Human See, Monkey Do.

Lisa Body , , , , , , 1 Comment

monkey_2

Did you know that we eat bananas the wrong way? Monkeys peel and eat them with the stem down. They are less messy and apparently there may be more nutrients at that end as well as sweetness. Try it!

Here are some more facts about our favorite fruit.

Over 100 billion bananas are consumed annually around the world.

The average person eats 28 lbs. of bananas per year (more than apples and oranges combined) and ounce for ounce bananas are one of the healthiest natural food sources in the world.

They are the only fruit to contain the amino acid tryptophan plus Vitamin B6 which together help the body produce serotonin. Serotonin is a natural chemical that alleviates mental depression.

Bananas contain almost no fat, are low in calories (approx. 106 calories each), high in Vitamin B6, fibre and potassium.

Bananas contain good levels of phosphorous ,magnesium ,calcium ,iron, selenium, zinc ,copper, Vitamins  A,B1,2,C,E,K,Niacin,and pantothenic acid.

The FDA has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit’s ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke. According to research in The New England Journal of Medicine, eating bananas as part of a regular diet may cut the risk of death by strokes.

Athletes regularly consume bananas before, during and post workout due to the easy digestibility factor and the quick energy source. Research has shown that just eating 2 bananas will provide enough energy for a strenuous 90 minute workout.

What other reasons do you need to GO BANANAS?

Fear and THE EGO

Lisa Mind , , , , , 0 Comment

ego_fearThe EGO gets all caps because it thinks that it is THAT important. It only is if you allow it to be. Everyone has their own opinion of what the ego actually is and where it lives.

I think of the Wizard of Oz when I think of the ego. Do you remember the scene where Dorothy and her friends get to the Emerald City to see the Wizard? There is a huge impression of this all empowering man with flames and an amplified powerful voice to match. Well the smart little dog, Toto opens up the curtain and reveals this little man who is no more powerful or magical than any other person. In fact, at the moment when he is revealed he is actually more cowardly than the cowardly lion. I think that the wizard represents fear and the curtain protecting him is the ego.

In your life, you are the boss and you have an assistant, named Fear. Fear’s assistant and the body guard of you both, is named EGO. They both are so well known that they each only need one name. There is no need for EGO if there is no Fear because there is nothing to protect. You, without fear need no EGO. The best thing is to fire both of them because they really are of no help to you.

Fear is a tricky one; he is constantly in disguise like a rock star or head of state. He can check in anywhere and anytime under an alias like worry, insecurity, hate, anger, jealousy, envy, resentment. It doesn’t matter what he calls himself though because he is still just plain old Fear. He may fool some, but not all.

Mr. Fear doesn’t want you to stray too far from him because then you may come to the conclusion that his days are numbered  so he keeps distracting you and telling you negative, scary stories to keep you under his thumb. When opportunities arise for growth, he’ll push his friends Worry, Doubt and Indecision forward to do his dirty work. They will convince you that you’re not smart, attractive, educated, creative, rich (or many other falsehoods) enough to succeed. ” You’re attempting something where you’re gonna fall or fail so why bother even trying. Don’t do it, don’t go there or try that. It’s scary. It’ll never work; you’re going to get hurt.” And then to top it off, they’ll all scream in unison, “WHATEVER YOU DO, DON’T LOOK BEHIND THE CURTAIN!  Stay here with us. We can make some popcorn and watch TV and do nothing so that WE, um I mean YOU don’t get hurt”.  That’s Fear’s main job; to stop your growth by keeping you unbalanced, unstable and always questioning yourself.

Then there’s bodyguard EGO. He is the” yes” man; always ready to boost you up. When you’re wrapped up tightly in the insecurity blanket that has been woven by Fear with echoes from your past as well as doubts about the future, EGO will step up and state the complete opposite of what Fear has told you.  “You’re more attractive, smarter, faster, richer, BETTER than anyone else in the whole wide world. You’re different, special, THE BEST. In fact, you are sooooo special that I will keep you separate from all others. That’s my job.” And that is usually all it takes to fool and confuse you while keeping you under his control.

