoa mix out of the container, dry, with a spoon…I wish both of those balanced each other out, but alas… replace a bad habit with one that helps in manifesting your intention.
Distractions, such as phone notifications, can sidetrack your game-plan for endless moments. Instagram? I turn the sound on my phone off when I’m working. Make a list of things that distract you.
Notice when your energy is at its peak, and when it naturally starts to wane. Plan your busy time for those peak energy hours if you can. (I wish I could do this more).
Don’t make a huge to-do list (unless this works for you). What can happen with a long to-do list, is it is easy to look at it, feel overwhelmed, and just say, “Maybe another day to all of it.” So pick just one thing you absolutely need to accomplish for the day, and make that your mission. I usually get more things done besides that one thing, but at least I will have gotten that one major thing done toward reaching a goal.
Create routine

Journaling

What are the things I truly need to accomplish?
This week I completed _______ which helped me toward my goal of ______.
This week I did not complete _______ because ______.
I am often distracted from my work by _______.
I remember information better when I ______. (take notes)
I keep track of my schedule better by ______. This works for me because ______.
I say no to other projects or people when ______.
I know that I am getting stressed when ______.
I have the best energy when I ______. (do my yoga)
I can focus better when I ______.

What is the most important thing to do, right now?

Feel free to add your link 👋 to the Meet and Greet Page

IIN

Pixabay

Metta Meditation 🧘‍♀️

by Beth Haley

Pali is a liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. Although Sanskrit is older, Pali is also a sacred language of religious texts. The common translation of the Pali word, metta, is “loving-kindness.” It represents friendship, love for self, love for others without self-interest, and a strong intention for the wellbeing of others and the world. It builds generosity and kindness within us as we send our “metta” to all beings, and in their happiness we also find our own.

The wishes of metta are: to live happily, to be free from hostility, affliction and distress, and to be filled with inner love.

First you offer metta to someone you love. Bring their image into your mind, and open your heart as you say your prayer:

May s/he be well, happy, and at ease.
May s/he be cherished and untroubled.
May s/he be healthy and strong.
May s/he have an abundance of well-being,
and may all beings and creatures be blessed.

Now pray metta for yourself:

May I be well, happy, and at ease.
May I be cherished and untroubled.
May I be healthy and strong.
May I have an abundance of well-being,
and may all beings and creatures be blessed.

Then visualize a casual acquaintance (someone neutral), perhaps a neighbor you recognize, but may not know well and extend metta to them in the same way.

The last step is to pray metta for someone who is difficult. It may be something you can do now, or something you work up to doing.

My metta for you:

May you be well, happy, and at ease.
May you be cherished and untroubled.
May you be healthy and strong.
May you have an abundance of well-being,
and may all beings and creatures be blessed.

Blessings ❤️

enriquelopezgarre@pixabay

Patterns of Lineage

by Beth Haley

Today, I was taking notes while I listened to Sahara Rose on the Highest Self Podcast with speaker and author Heatherash Amara, which is titled “Warrior Goddess Women Training”, and thinking, “There’s no way I can fit this into one post.” So this is just a brief look at the topic of clearing patterns from our lineage.

When we look at ancestral patterns we can see how certain issues pass down from generation to generation. For example, I’ve heard people say many times: my great-great grandmother had diabetes, my mother had diabetes, and I have diabetes. It’s just hereditary. On the physical, it can be easy to see how patterns pass down. The same can be true in other areas as well. How about culturally? How about energetically?

Sahara explains how, in her family, all the generations of females before her have been in child marriages. Women had no equal rights. So Sahara’s story could have been: I’ll just wait for a husband to choose me, and live out my life as all the women have done before me.

However, she is re-writing the story of her lineage, day by day, with her own life:

“She just got married to someone of her own choice, by the freedom of her own will, she has equal partnership in the relationship, and she is a working woman who has income.” -Sahara Rose

“This is literally the first time this has happened in my lineage. So we’re re-writing the story.”

-Sahara Rose

For others it may be re-writing the story of poverty, or shame, or for sexual liberation. We’re re-writing such patterns as: My family has always been poor so I’ll always be poor.

And this is where we come now to a generation that says, “Not again. It stops here. This stops with me.”

