Do you have problems with your health? Or suffer from pain?
Many people do, and most blame it on old age. But this is rarely the real reason…
The truth is, we all tend to hold onto the hurts of the past. The memories can feel like a heavy burden— that you’re unable to let down.
A burden that gets heavier, and heavier as time goes by.
Until one day, the hurts of the past become part of you, affecting your mental and physical health. What happened was unfair, but holding on to the anger, the hate or the sadness has resulted in issues like, high blood pressure, joint pain and heart concerns.
The weight of unforgiveness has beat even the strongest of men.
When you hold on to negative feelings, you are unable to grow to your full potential. As moving forward is difficult when you have one foot in the past.
You may feel that it’s too late for your life to change.
This is not the case.
From today you can enjoy healthier relationships and improve your mental and physical health. Experience less anxiety, and stress. You can strengthen your immune system so that you have lower blood pressure and fewer symptoms of depression. All resulting in you obtaining higher levels of self-esteem.
What if you could free yourself from the heavy burden of the past? How much better would you feel?
Let God repay you for all that you have lost. Regain your health and your peace of mind.
Let the spirit of forgiveness…Illuminate your life.
There is a healing in forgiving eBook is available Free on Amazon.
It’s got to the point that I have stopped watching TV all together. Yes, maybe that sticking my head in the sand but the world has lost its mind completely. Never has it been more important to look after your mental health.
Today I would like to share another one of my habits that has helped me to be happy and care free 99% of my life.
In my last post I talked about road work, its importance and benefits. But it came to my attention, I can often write without thinking. So, if you have never done any road work, running walking jogging, then I would recommend starting small.
Maybe 20 minutes, 10 minutes away from starting point, then turn and come back. Building up to 1-hour total over time.
If you start your day this way, it will get you off to a great start and vastly improve the rest of your day since it will drain off a lot of tension and anxiety. In general, it will clear out your mind so you can think better all day long!
Plus, after you get into it, it will make you feel great!
So anyway, here are some other good health habits that I think you should get into right away.
FASTING – after road work fasting is the single most powerful thing that you can do for your mental and physical health.
Now there are many different types of fasting. All are beneficial. Some people will say to do 24h fasts, others will say intermittent fasting is best. What I have learnt is, do what feels comfortable.
Like road work start small and build up.
All spiritual walks of life have fasting as a part of their practise. Why is this? Fasting brings you into the presence of God. Rather than worrying about problems or bills. Or what your friend or neighbour said or didn’t say, you become focused on the present moment.
The reason for this, in my opinion is, your body will send out strong signals that it wants food, soon it becomes the only thought you can think about. Of course your mind may drift but it will come back to the feelings of hunger.
Benefits of Fasting
When you fast, you begin to normalize the body’s functions and also, you develop a certain self-discipline that will help you in most other areas of your life.
The first few days you try fasting it will be difficult but if you stick with it that body adjusts. For me it is excellent for mental clarity, and refocuses my attention to the gift that food is.
I intend to write a lot more about fasting in later posts but, for right now, I want to encourage you to begin immediately too fast one day every week.
Here are some tips.
Firstly, start on a day off. It’s easy to think that a day you have a lot on will make it easier but this is not the case. As the body uses a lot of energy, and energy comes from food.
(Personally, I started with a 16h fast. So after 8pm on Friday I didn’t eat again until 12pm the next day. Water and black coffee are allowed.)
Secondly, I suggest you do not tell other people what you are doing. Most people don’t understand fasting, and all you will get from them on this subject is a lot of ignorant nonsense. People have been fasting for centuries with great benefits.
Thirdly, I feel that you should do very little (or no) athletic exercise on the days that you fast. You see, your “Fast Day” is the day you set aside to give your mind and body a rest. You don’t have to stay in bed all day or anything like that, but you really should take it easy both physically and mentally.
Extra Time And Increased Productivity
What I do on my fast days is read and take time to pray. Also, I have found it an excellent time to take care of those nagging little chores and errands that seem to accumulate during the rest of the week.
In other words, I think you should do road work every morning to more or less “order your day” and fast every week to “order your week”.
I’m into my fifth decade on earth and the two things I have written about so far in this series are by far the most important things I have ever learned.
Mental Health & Well Being
Most people know the power that the mind has over the body. When your stressed or anxious for example you can hardly eat or have very little energy or enthusiasm.
Then on the flip of that, when you are happy or excited you have unlimited energy and could go over 24 hrs without sleep.
What few people know however is the body has just as much control over the mind. So when you are anxious or worried about a problem, going for a long walk can clear your thoughts and help you think more logically.
Road work and fasting have so much more to offer than getting in shape and losing weight. Both are helpful with mental health issues.
So if you have problems with depression or anxiety I recommend that for the next 7 days you add both road work and some fasting to your weekly routine and notice the difference that it makes.
