Pathways to Profound Peace and Purpose

There is a movement of sorts that has always been but has become very much a focus of reconciliation for many people at this time in history. It is believable that the “intention” to find purpose and to come to terms with self and the world so that Inner peace can be manifest, has been at the very “heart” of human existence.

When we are young, much of life is about having fun and “having our way”. We become attached to persons we know well, parents usually but can have adults in our lives who are very influential (usually teachers and Sunday school teachers).

Peers will soon replace parents and teachers as the prime source of socialization and the defining of what will make us happy (having fun and having our own way, still may dominate the “group-think’.)

We will either find ourselves with too much to handle and not in a place to get as much education as possible…or we will get as much education as is needed to begin a career we think we are suited for and to proceed with having fun and having our own way.

Marriage or partnership, may also carry the theme, have fun and have your own way. There is sometimes conflict between what our partner defines as mutual understanding and mutual dreams and goals. Children may or may not be part of this mutual life together.

We proceed with career streams or a job…many to discover this was not what we thought life would be about. We can easily lose sight of what is our purpose and for any number of reasons, begin to struggle with the other important item, finding or feeling peace in our heart and lives.

However we may get there…there is always a way past and beyond those barriers to peace and purpose.

Let us now visit what are some key things that can be done in this moment…right now as you read this. There is a direct effect of relaxation, and “parasympathetic” response of our central nervous system, you may wish to engage, as it will also enhance clarity and focus (something helpful for getting through some “heavy” topics).

Most of you have a great understanding of the “fight or flight” response whenever we perceive stress. For some there are a few other possibilities that start with “f”. Freeze or fuzz-out is some peoples experience when faced with stress. “Fumble” as if a football player, or “fudge” as messing up something that we should otherwise be able to handle, can also be experienced. Stress is for many a far-too-frequent nemesis.

Whether you are one who has their focus impacted or that there is reason to avoid you when under stress, you will appreciate that it does not have to be this way for long.

What you can learn now and build on is, a technique to elicit the “relaxation response”. The Profound peace I speak of is as you can imagine, not available if we perceive threat or stress in any way. While taking a deep breathe, will begin to make us feel calmer, and reduce heart rate and blood pressure, it is imperative that we go “inward” to our thought centre…the origin of the perception…and re-frame what it is we are feeling or experiencing. Wayne Dyer said it well in his book, “Change your thoughts, change your life”.

As mentioned though, begin with breath. This will be what is addressed also in Eackhart Tolle’s book, “The New Earth”.

As you breathe in deeply there will be “baro-receptors” and “chemo-receptors” that will stimulate centres of the Central Nervous System (CNS). It will be valuable to look at the body and breath as a whole. The action of breath is not separate from the greater activities of living. Without breathing, life itself cannot be maintained. In order to spare the organism…it is also “breath” that saves the organism from “over-producing” the very chemistry that is useful for fight or flight, but is otherwise toxic to cells, organs and “systems” which otherwise would not persist for the support of life, if stress becomes “chronic”.

As you perceive yourself as one with breath and otherwise in control of the “stimulus” of stress (the perception itself) will bring to consciousness that stress is something that we create. We also “create” a consciousness prepared to “fight, flight, freeze, fuzz-out, forget, frenzy, fudge or fumble…as we fail to “re-connect” to breath.

So…breathe in deeply once more. Pause at the height of the breath. Activate the awareness that you control all of this; the perception, the stress response, the breath that will erase it. Continue in the deep breath sequence with a pause to reflect…and let it go. Take in the reflection with breath, and let it go.

If you have yet to begin to relax…if you are feeling quite stressed out, and powerless over these feelings than I would encourage you to get up and move. Muscular contraction eventually will help ease tension, if they became “seized up” will sitting or laying down.
Yoga and Tai Chi/Chi gong, will provide that triad of activity if you will. There is the initiation of breath (every movement should be preceded by breath…breathe then move)…the reflection of the movement itself, and the connection of movement with breath, activates the CNS (central nervous system).

What becomes a habitual pattern in life (to either engage in a Yoga or Chi Gong practice) will be that much more powerful in overcoming feeling of stress…or to prevent them all together. WE are creatures of habit, that cannot be argued, it is whether we build on good habits, like brushing our teeth, early morning walks…and a practice that facilitates deep breathing (if we cannot see ourselves moving in Yoga or Chi Gong)

The most profound peace I have ever experienced has been inclusive of one hour Hot Yoga class, soon after a deep tissue massage, (with heat) and then a meditation session reflecting on the many aspects of love…and what I have to be grateful for.