Fear and EGO are both doing what you are allowing them to do, which is playing mind games with you so that you won’t leave them behind. They don’t want you to know the truth and the truth is that you are as special or non- special as everyone else. We are all the same and the only things that make us believe otherwise are Mr. Fear and bodyguard, EGO. The biggest fears that they have are you  throwing the  well -worn blanket away, taking the step forward and away from them and pulling back the curtain to find a shiny, new superhero cape with the word LOVE embossed on the front of it.

As you gently pull it over and around your shoulders, everything changes because Fear and Love cannot co-exist in any situation; they are not even acquaintances. You can think and act out of love or you think and act out of fear but not both together. It is as impossible as trying to sneeze with your eyes open. Can’t be done.

The best thing about all of this is that you have the choice and when you choose to think, act, and live in love, Fear and EGO , like the Wicked Witch of the West, will simply melt away. BE GONE!

Karma

Lisa Well being , , , , 0 Comment

karma

 

You always hear people throwing around the saying ‘What goes around, comes around” but many don’t really dig any deeper into what karma is all about.

Some say that Karma means ACTIONS and some say that it means TO COME BACK. I think it’s both combined; actions coming back. It is like a boomerang.  All of your words and all of the actions that you put out into the world will return to you. Whether they are good or bad, they belong to you.  You just deliver them to a person, situation or the universe for a period of time. The amount of time for it to return can be eons or a moment; we have all heard of Instant Karma. In fact, John Lennon did a song about that and it is absolutely brilliant. Pay attention to the words when you listen to it.

If it is a short period of time you may recognize it and learn the lesson if it is negative and you may be happy or experience another positive emotion instantly if it was positive.

However, the time may not be instant. It may take years or (according to Buddhist philosophy) lifetimes for you to reap the words or actions that you sowed and if that is the case then you may be confused, hurt or angry at the time if the karma was negative.

I once dated a guy who was Hindu and he grew up with the knowledge of karma.  He was going through a horrible situation in his life when we met and when I asked him how he was coping with his situation and why he was not angry as most people would be, he told me that this was his karma and he just accepted it. Wow! That taught me a lot. He didn’t fight back or throw anything negative from his being out into the mix and you know what, it just seemed to dissolve very quickly on its own and it got much better than either of us thought it would. It was incredible and I feel privileged to have been able to have witnessed that side of someone. Acceptance of the situation was not a passive act by him; it was quite the opposite. It took such great strength to do that, to go through something unpleasant and feel the feelings, especially in a world filled with revenge and unacceptance of anything (actions or feelings) that is uncomfortable or negative.

I think that Karma is like gardening. Let me preface this by saying that I am in no way a gardener but I do know that what you reap, you sow. If you plant flowers, you are not going to end up with carrots. Also you will not get 50 carrots if you only plant one seed, right? Again, I can only assume as I am not a gardener or a farmer. Maybe there are trick seeds out there or technology may have evolved. Calling all gardeners and farmers, is this the case?

Let’s just say that that is not the case. You may throw out a whole bunch of seeds and some will stick  and grow immediately and some will get blown away. The thing is you don’t know which ones will ripen now and which ones will next season or the season after.

The great thing about all of this is that once you are aware of Karma and its effects, you have the choice to produce positive or negative words and actions based on your thoughts. That is free will. Others may try to persuade or advise you positively or negatively, but when it comes down to it, you alone control your actions.

I love this saying and feel that it sums up everything discussed in just the perfect way. “What someone does to or for you is THEIR Karma; how you react is YOURS”

Throw good stuff out into the universe always. The world needs lots of love and hugs, positive energy and compassion. Then sit back and look at all of the wonderful people and experiences that appear in your life to make it even more wonderful.

Pay Attention!

Lisa Mind , , 0 Comment

attention

I heard a great quote a while back that really stuck with me.

“The greatest gift you can give another is the fullness of your attention”

We all know how you feel when someone is really listening to you and we know what it’s like when someone is not listening to you, especially when they think they are.

There is a really good reason why we have 2 ears and only one mouth. We should be listening twice as much as speaking.

Communication is hard at the best of times but when you are trying to express yourself verbally and the receiving party is distracted, interrupting, talking over you or interpreting what you are saying in a completely different way, you know there is a communication breakdown.

