Aware Archives — Page 49 of 49

Where are you Going? Don’t know…

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful, Rightsized

Where are you going? Don’t know…

There is an old Zen story that uses the comments, “Where are you going? Don’t know,” to make its point. For those who may not know, Zen is an ancient spiritual practice related to Buddhism that frequently uses stories, parables or “koans” to explain and deepen its teachings among followers. Many koans are paradoxical and used to shock the mind into enlightenment. So, when you hear a Zen Koan for the first time, it may not make any sense at all. However, at exactly the right time and place, the truth behind it suddenly becomes clear. That’s what happened for me after a few recent events.

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Forget Being a Drama Queen—Be a Queen of Calm

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Rightsized, Thankful

Most of us are drama queens—yes, even you, my macho friends! While it is pleasant to hear good news from others, most of us are more easily sucked into situations where something unusual and oftentimes dreadful occurs. Psychologists say that urge comes from an inborn biological imperative in place designed to keep us safe and constantly on the look out of danger. But for most of us, our lives are routinely safe and secure. So, instead of looking out for lions and tigers and bears, we are drawn into the dramas around us with amazing fascination. And instead of choosing something saner or more helpful, we frequently pass it on to others rather than taking the high road and doing otherwise. That’s why it is SMART to let go of your inner drama queen and instead become a queen of calm.

[youtube em328ua_Lo8]

 [tube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=em328ua_Lo8[/tube]

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The Power Of Your Words

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful, Rightsized

“Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill.” –Buddha

Do you realize how much power you possess every time you open your mouth? Or what about when you post something on Facebook or send out that email? Every communication we have with others carries with it the ability to bring a smile to someone’s face and potentially lift one’s spirit. Or, we simultaneously have the power to create fear, doubt, or even worse. While we usually can’t turn another person’s life around without their cooperation, we can, with the simple words we say or write, instantly shift the energy in a person or in a room. Let’s start remembering that the words we share with others are like a wand bestowing blessings or curses.

[tube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wgi0t2ap-us[/tube]

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Nature Does More Than Heal—It Actually Makes People More Kind

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful, Sustainable

“I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority.” ~E.B. White

A few weeks ago I posted about how it was “SMART to Spend Time in Nature.” That’s because there are dozens of scientific studies that now prove that not only is it healing for the body, it is also extremely good for our mental health to experience time in the great outdoors. Since writing that blog, I have since discovered that not only is it good for us physically and mentally—spending time in nature also makes us nicer and more generous people.

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The Simple Benefits of Spending Time In Nature

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful, Sustainable, Thankful

“Research has shown that people with a greater sense of vitality don’t just have more energy for things they want to do, they are also more resilient to physical illnesses. One of the pathways to health may be to spend more time in natural settings,” Richard Ryan.

Trees are alive too!

As some of our friends and family know, Thom and I have been renting a house for a month every summer up in Idyllwild for around 17 years. Idyllwild is a very small mountain town, (less than 2,000 permanent residents) about an hour from our home in the desert. Back in 1993 we did it for the first time because, quite frankly, we couldn’t afford any other type of vacation. It seemed like a good way to escape the desert heat and was a great bargain as well. Little did we know back then that the experience would be so rewarding, that we would still be doing it 17 years later. Now, not only do we consider it still an amazing vacation value, we are living examples of the restorative power of spending time in nature. [Read more…]

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Using CalmNsense for a Happier and More Peaceful Life

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Rightsized

“It took some good calm thinking in order to get myself to calm down and stop throwing myself against the boulder.” –Aron Ralston, mountain climber and author

Yesterday Thom came across an interesting article on Huffington Post about the lack of common sense in the world today. The article by Dr. Jim Taylor said, “common sense is neither common, nor sense. There’s not a whole lot of sound judgment going on these days… so it’s not common.” We both agreed with his suggestions on how to bring more open and rigorous thinking to our decisions, but there was something else missing. Maybe that final ingredient to all common sense should be some “calmNsense.” [Read more…]

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How Open Minded Are you About Closed-Minded People?

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Rightsized

Several years ago Thom and I attended a workshop where the speaker asked us the question, “How open-minded are you about closed- minded people?” It was asked in the context that here we all were, thinking we had the right and perfect solution to the world’s problems, and yet this simple question asked us, “so what makes you think you are so smart/spiritual/aware that you have the right/ true/correct answer to whatever is going on?” Huh?

SMART living requires that we are to take full responsibility for our lives if we want to live happy, and rewarding lives. But in order to be fully responsible for what’s going on, then we have to first be aware, and then second, realize that even when we think we know, there can always be a different or bigger perspective that we are clueless about. Even when we try to be as opened-minded as possible, we always have a blind spot here and there. And often, the more we fight something the more it “backfires.” [Read more…]

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Seeking Art and Beauty Everywhere—the “A” in SMART Living

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware

Happy SMART Day Everyone!

When most people search for happiness, they seldom think of beauty or being artful unless they claim to be an artist. I certainly used to think that way. When focused on creating a happy and successful life, I seldom realized that unless I was also creating something artful or beautiful, that dream often eluded me. I think that is because there is something inside each of us that finds peace, harmony, awe and connection whenever we see and recognize beauty. And if we don’t see beauty, then no matter how close we are to achieving any goal, something seems to be missing. That’s why I believe it is critical to create beauty when living SMART 365.

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