An Attitude of Gratitude will go a long way, and I doubt that profound peace could be experienced without thinking deeply and being grateful.

I encourage you to reflect on the ABC philosophy of life and the reflection you should make. Imagine that you have a mirror in front of you. (this works well when you actually do get in front of a mirror and hold up a page that has ABC written on it. This reflection looks different, like you and like the page, but the letters look “mirrored”) Think of what that reflection looks like, if you hold it to the very edge of the mirror CBAABC (accept that B and C look mirrored on the left side.

The A that is not mirrored stands for Attitude. Attitude determines our Behavior and from Behaviours come Consequences.

On the “reflection” of this short theory…is A stands for Alignment…how we “Align” or Attitude comes from our “Beliefs” (remember this is reflected- back as behavior)…and the C that is reflected stands for Consciousness, which perpetuates beliefs that determines Alignment of Attitude…on to Behaviour and the Consequences thereof.

Does this help…it will if you spend time with it in contemplation…meditate on it or pray about it…it all should come to you…if you can not do the mirroring exercise, write it out on a peace of paper CBAABC. It all begins within our perception as “consciousness”. We can chose to remain where we are…as one who falls (by habit) into patterns manifesting stress (upset, panic, lashing out, cursing etc.) or we can choose a higher consciousness solution…and this begins with connection to breath.

Hope this helps initiate you onto a pathway to profound peace and purpose,

BE wise, BE well,

Dave

There has been some “cultural norms” develop that would have us (most anyone over 20) to regret that we are getting a year older. There is the customary blowing out of birthdays candles and with each passing year it may be that the breath we have is challenged by the addition of candles (this would be a good reason to practice Yoga, Tai Chi or deep breathing daily so you build up to the day you have 80 candles to extinguish.

There has been some decisions made over the week-end and I am determined to get this site re-vamped and capable to post pod-casts both audio and video. I do have a passion for enhancing the quality of life of others with what I know from personal experience and professional growth.

Not that I am the best at Yoga, or tai chi…or the most knowledgable in the theory and performance…but I do know both work better when done together. It is also the best warm-up, recovery and/or rehab approach, mostly due to the fact there is a HUGE inventory of movements and focus training, not to mention the “meditation in motion” aspects…very relaxing…for a form of exercise.

Now, let me invite you to share in this adventure as I post on-line…and bring these modalities to the internet. As has been waiting for a “re-launch” I will soon be posting on youroptimalyoga.com…and zen4u.org (for the Chi Kung/Tai Chi)

Stay tuned…in a couple of days I trust there will be something to link you to the sites

BE well,

Dave

This I am posting for easy access of any and all website developers who wish to consider bidding for the contract for IT support London. There will always be ongoing collaboration with me and with the work provided by my IT support from Windsor.

Thanks,

Dave

I am smiling as I write this, as I have my window of my office open. I hear birds singing, and an interlude of church bells drown them out. I had heard the sound, oh so familiar to me, this time of year when I first left out the door this morning…and that’s when the smile was the biggest. It was a flock of Canadian Geese overhead, in their familiar and seemingly “natural” V-shaped flight pattern.

The reason for the smiles. I am reminded of my childhood. Thousands of geese would be overhead, since we lived just a “stones throw” from Jack Miner Bird Sanctuary. The “migratory journey” will soon begin, from where-ever they (the geese) are now. We can hardly imagine what it must be like…what they see, What they feel as a group…(in a way that the birds have feelings…”naturally”).

I trust we can always turn to nature, to make us smile…or to be thankful (we’ll soon be thankful for another “great bird’s” sacrifice of their journey…as we enjoy many a turkey dinner). What our purpose is in life, goes far beyond pondering over sights and sounds…it transcends the appreciation that we have taste buds. If we really are truly thankful for nature…and to be alive at this time in history to enjoy life in it’s many transitions…do then…be thankful. Showing gratitude goes a long way. Having an never ceasing “attitude of gratitude” will take us farther…and through the toughest of times. Together our “attitudes, behaviours and consequences of those behaviours” defined us a human…for some, it is their true nature to be full and expressive of gratitude. If the attitude is not positive, how can we expect to live in a peaceful and purposeful life of which we can and will always give thanks…to some one or some source of something greater than ourselves.

