ARE YOU DOING MORE AND BEING LESS?

ARE YOU DOING MORE AND BEING LESS?

The bird was huge!  Well, it wasn’t the size of a condor however from a good distance it was bigger than any I had seen since I moved here over a year ago.  I stood and did a momentary marveling as to how it knew that the weight of the small branches at the top of this very tall tree could hold its weight as the wind swirled around.  That’s instinct for you as a way of survival.

My next thought was that I needed to take a picture since a few minutes after my discovery of him/her she/he had flown and perched on a tree closer to my house.  I grabbed my cell and carefully opened the door to the porch. No sooner had I stepped outside and turned to quietly close the door that my phone went off and the bird flew away.  Darn!

I moved quickly to the end of the porch to see where it had gone but it was too late. Not sure had I found his/her new landing place what I would have done anyway as I believe it was on a mission to get out of the cold.

 This small experience wasn’t for not as I needed to be reminded of…I was in the human being mode of Doing vs Being which is fine but just like in this case not necessary  

We individuals are always bizzy doing things; go shopping, pick up kids, washing clothes, going to work and working overtime, taking vacations where we relax then rubber band right back to crazy-world.  The actual art of being does just the opposite and asks only  our presence. Simply said the doing mode is when we are living in our heads, thinking about the present, the future, and the past, making plans, and completing tasks. And the being mode is when we are living in the moment, experiencing things directly.

Eckhart Tolle in “The Power of Now” says that too much time spent outside of oneself inhibits ones ability to appreciate the gift that the present offers.

He also says which is appropriate to this blog subject, “To know yourself as the Being underneath the thinker, the stillness underneath the mental noise, the love and joy underneath the pain, is freedom, salvation, enlightenment.”

If this subject seems a bit innocuous to you in my opinion it is a small step to salvation. The noise of the world is such an intrusion on our peace of mind and we are mostly not aware of it’s impact on our health.

Psychoneuroimmunology is the study of stress and tension on the body.  This study which started some 40 years ago looked heavily into the effect of the mind on health and resistance to disease.  In a seminar I attended at UCLA some years ago the presenters even said it is because of stressors effect on the immune system it is one of the culprits of so many of our diseases.

Using baby steps on the path which we all seem to be traveling to some degree is important to practice for our inner and outer well-being. 

This can be accomplished by doing two simple things: 

1. Commit to take special moments to be still 

2. Just do #1!

When we stop taking our bodies for granted and disallow this loose-fitting mentality, thinking and believing that we are going to live forever we have a good chance of changing the negative trajectory of illness and imbalance.

Taking in and honoring our bodies on a daily basis is a start to living a healthier life. This kind of information found on the internet like meditation, mindfulness, deep breathing, yoga, peace and calm apps like Headspace, Exhale, Smilingmind, etc. are available now for you to try out and find the one that fits you the best.   

All of this is as easy to do as that age-old adage says to stop and smell the roses because if you do nothing you just may be the recipient of someone placing them on your tombstone sooner than you every expected.

Sad but true.

Here’s to awakening to the brilliance that is YOU!

P.S.  Join my cohost, Charlie Lowe and I at 11 am every Friday on WinWinWomen.com.  Our show this Friday January 6th will be more in depth about how you are Being vs Doing and how we can help you bring more calm into your life!

We welcome your participation and please ask questions because everyone can learn from each other at all times.