Many people want to be happier and more successful but fail to realize their health is the foundation. Focus on improving your energy and mental clarity and you will not believe how fast your life will change.
Until next week take care and remember even small steps in the right direction will get you to your destination.
Enjoy your week.
Disclaimer – I’m not a health professional, always get advice from your doctor before going on a fast or making a significant change to your diet.
It is a very stressful time for everyone at the moment. Some people are more stressed than others. Many have lost their businesses; millions around the world have already lost their jobs.
Usually, a person that likes to keep up with current events I have stopped watching the news altogether as its just a wall of fear.
We all know that we need to relax, but this is easier said than done.
Many months ago, I was working on a project that, for one reason or another didn’t get finished. The main idea was to do an audio cd for relaxation but only one track got finished
Listening back today, on the first listen, I was very judgmental thinking it was narrated too slow, but on the second listen, I decided rather than judge the delivery. I would follow the instructions so pressed replay.
Until I listened to the piece, I knew I was a little stressed by the lockdown. It’s only natural. But It was only listening back did I realised just how much stress I was holding in my body.
By the end of the audio, my mind was more peaceful than it has been in months. It’s hard to describe. Often stress can build up so slowly that we can be unaware that it there.
Daily Rituals
It’s more important than ever to take time daily to do something that relaxes you. It could be taking a warm bath, listening to some soothing music or walking along a beach listening to the water crash on the shore. Whatever works for you.
We all need time to relax, time to release all the tension and stress that can build up. Otherwise, you can become withdrawn, indecisive or inflexible. Stress can make you feel angrier or more aggressive than usual, which can affect the way you interact with your close family and friends.
As we all have experienced stress for a prolonged period in the last three months, you may notice your sleep and memory are affected, your eating habits may have changed, or you may feel less inclined to exercise.
Stress is often overlooked but just as important to treat as any other ailment.
If you have a spare 5 minutes, I highly recommend that you give the audio below a listen, and let be know any changes that you felt in the comments.
This is an anxious time for all. It doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor, what religion you are or the colour of your skin, or even your sexual orientation.
Even if you live away from all the hotspots where the virus is at its worse, economically you will most probably be feeling the effects.
Without question this has to be the highest level of worldwide fear I have witnessed in my life time.
When surrounded with so much fear, what can you do?
In the Gospel of Matthew there it says:
Matthew 13:12 (NKJV)
For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.
There is a lot of debate about the meaning of the verse above, but today I would like to link it to current events.
So, for those that have faith, to him/her more will be given, and they will have abundance; but too whoever does not have faith, even the little that they have will be taken away.
In the last six weeks, I have seen a lot of people anxious, wanting the truth. So they search the internet for answers, for the whys, and the how’s?
Only to be met with countless conspiracies, which fuels their anxious feelings.
If you don’t know what a conspiracy is, well that in my opinion, is a good thing, but the dictionary term is, a secret plan by a group to do something unlawful or harmful.
When people go down this route, then the little faith that they have will be taken away from them.
What You Focus On Grows
In moments of fear, you need to feed your faith. That way, the faith that you have will be multiplied.
One of the most dangerous things that you can do at this time is to focus on the fear, feeding your mind with content that makes your anxiety worse.
Throughout scripture, and down through history, people have come up against hardship, and in all cases, they have came back stronger than they were before. And the main thing that got them through was their FAITH.
If you’re feeling anxious at this time, I would recommend looking back on your life, at a time when you were very anxious over something. It could have been waiting for exam results, or medical results. Maybe over your future or that of a family member or friend.
It probably felt just as intense as it does now, you probably thought then that all your fears would become reality? You probably didn’t know how you would be able to move on.
But now looking back, events turned out a lot better than you would ever have imagined.
Now is one of those time.
There is a quote, ‘It’s impossible to see the picture when you are in the frame.”
Wisdom comes from the ability to see our current events through the lens of the past. You are able to use the knowledge you have gained to step outside the current frame of fear, anxiety, stress, worry, and know that all will be ok.
Like all the other anxious moments in your life, this worldwide uncertainty will pass. You will get stronger and strengthen your character and faith.
The Most High God is in control.
Mental Health v Gold
Your mental health is your most valuable asset. So take care of it as such. The next 6-12 months are going to be a very uncertain road. Please don’t look for certainty within the media.
In scripture it says, guard your mind.
Never have them words been so essential to follow.
You will find that you may even have to guard yourself against the friends and those that you follow on social media that share all the latest facts and figures.
Starting your day off with the latest tragedy is the last thing that you need.
The first hour of the day for me is about connecting with NATURE and the body through EXERCISE. Both being vital for good mental health.
Collectively we must have faith; we must believe that there will be a better tomorrow. What we choose to focus on will grow in our lives, so focus on faith for the next week and see the difference that it makes.
It’s A Time To Pray. It’s A Time To Show Love. It’s A Time To Connect To The World Around You.
Live Today With Faith 