Because of the fact that in previous generations, there has not been a choice, “I am going to take ultimate choice and freedom in this lifetime because I know it is not something that can be taken for granted. So with that I will choose more, I will shine brighter, I will be louder, I will be even more expressed for all of my ancestors that have not had that capacity available to them.”

-Sahara Rose

“As adults, we then have “choice” to begin to decide: what do I want to carry forward from my lineage?”

-Heatherash Amara

Many times, we don’t realize what we are carrying forward, we just think, “Oh, this is just me, this is just my baggage.” Until, we start looking at ancestral patterns.

Heatherash Amara says: “I find when I start teaching women to look at what they learned from their ancestors, and what they’re carrying forward, pretty quickly women are like, “Oh wow, I’m not broken,” or “I’m not personally responsible for all of these things that I am carrying, it’s actually something that I’m carrying forward form my lineage,” because I didn’t realize it. “And then they’re able to make a choice.”

“We want to carry forward the things that are the best from our lineage, and I know that’s what our ancestors would want the most for us as well.”

-Heatherash Amara

There’s so much more on this topic, and I look forward to learning and sharing more about the topic of clearing our life from things we don’t need to carry forward.

One more thought: the freedom to choose how we want to live life is an immeasurable privilege. It is having the freedom to choose to stay home or be the woman who works. I found it to be an immense privilege and honor to stay home with my children while they were growing up. But it was because I had the freedom not to, if I so chose. And that’s the difference.

Choice. Freedom.

Highest Self Podcast

Sahara Rose

Heatherash Amara

Toxic Thoughts…

by Beth Haley

I’ve read a lot recently on thoughts. Especially negative thinking, or stinkin’ thinking, as I’ve heard it called. These are thoughts that hold us back. They poison our potential, and sour our outlook. We all have them:

Not you

You’re not pretty enough

You’re too old

You’re too gay

You’re not good enough

You’re not perfect enough

You’re not skilled enough

Somebody else is better

If you would, allow the idea that toxic thoughts can serve a positive purpose.

One idea I came across is to use negative thoughts as launching pads towards growth and healing. They are telling us something about ourself. What are they pointing to?

For example, thoughts such as, “I can’t do this”, “I’m not ready” or “I’m not good enough at this” can point to the need to dig into deeper study, gather more knowledge, get more training, or be more prepared. With a little extra work, you may find that those thoughts change along with your confidence level to: “I’m ready”, “I can do this”, and “I am good enough at this”!

In real-estate,

Love it or list it.

And, if it’s not serving you

well, flip it:

Yes you

You’re pretty enough

You’re not too old

You’re not too gay

You’re good enough

You’re perfect enough

You’re skilled enough

You shine

What are our toxic thoughts pointing to?

How can we use them for growth or healing?

How can we flip them into positive affirmations?

Pixabay

Memory Observation Practice

by Beth Haley

Observation skills can take some time to develop. When you’re in the middle of reacting, it’s hard to remember that you have other options. The goal of observing emotions and responses can be forgotten in the storm of the moment, and sometimes it feels like the commitment to make a choice between one response versus another, is overridden by the events and emotions. It can be discouraging, but mindfully observing yourself during triggering moments, does improve over time.

Memory Observation Exercise

Find a comfortable position in a peaceful, safe space and close your eyes.

Take a deep cleansing breath, in through your nose, and exhale away any tension out through your mouth.

And another deep cleansing breath in through your belly, and blow away any remaining tension.

Now turn your mind back to a recent memory where you became upset or felt triggered. Let this memory return in full detail, and just sit with it and observe. Look at every part of the event…the room, the temperature, textures and colors… who was there, and what is being said.

Let your emotions build as the scene unfolds again in your mind, and see and hear what is happening. Just watch and listen until your emotion in that space is strong enough to observe. As you observe this feeling, see if you can name it, and try to name any other feelings you notice.

What thoughts come up during this time? Thoughts about the situation…thoughts about the emotion or feelings?

What physical sensations go with your emotions? Do you feel it in a specific place in your body? Notice sensations in your head, face, chest, arms, stomach and legs.

What does the emotion make you feel like doing? What urges rise to the surface? Observe how you respond. Are you swept away on the swell of emotion, or can you see a choice in how you respond?

