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A good beginning to resolve many physical health issues is an near as your pillow.

“An estimated 50 to 70 million [people in the US] live on the brink of mental and physical collapse because of a lack of sleep,” as stated in Dr. Don Colbert’s book, “The Seven Pillars of Health (1).” A lack of sleep affects one’s job performance, driving ability, family/friend relationships, creativeness, decision-making as well as contributes to a host of chronic diseases.

Let’s look at a great illustration from nature related to our need for rest.

Dr. Colbert relates the following illustration in his book.  The soil in which our food is grown needs to have regular periods of rest. If crops are not rotated and the soil given a year of rest every so many years, the food grown there, even if organically grown, is devoid of many of the nutrients necessary for life. According to the 1992 Earth Summit, North America has the worst soil in the world-85 percent of the vital minerals depleted from it (2). Data from a USDA handbook from 1972 was compared to USDA food tables in 2001 and found that many vegetables had almost a 50 percent loss in nutrient content during that period of time (3). In scripture, God told people to give the soil a year’s rest every seventh year so that the nutrients could be naturally restored to the soil, and hence, to our food (Lev. 25:1-7). We came from the earth. The earth or soil needs regular rest or it will become devoid of everything of value. The parallel is obvious: if we do not take time to rest, our lives will become devoid of everything of value.

If you are sleep deprived, take a quick inventory of the things of value in your life.

If you have been sleep deprived, you can now quickly see that everything of value in your life-your career, your relationships, your creativity, Immerse Yourself in the Full Healing Contemplation Here »

I recently came across a brief yet informative blog post by Seth Godin called, Demonstrating Strength.

It is a concise list that is informative, memorable, and short enough to easily act upon. I challenge you to meditate on this superb list and begin implementing a demonstration of strength in your daily interactions. For those compliants among us, do not just obsess on the “short straw” and “sacrifice” lines without remembering balance, always balance.

Use this link and Click here to to go to Seth Godin’s blog.  Seth is a bestselling leadership and marketing author and owner of Squidoo.com .

Demonstrating strength

• Apologize
• Defer to others
• Avoid shortcuts
• Tell the truth
• Offer kindness
• Seek alliances
• Volunteer to take the short straw
• Choose the long-term, sacrificing the short
• Demonstrate respect to all, not just the obviously strong
• Share credit and be public in your gratitude
• Risking the appearance of weakness takes strength. And the market knows it.

Use this link and Click here to to go to Seth Godin’s blog.  Seth is a bestselling leadership and marketing author and owner of Squidoo.com .

Most of us have been taught that you should never ask if you can do something yourself. Is “asking” always wrong or is there an art to an essential form of “asking?”

I recently came across an article by a fellow SelfGrowth.com expert and motivational speaker, Judy Davis of TheDirectionDiva.com called, “Go Ahead and Ask For It.” Judy very aptly discusses what I call “the art of asking,” explaining why asking is an essential art for personal growth, and when it is right and when it is not. See the footnote below for Judy’s full article and websites.

Judy admits that most people were raised that it is, at the very least, impolite, or even wrong to ask for something, whether it is help, support, or direction; many people have been led to believe that asking gives the impression that they are incapable of doing something for themselves.  These are concepts that Judy says are necessary to outgrow. An important opening quote from Judy’s article challenges us,

How can you generate anything new if you don’t ask questions?  Is it possible to create opportunities without asking for more information?  If you look at any successful person, they have developed the skill of asking for what they want. (1)

Here are paraphrases of Judy’s comments on asking the right way and for the right purposes:

-Find resources/people that can connect you to opportunities you cannot access on your own.
-Request help in a strategic, well thought-out way.
-Request help in a way that is mutually beneficial. Immerse Yourself in the Full Healing Contemplation Here »

How fulfilling do you feel your life has been up to this point in 2010?