This reflection is for those I am thinking about at this time. Family as always, on with my mind, and in my heart…all friends everywhere…even my fare feathered friends…thankful for our relationship…and what we can bring to each other, just with a thought or a song.

BE well, this day and always,

Dave

Hot debates are flowing.

In Canada…and our neighbour to the south, there is alot at stake. I was going to launch a new website and post, but time is of the essence and I am focused on opening up my office in Wortley Village…yes that is in beautiful green London, with such a unique feel to the “Old South” area.

In that El. May will get a chance to join in on the political debate…it is important that we all become involved. I like many have doubt that the “old guard” of the primary historical parties will not maintain much of the status quo…but it is all about sending that very strong message that is needed. WE Canadians must show that we care about the environment. This has to be elevated beyond mere rhetoric…and it has to be on the political agenda toward change.

I have posted recently also the matter of not letting the “health care agenda” be completely overshadowed by the “Green” issues. They are literally, one in the same.

The problem we have with elections and changes in power, is that much of what was begun will be scrapped…and we start over again, often like a “re-inventing the wheel” mentality. Meanwhile, short of the Provincial Reality…one has to scratch their heads over what is happening under the Harper agenda.
WE have been given direction of Health Care reform for years, going back to previous reports (Romanow, Kirby, Ottawa Charter of Health Promotion…and even back to the Lalonde report…and we have so much to draw from that says Primary Health Care, in it’s truest form, is the way to go). Primary Health Care has always suggested that we need to “re-orientate” health services and include aligning with improving ecology and environment.

Water…pure, safe and sustainable water supplies should top the agenda. Air Quality is up there, but it has less to do with “who is responsible” for carbon emissions and releasing other toxins into the air. It is so much about how we live our lives…it is about consumption.

When we consume water (besides the drinking of it) it can then be lost to us…if in fact it were to be requiring purification process to bring it back to us…think of the additional money spent to clean “used water”. Now think of the BIG picture…when we use petroleum products (this would include plastic in packaging and what is used in Health Care, think intravenous bags alone) and we put the “demand” for more oil from our Tar Sands. The “usage” of water that can never been purified every again…within these approaches to “producing” oil…and what will the future look like with more and more water used this way.

Again I say, the bottom line is consumption. Please drink your water, enjoy and stay healthy…but do we need to buy more, drive more, live more beyond our means as the “credit crisis” is suggesting.

WE need change…as much as the U.S. needs change. the “Tax” issue…should be a non-issue. WE must be willing to provide more money to “solutions” of greening and for Primary Health Care as it is meant to be. If we all reduce our consumption, reduce our spending on frivolous items, thinking we have to have the latest fashion or sofa…I trust you get my drift.

I for one am not wanting to hear complaints about higher taxation. WE have created this, we now need leadership that will take a strong stand on the environment. WE do not need someone in power who is the least bit interested in more “drilling” or washing of Oil Sands…as the ultimate solution to a sustainable and healthy future.

Please write, blog…get involved…voting for Green will be a very positive message…even if not in this decade would we see enough seats…it is about the debate that needs to be fully honest, fully disclosing…and fully “revealing” of the most inconvenient of truths.

May we petition Steve Paikin of the Agenda, and others to support the discussions that would include what the Green Party and what the David Suzuki Foundation have to say.

Thanks, and BE wise…BE well,

Dave

There is a definite gap in provision of services for community and public health. The headlines have been sharing the struggle we are facing with keeping the public well, and not needing hospital or long term care.

As we approach the election, we need to bring attention to the idea that the Federal Government is responsible for Health Promotion and the Public Health system of which I speak. We need to approach the shortage of nurses, physicians and hospital beds…by the best strategy…that is to decrease the need for them.

As advocate’s for self-care…we must rally the movement towards Primary Health Care…and a Wellness Model, this is an immediate priority for Federal Election considerations. Who is even talking Health Care Reform? The Environment is a Huge issue, yes…and our voting decisions need to be all-inclusive (public health is obviously compromised, the more we let the environment status quo continue). The Status Quo of the Canadian Made solutions to health and wellness…must be addressed…a whole new paradigm must be initiated…as bold as it may seem.