Now, while you are in this safe and quiet space, with more time to think and analyze, can you develop, through this exercise, a game-plan you want to follow the next time you are triggered in the same way?

By really sinking into a memory by observing it, you may get a sense of having a choice, and be able to separate yourself from the same old actions and reactions (withdraw, attack, blowup, deflect) and redefine a new way of being and responding.

Journal the emotions, thoughts, sensations, and urges you encounter during this exercise. After doing this exercise a few times, you will get more accustomed to observing your triggered reactions. The more you become used to watching your reactions from the past, the better you will become at observing triggers as they happen in real-time. You’ll begin to notice moments of choice where you start to define new ways of interacting and responding to stressful situations.

We can learn to watch our emotional sky and feel and see what the weather is like. We can choose to watch a storm instead of react to it, or become the sky, holding an experience, rather than being tossed around by it.

That old sense of helplessness, where you felt forced to react to everything that triggered you, will, with time, no longer define you. Instead, you can stand at a distance, watching people or situations that trigger you, watching your emotions and urges, and still feel a sense of choice.

Emotions don’t have to dictate your behavior; you will decide what matters in your life, and you will choose what to do.

Another View

Perhaps, like me, with some memories, you’re not ready for a new game-plan. As in, there is no action required, other than to heal. It may be that in order to heal, you let the memory unfold just to be with it. To acknowledge what happened and what is felt, not pushing any part of it away, but pulling the feelings close, embracing them in acceptance; letting them find their expression, perhaps for the first time, and allowing healing to come.

A good exercise for healing past trauma, is to visualize your twin self entering the space you are at in this memory. And, walking up to you, they offer to you exactly what you need. Maybe it is a hug, to be held, to be heard, to be told specific words; perhaps it is to comfort the child that is you in this memory. Allow your twin-self to give you whatever you need at that point in time.

Note: if the image of your twin-self doesn’t resonate with you, substitute this for something that really reaches you, such as: an Angel, God, a parent, Goddess, Source, The Great Spirit, The Divine…

A great post on “How Memories Affect our Present” from Pointlessoverthinking.com:

http://pointlessoverthinking.com/2019/07/01/how-memories-affect-our-present-reblog/

Source: The Interpersonal Problems Workbook
by Matthew McKay, PhD
Patrick Fanning
Avigail Lev, PsyD
Michelle Skeen, PsyD

Photo Credit: jplenio@pixabay

Turmeric Face Mask

by Thela 🦊 Foxgood

I was looking through a book today called “Herbal Goddess” by Amy Jirsa and came across a Turmeric Face Mask recipe. However, I was out of a few ingredients.

I am not sure why shopping is so hard for me, but if I’m out of something, I just make due if possible. I am the Grocery-Store-Avoider! So, I crafted with what I had on hand.

**Test on a small area of skin first to check for allergic reactions.

Thela’s Turmeric Face Mask Shortcut

Use a favorite store-bought face mask mix you already have on hand.

Put the amount of mask mixture needed to cover your face, into a bowl, and mix in 1tsp organic Turmeric powder.

I used a natural clay mask that is infused with essential oils, and added the Turmeric to that.

If you have apple cider vinegar, this adds astringent benefits and makes a great toner. Add just enough to your mask mix to keep the thickness you need.

Benefits

Turmeric is good for troubled skin conditions such as redness, eczema, and rosacea. Its natural antiseptic qualities are excellent for treating acne.

Note: a good time to try this is a day where you can be at home. Turmeric makes my face look like I have a tan, but it can turn skin a bit yellow.

Photo Credit: Ajale@Pixabay

Destiny Number

by Thela Foxgood

I love working with numbers, letters and codes. One fun activity to do with letters and numbers is to use your full birth name to find your Destiny Number.

1: A,J,S

2: B,K,T

3: C,L,U

4: D,M,V

5: E,N,W

6: F,O,X

7: G,P,Y

8: H,Q,Z

9: I,R

Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall

V=4, A=1, L=3, E=5, R=9, I=9, E=5 =36

J=1, A=1, N=5, E=5 = 12

M=4, O=6, R=9, R=9, I=9, S=1 = 38

G=7, O=6, O=6, D=4, A=1, L=3, L=3 = 30

36 + 12 + 38 + 30 = 116

1 + 1 + 6 = 8

This makes the Destiny Number for Dr. Jane Goodall or known as, Dame Jane Goodall, the number 8.

