How do you unplug?

In a world ruled by screens, drones, instant messaging, on demand everything, how do you unplug?

And for how long? 

Have you ever noticed yourself becoming less distracted, with a brightened mood, as your mind calms, and your breathing deepens and relaxes as you spend time with nature? A recent study shows positive affect, restoration, connectedness and mindfulness increase during a 2.5 hour forest tour. 

Maybe you’ve tried walking barefoot on the earth or the warm, salty ocean shore, sleeping grounded or oriented to the cardinal directions. There are health benefits to these.

Have you been charmed by a waterfall in the forest? We’ve studied that too!

Is deep breathing, music or guided imagery your go-to? Research concurs.

Do you take a vacation or, better yet, a meditation retreat? That works.

Can you turn off your cell phone for a day? 10 days? Maybe you should.

Do you swear by sunshine to relax and restore?

How about a nourishing winter soup cleanse?

You can find all the getting started tips here & search my Cultivating Wellness Blog “soup cleanse” all the posts.

Do you unplug your wi-fi at night? Yes, I do.

Given each of our unique life situations “unplugging” may look very different. 

The key is to find ways to down regulate our nervous systems and up regulate our natural feel good pharmacy D.O.S.E. (Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin, Endorphin) for our best life.

After many years of healing myself with seasonal wisdom & the Element Wisdom Card deck in a location with four distinct meterological seasons, I am exploring winter residency in latitudes closer to the equator to further nourish and strengthen my constitutional Water Element.

I would love to teach you more about how to heal yourself through mind, body, spirit practices that harmonize you with the dynamic rhythm of the season.   Here we find our most wholesome & unique expression of our health. When we sync ourself with the macrocosmic expression of our external world, our internal microcosmic needs become clear.

I am  available for telemedicine consults now and

offer acupuncture services again January 29 – February 15. 

Special Reiki treatments are available while I am away.  Book all of those services here.

Invoke your innate intelligence.

We have never had more immediate access to information. We can acquire certificates and degrees from the comfort of our own home. Opinions on most anything is available 24/7. Agenda and propaganda masquerade as news while dissenting voices are censored.

Intelligence is the ability to acquire, filter, sort and apply information. There are many forms of intelligence: artificial, abstract, logical, emotional, social, creative, adaptive, self-aware, critical thinking, problem solving. Intelligence is not an agency.

The proper place for human beings is between heaven and earth. Our birthright is heavenly connection and earthly incarnation.

Our innate intelligence surpasses that of an entire network of supercomputers. The question is do you know how to tap into it?

The revelation is in the slipstream. You can’t purchase it because it is not for sale. It is free. Priceless. You won’t find it on the internet.

You can invite it as you observe the dynamic patterns of nature. You can invoke from the ageless, timeless depth of connection to all that is.

But you must still the businesses, quite the babel.

Claim agency over your innate intelligence.

Interested in rewilding yourself? 

Seasonal wisdom helps us cultivate a closer relationship to the dynamic rhythms and cycles of nature, which is essential to healing dis-ease and optimizing our health. 73 days of inspiration, wisdom, instructions, nature cure, inquiries are available in 5 seasonal decks in our Element Wisdom Cards.

Learn more & purchase the entire collection or a single deck here

Have you ever considered your power, your drive or your will like unto water? I was raised up on the Tennessee River. The singing river has been harnessed to provide hydroelectric power to the multitudes at the expense of snails and darters and such.

In our highest, most healthy state our power is like a mighty river determined in it’s purposefulness. In our highest, most healthy state our drive is like a stream flowing around obstacles. In our highest, most healthy state our will is like a singular tributary merging with the ocean great.

#water #winter #fiveelements #river #ambition #power #will #drive #elementwisdomcards #wisdom#elements

The water element paired organs that peak in winter are the Bladder and Kidney (plus adrenals).

The bladder meridian travels from the inner canthus of the eye across the head down the back side of the entire body exiting out the little toe. It traverses all of us.

Many of the point names indicate their function: bright eyes, supporting yang, supporting middle, celestial pillar, soul door, spirit hall, spiritual celestial connection, soul gate.

Acupuncture treats all levels of the human – mind, body, spirit.

Treating the bladder points can not only treat our organs like the bladder or the eyes, but it can also treat our spiritual sickness. It can help us see through the eyes of spirit. The dark clouds of our emotions and thinking can be cleared to see the bright blue skies of divine perfection.

Winter is Dreamtime.

Make the connection to your internal visionary this winter.

Dream it.

Envision it.

As the longest and most complex of all the cranial nerves, it starts at the stem of the brain, behind the ears before it meanders down the sides of the neck, through the chest, and eventually ends in the abdomen linking the brain to the heart, lungs, throat, and gut. It helps to regulate our heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, sweating, and speech.

When we are in parasympathetic dominance we are able to rest and heal.

Vagus Nerve Connects the Brain and Gut

The vagus nerve and it’s feedback are the sensory network that informs the brain of what’s going on in our organs, most specially the digestive tract (stomach and intestines), lungs and heart, spleen, liver, and kidneys.

People with good vagal tone can relax faster after a stress and are more capable of regulating blood glucose levels, reducing chances of diabetes, stroke and cardiovascular disease. Recent research presented by the European League Against Rheumatism indicate that vagus nerve stimulation significantly reduces symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.

Symptoms are messages from our body that something is wrong. Poor vagal tone can express as ongoing high levels of stress, anxiety, depression, overwhelm, an inability to focus or regulate emotions and inflammation. The nerve can become damaged express deeper dysfunction such as abnormal heart rate, blood pressure or glucose.  Digestion or speech may be become compromised.

It is essential to listen to our bodies. Winter is the perfect season to slow down and take notice of our capacity to reset, restore and recharge.

This study on loving kindness meditation improved healthy vagal tone in participants. Being present and acknowledging that everything in the moment is okay reduces anxiety.

Significant and important research has been making the news about a microbiota-gut-brain axis. Read up on this fascinating subject here. Also this article discusses the science behind gut microbiota, brain function and stress related disorders.