At the beginning of the year, I challenged you to make a clear cut “life plan” to achieve your own goals of fulfillment in the various aspects of your life, instead of just maintaining in the face of all life’s responsibilities. A visible plan is needed to help you keep in focus the daily creation of the environment essential to live out your desired life of fulfillment.  (See the post Planning for Life)

As we are drawing closer to the last quarter of the year, be sure to be intentional that any revisions of your year’s goals include time for fulfillment.

Since September usually sees life coming back to a more typical schedule than during seasonal summertime activities, I have been re-checking and fine tuning my life goals.  Part of this process has been making sure that I have time for all the things that bring fulfillment to life — not just career or personal goals — but time for friends, hobbies, and other things that bring lasting memories.  As we were reminded Immerse Yourself in the Full Healing Contemplation Here »

If you are disappointed with the progress in the spiritual side of your life, could it be that you are short-changing yourself in setting/receiving goals in that area?

I came across a tweet of the following verse on Twitter a few months back and it has become very meaningful to me.  It is from the story of a blind man who heard that Jesus was walking through the road of his town.  He began calling out repeatedly to Jesus for mercy.  Jesus came to him and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?”  The blind man said, Lord, I want to see! (Lk.18:41) The man was instantly healed of blindness.

We have discussed before that Jesus is the visual representation to us of the heart of Father God.  A main purpose of Jesus’ life was to reveal to us God’s character, heart, nature.  I want to challenge you today to use the question that Jesus’ asked the blind man as a spring board for you to set new spiritual goals for your life.  Scripture does say that we need to ask to receive.  However, in this instance, Jesus asked the question.  Now visualize yourself with Jesus asking you this question about your life today, and put your name in the blank, “What do you want Me to do for you, _____?”  It is a great challenge!

Make use of the list I made for my own life to spur your spiritual imagination as to how you can answer Jesus’ question.

I took the Immerse Yourself in the Full Healing Contemplation Here »

How clear cut is your goal?  Is it clear enough to see in your mind’s eye?

A vital part of goal setting is to be able to literally visualize your goal.  You need to see yourself there.  Once you see yourself there, you will become much more successful at staying in a state of mental alertness; this state of alertness enables you to then see the goal-related paths and opportunities as well as make decisions which help, and not hinder, your goals.

Evaluate what percentage of your mental/emotional focus is on your goal.

Present situations can be a hindrance if you allow yourself to stay focused on them instead of your goal.  You will set yourself back if your focus is on where you are, and all the present circumstances you are unhappy with, instead of where you want to go or what you Immerse Yourself in the Full Healing Contemplation Here »

Do you live life hurried, fearful, and competitive because you feel it is necessary to achieve your goals?

Living life as if in a constant state of emergency in your attempt to reach your goals or be a superachiever is an enormous drain mentally and physically and is completely unnecessary.

Best-selling author Richard Carlson, in “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff and It’s All Small Stuff (1),” challenges the commonly held belief—sometimes even unknowingly—that a hurried, frantic, and competitive mindset and lifestyle are necessary for success. 

Dr. Carlson eradicates the idea of living as a franctic superachiever: 

1. Put to rest the idea that, if you stopped being frantic and competitive, you would become lazy and apathetic. The opposite is true.
2. Fearful thinking actually drains your creativity and motivation. Immerse Yourself in the Full Healing Contemplation Here »

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Unstoppable determination could be the missing key to achieving your goals.

How determined are you to reach your goals?  Are you so determined that nothing can make you quit?  Or, do seemingly unmovable obstacles cause you to lose heart and let up on your efforts?

A key factor in overcoming obstacles and reaching your goals is having the discipline and determination to not quit when you hit the wall.

A favorite illustration of mine is one I read about an athletic term called, “hitting the wall.”  In the book footnoted below, the author used the illustration to refer to one making good progress through life and then being hit by severe financial trouble, failure, or sickness.  You are stopped cold in your tracks. However,
when faced with seemingly unmovable obstacles, it is not the time
Immerse Yourself in the Full Healing Contemplation Here »

Reading Level: Gratifying

Each of us desires a long, abundant life with our loved ones. Yet, do your daily decisions work for or against that desire?