I believe that one of the reasons that the wisest people become wiser is because they have figured out that when they speak, they learn nothing but when others speak and they listen, they learn everything.

For the most part people will not remember much of what you said or did but they will remember how you made them feel and people feel validated when you truly listen to them.

Speaking of communication breakdown, there are a few good bands that wrote songs in the 70s with that title; one being a legendary British band and the other by a Canadian band. Do you know who they are? If so, score some bonus points with me and list them below in the comment section. Songs that have talk in the title? You’ll still score some points.

It’s time to use that imagination muscle. I have faith in my music friends that follow this post. You can find both songs on Youtube and they are in my opinion, best played really loud. Always getting some music references in when I can. YAAAAY!

My Journey Into Meditation

Lisa Mind , , , , , , , , , , 0 Comment

Meditation cartoon

Many thoughts and images can be conjured up by just hearing the word meditation. It can be intimidating to some and for that reason they will never discover the many benefits of spending quiet time with themselves.

Just like everyone else I had a time where it seemed like everything was going wrong and I needed to do something different. At a point like that, there are many options to deal or not deal with the struggles and knowing myself the way I do, I knew that I had to deal with mine head on and in a positive way. I kept seeing these quotes that resonated with me and all of them were supposedly said by Buddha.

Being an open and somewhat adventurous person, I thought that going within to help with the struggles on the outside might be a good place to start. I also thought if I’m going to do it, do it right so off I went to a Buddhist temple for a meditation class. As soon as I walked in, I could feel the calm surrounding me like a comfortable blankie. I had no idea what to expect but remained open to whatever the experience was going to teach me. It was a midday class so there were only a few participants. I figured that was good; the less distractions that there were, the better.

What I realized about meditation is that you’re going to have thoughts going through your head but just like when you are working out your body you are exercising your mind when you pull it back into nothingness. Use that muscle to get back into it. The more it pulls away the more you gently pull it back. You will get stronger and it will become easier to clear your thoughts each time you do it. There is a reason why CEOs and other leaders are taking up meditation; the reward value. You need nothing more than a commitment to do it. They say that the people who complain that they have no time to meditate are the ones that need it the most and should be doing it twice as long.

Another thing I found was how emotions may come into play. A few times while meditating I could feel a tear rolling slowly down my face and had no idea why. It really surprised me. I just accepted it and realized that there was something way down deep inside me that needed to be released so I let it. I just let what was going to happen, happen.

A few times I have felt a warm ray of light like a sunbeam on my face. Initially I was surprised when I first felt that because some days when it was happening it wasn’t sunny out. I am certain that the warmth and light that I am feeling during those times are not coming from the outside but are pouring out from the light within. Depending on the day, my results with meditation are very different. Sometimes I really get into it and other days my mind is everywhere but where it should be so for those times I just am grateful that my eyes are closed and there are no visual distractions for a few minutes.

I try very hard to get meditation in at some point during the day and the earlier the better. It makes things clearer and I have become much more creative and thoughtful. I pay attention to everything including what I say, what I want to say but don’t, how I see myself,others and the world. No matter how I enter into meditation, I always get something positive out of it.

Calming the mind used to be difficult for me because my thoughts are always racing.I think our world has sped everything up-including our minds and we really need to just step off this crazy ride called life at some point every day and just be. We are human BEINGS after all so I think we need a little bit more BEING and less DOING.

 

The Monk who teaches at the Buddhist Temple always says, “A doctor can give you the medicine but it can only help you if you choose to take it.”

I say the same thing to my Personal Training clients.” I may spend 3 or 4 hours a week with you. I can educate, motivate , work your body and give you the tools to make the changes that you want to see but the other 164 hours of the week are yours to choose whether or not to implement that advice”.

I am a big proponent of personal responsibility. I always tell people that I chose the name of my fitness company for a reason. I believe that the “First Step to Maximum Wellness” is commitment and that the second step in any direction will take you somewhere. The direction and the destination are up to you.

What are you committed to in your life?

Do you meditate? If not, are you open to going within yourself?

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