As the holidays wind down, and we get back to normal, we often find ourselves occupied with self-examination. What do we want to accomplish as the year begins? What habits do we want to cultivate? What habits do we want to eliminate? What can make us better humans?
We’ve pulled together some beneficial information to aid in your reflection. With local experts sharing their thoughts in the fields of body, mind and spirit, plus extra tips for each topic, you’re sure to find something that propels you forward in your journey.
Finding Spiritual Balance
Written by Reverend Rosemary McMahan
Each hour holds 60 minutes, each day 24 hours, each week 7 days, each year 365 days. We are all gifted with the exact amount of time. How best will we use that gift when time becomes blocks of activities called work, family, church and social obligations, shopping, banking, health care, that we juggle daily, hoping we don’t drop any of them? How do we even consider the notion of spiritual balance? We remind ourselves, often, that we are human beings, not human doings.
We are beloved children of a loving Creator who desires our well-being, and practicing spirituality is part of our wholeness. Spirituality is simply the process of traveling our individual journeys with the awareness that there is more to us than our hard work, accolades, fit bodies, and accomplishments. Whether we label it soul, spirit, or personality, that part of us that makes us unique deserves the same time and attention we give our bodies and minds.
If New Year’s resolutions are any indication, we do fairly well attending to our bodies. We only get one body, so exercise and nutrition are indeed important, but our bodies do not make up the whole of us. They are the temporary housing we have while on this earth.
Our minds, thoughts, interests and opinions make us individuals. If we are careful about what we put in our bodies, then we also pay attention to what we put in our
minds. If we fill them with fear and negativity, we become fearful and negative people. If we choose instead to fill them with confidence and positivity, we become confident and positive people who can impact the world and make it a better place.
What about our spirits? We are most likely to neglect them in the juggling of our time-blocks, yet they are an essential part of our well-being. They connect us to something bigger than ourselves, whether God, Christ, a Higher Power, or the Universe, and our spirits seek to be tended to just as much as our bodies and minds.
How do we tend to the spirit? The first step to balance is to practice daily attention. What feeds us and gives us joy? Watching a sunset, walking with a child, meditating or praying, creating, gardening, or worshipping? Pay attention. The second step is to honor the first step, to make then time to feed our souls as intentionally as we make our appointments to the gym or spa. Tending to our spiritual life is that important because our spirits are part of us eternally.
We are all on the balancing beam together. Sometimes we slip off, but we can always get back on. Each day is a new opportunity to stop the juggling for a moment and listen to the loving invitation of our spirits. Doing so will bless us and make us a blessing to others.
Rosemary McMahan resides with her husband, Dennis, in Huntsville. She has been in pastoral ministry for 17 years and is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA.) Rosemary also holds certification as a Spiritual Director and enjoys walking with others as a companion on their spiritual journeys.
The Body: Achieving Health
Written by Heather Morse MS, ATC, OTC
The body is a perfect design. Just the image of each system and its synergistic ability to function is beyond comprehension. A common mistake by many people, including our medical community, is to think of the body in “parts” rather than as a whole. There is a definitive connection between all parts, including mind, body and spirit, that controls our body’s ability to stay in balance. Emotions can trigger physiological responses within the body. Body dysfunctions can trigger psychological responses within the brain. You get the idea. So how do achieve balance in all the systems?
Often times it can be the simplest of things that create balance, synergy and calm. If you are struggling either physically, emotionally, spiritually or all of the above, dig really deep and focus on the root of this discomfort. Don’t focus on the symptoms. Symptoms are a byproduct of a dysfunction. This is NOT the easy button we are so accustomed to in our way of life both medically and socially. There is not a
quick and simple way to effectively get the body in balance. It takes, thought, prayer, meditation, changing of habits, changing of lifestyle and often drastic change in environment.
A quick piece of advice that has never failed me is to GET OUTSIDE. Get away from the traffic, the TV, the phones, the powerlines – all of it. Take a simple walk in the beauty of nature. Breathe deeply and fill your lungs. Take notice of the immediate change in your body, mind and spirit. This is a real phenomenon. Changing your internal frequencies (yes, we are an electrical system too) to more closely match their root (the Earth’s frequency) can produce physical and emotional changings almost immediately. But you have to tune into your WHOLE body, which includes mind and spirit. Quit taking yourself apart into pieces and imaging the divine design in all its perfect glory. Then go on with your day!
Heather Morse is the owner of Salt on the Rocks; Holistic Wellness Spa & Remedies. www.SaltOnTheRocksHuntsville.com