Want to see the Bridge to somewhere in Health Care…write and or call your MP candidates… be informed…and be wise…to be well.

Dave

This is destined to attract some interesting thoughts as one looks at the title.

As a Baby Boomer, with memories of my teen years interfacing with the movements of sixties and seventies with a background soundtrack that would have to include a couple of songs for the Who…a rock band…nearly heavy metal, and controversial history.

So “Who are you…Who, WHO, who, who…ah ya really outta know”…

comin’ back to you now?,

This is not about the Hippie movement…of the “liberation” of music, and all that went with a new level of public expression…(it seemed our parents, the school system…the church, were not going to stop the new ways of living and expressing ourselves).

That was some level of emancipation, many will argue, while others are suggesting we still face oppression from school, state, church and of course our parents, to this day. ( and yeah, many of us are passing through mid-life, does it ever end?)
What is valuable to examine (and in my opinion, rapid transformation is what is needed), how Health Care and Wellness is delivered. For one it should be Wellness that gets top billing. Quality of Life needs to be the only agenda that matters, and we should not be “market based” in terms of health care delivery. The gap that exists between Public Health and that which is offered by hospitals, the nurses and Physicians that are in charge of this delivery…should be abolished.

There does not need to be Two-Tiered Medicine, when in fact it is multi-tiered based on ability to pay for that which is better described as Wellness Self Advocacy.

So who is the WHO I speak of…it is the public health arm of the United Nations: The World Health Organization.

This is all a matter of social justice, and all ethical professionals and ethical corporate leaders should care about taking a New view of the WHO.

We all need to learn more about the social determinants of health, and base our thinking of reform and re-engineering the health system around. More funding should go into this, the Prevention and Health Promotion focus…and then there would be more money to rescue people who fell victim to poor health outcomes that could not otherwise been prevented (infectious disease).

It is essential that more of the public (in well-to-do countries, otherwise labeled “developed countries”), get to know what the impact is of the social determinants of health (see here)

Well todays reflection after my hike, has added to a couple of chapters, Inclusive of this one

I think it is reasonable that I get on with my day, which includes final prep of the office. (in Wortley Village…will provide address later) If there is someone you know who would like to meet/talk about what services I will be offering there, remember my number is listed on the left. If you know of someone who will want to know of the classes and/or workshops offered that include but not exclusively YOYoga, that will be posted when finalized on the youroptimalyoga.com site.

Again I wish to thank everyone for the supportive and kind words that had sustained me through this transition.

I am “stepping into the daylight” and think I will stay here for awhile.

See some of you in Windsor/Leamington or Kingsville in the next couple of days.

There is fun to be had back in London also…I will be attending the Western Fair on Tuesday. I am looking forward to attending the Great Big Sea concert, would hope I can entice some of you to join me…

Any way, any how, make a great day,

Dave

While I have thought about the need for a haircut…and perhaps teeth whitening…there will soon be a “new face” for this website.

It has been a busy summer…much writing, mostly for the book. I will need to dedicate some hours to “the office” hours, and services provided through the “Optimal Wellness Consulting”. The goal will include expansion within one year to look more like the “Sandstone Life Centre” which I had started in Hamilton.

I will also be looking for sites to offer YOYoga (your optimal Yoga) and the fusion Zenergy classes.

In the mean time…I leave this as the newest link and writing…there will be an expansion of this “theory” in the book.

For now,

BE well,

Dave

So that all current readers are updated as to what has been going on behind the scenes, I have a new office.

Located in the heart of Wortley Village (which is 5 minutes from the heart of London), I will be seeing clients there and conducting workshops. Some workshops and Yoga training will take place at the office, while I will be offering once a month, a location outside of London. Of course Grand Bend and Niagara Falls will be included as the “Destination Rejuvenation” offerings will be revived.

For what services are offered…and some of that which clients will learn first hand…check to the left column under About Optimal Wellness Consulting.

Life is good, hope that is clear by my writings…I will be down in Leamington/Kingsville/Windsor next week…then the first booking of appointments at the London office will proceed.

Another chapter is unfolding, as far as life and career…do look for where the book has been going…The Olympics as a metaphor and The Elections (both US and Canadian Federal)…2008…big year…BIG stories to cover in the book…think I may have it done by November…

Thanks all for ideas for the book…and thanks to my family for the support and belief that now is the time…this book should be written…

Love you all,

Dave