For doing your own, here is a list of number meanings at FeliciaBender.com

This site also shows meanings for the master numbers 11, 22 and 33, which are numbers that you don’t break down into single digits when they are your final number.

Life Path Numbers

Using your full birth date such as, 8-22-1991, you can determine your Life Path Number.

8+2+2+1+9+9+1 = 32
3+2 = 5

A Life Path number represents who you are and your purpose in life, while your Destiny/Expression Number represents how you can achieve your purpose.

There are many resources for number meanings. However, these Life Path Number meanings from Creative Numerology, give a lot of detail.

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Have fun with your numbers!

Photo Credit: Larisa-K@pixabay

I am my Breath

by Beth Haley

How many times do we think of who we are by what we have?

I am my bank account.

I am my house.

I am my corvette (I’d be a corvette).

I am what I’m wearing.

I am my bills.

How about disabilities:

I am disabled, instead of: I have a disability.

I am a Social Phobic, instead of: I have social anxiety.

I am my loss, instead of: I have experienced loss.

I am what I lack, instead of: I am grateful for what I have.

Dr. Alberto Villoldo, who devoted 25 years to studying the healing practices of the Amazon and Andean shamans, starts his mornings with this ancient shamanic breathing practice:

Inhaling, he says, “I am”.

Exhaling, he says, “My breath.”

In, “I am.”

Out, “My breath.”

The concept is that we start our life in this world with a breath. And at our last moment, we will leave this world with a final breath.

Paraphrased:

… when you take your last breath, at the very end of your life, you’re not going to be saying, “I am my bank account, I am disabled, I am my body, I am my job, I am my family, I am my name… No, you can go, “I am my breath,” and you will follow that last breath out…

“This is my practice,” says Villoldo.

“Otherwise I wake up in the morning and I go, “I am my to-do list, I am my emails that I haven’t responded to, and I am this problem that is going on right now””… when none of those things are who I am, although they may be what I have… “you can cultivate that identification with that part of you that will continue beyond this moment, and it can be tremendously liberating.”

–Dr. Alberto Villoldo

I may not have that Corvette, but I also wont be paying the insurance on it either!

I hear my father’s words whenever he would see something really expensive, “That’s some nice debt!” It was a way of teaching us that what we have, we also need to be willing to pay the price for. And sometimes the price isn’t worth it.

I’d still be a corvette.

So who are you really?

…

Inhale: “I am.”

Exhale: “Not a Corvette.”

Sigh. I digress.

Inhale: “I am.”

Exhale: “My Breath”

Inhale: “I am.”

Exhale: “My Breath”

Could I be a charger instead?

I listened to Dr. Villoldo speak on the podcast: My Seven Chakras, “How to Grow a New Body Using Shamanic Healing and Nutrition” with Dr. Alberto Villoldo

Corvette wish from angelic@pixabay

Charger dream from oktagon1@pixabay

Header Photo from johnhain@pixabay

Re-lease

by Beth Haley

Breathing retraining is changing the way in which we breathe. Many times we breathe shallowly, only feeling our chest and shoulders rise and fall. In breathing retraining, you learn to breathe deeper through your abdomen or diaphragm. Doing this reduces heart rate and symptoms of anxiety, while changing the ratio of carbon dioxide to oxygen in your bloodstream.

Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) is another common anxiety-management skill involving tensing and relaxing your muscles which helps you notice the difference between holding tension in your muscles and having relaxed muscles.

Before doing this exercise, rate your stress or anxiety level on a scale from 0 to 10 (where 0 means relaxed and 10 means stressed or anxious) and again after this exercise, and see if you notice a difference.

In a comfortable position, put your right hand on your chest and your left hand on your abdomen. Slow and deepen your breathing. Feel the hand on your abdomen rise and fall, more so than the hand on your chest. Just focus on how it feels to draw in the air and exhale it.

As you inhale, think, RE. And as you exhale say, LEASE.

While you’re doing this, just let stressful or anxious thoughts come and go, and simply focus on inhaling and exhaling with RE and then LEASE.

Happy releasing! 🤩

PhotoCredit: Pixabay