These past 2 months have been one of those seasons of life that come to all of us. Tomorrow is a funeral for a friend that died suddenly and unexpectedly. Another friend has been in ICU for weeks. The first person had lived a life that was very abusive to his physical health for years, having just made a change in the recent past. The other friend has lived the more typical unhealthy life of too many sodas and mostly processed foods. She has had many health issues that have drastically affected her family and friends for the whole past year and has now been in ICU for a good part of 2 months. She almost died a couple of weeks ago and still has life-threatening issues going on. Both should have had a good 20 to 30 more years of living an abundant life, loving life and loving family, but the choice of poor daily health habits stole the precious gift of long abundant life not only from them, but from their friends and families.

We need to be reminded of how essential the little daily choices regarding health-food, sleep, exercise-are truly the ultimate decision for a long life.

Every day that you get up, you make seemingly insignificant choices regarding what you eat, whether or not you skip exercise, how you deal with stress, if you get enough sleep. These decisions come so frequently that one usually makes them almost without thinking. Each little decision not to do what is beneficial to your physical health is, in actuality, a decision of whether or not to embrace a long abundant life, with time to live life, enjoying and loving your family and friends, and giving them the gift of that time to love you and enjoy your presence on this earth. Isn’t that what each of us want? Yet it seems so easy to choose otherwise. There is a quote worth remembering, Immerse Yourself in the Full Healing Contemplation Here »

Reading Level: Gratifying

Is your life focus right now on the main problem area of your life?

What is that controlling area? A job, finances, marriage, other personal relationships, health? Though we must give attention to the problem area if it is going to improve, it is healthier and more effective to be focused on completeness or wholeness than give the totality of your attention to a problem.

Since the beginning of creation, God’s desire for mankind is to be complete.

At the beginning of creation, all was in perfection and harmony. Everything mankind needed was readily available. Yes, man’s rebellion brought devastation, but God still desires for your life to return to a state of wholeness or completeness, and so should you.

Look at this greeting out of Scripture:

1Sam. 25:6 And say this, “May all be well for you: peace be to you and your house and all you have.”

We are to speak the desire for all to be well in others’ lives; certainly, we should speak and desire it over our own lives.

Let’s take a more in depth look with this quote:

Jer.33:9 They will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide.

God speaks here of people being in awe, both mentally and physically at the prosperity and peace He provides for His people. Sounds simple, but, as I’ve mentioned before, much is lost in the translation to English. Look at the depth and expanse of completeness in life (or wholeness — whichever term is easier for you to envision) that is intended to be ours: Immerse Yourself in the Full Healing Contemplation Here »

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Everyone desires to be in better control of achieving the life they desire.

I recently read a post by one of my favorite bloggers, Susan Hanshaw of Sanctuary for Change. Susan just turned 50 and did some re-evaluation which resulted in the realization that she wanted a different level of control in her life now than what she had experienced during her first 50 years.

Here is an excerpt from her post on “How to Take Control of Your Life” with 5 points to make you more effective in that area.

Use the link below to read Susan’s full post:

I pretty much let the energy of life pull me along for my first 50 years…Now I am feeling a lot more motivated to step in and take control. 

How do you take control of your life?

1. Acknowledge that your life needs the same kind of planning that you give your weekends. We all have a lot more power to create awesome lives than we recognize. It starts with direction.
2. Set aside time to focus on what you want to create with your life. Let dreams be born and believed in.
3. Begin every day focused on your vision. Recognize that your attention fuels whatever you focus on. Immerse Yourself in the Full Healing Contemplation Here »

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 What emotions do you experience when you think of your future?

Take a look at this self-evaluation quote from “8 Steps to Create the Life You Want:”

Have you ever wondered what your purpose in life is and what your future holds?…Picture your life twenty years from now. Does your current lifestyle predict that you will be happy and fulfilled, or disappointed and frustrated? Think about it. What does your bank account look like? How much retirement money have you set aside? How much debt do you owe? What are you doing to improve your health and well-being? How is your family really doing? The answers to these questions may be an indication that a few changes need to be made.(1)

Were the emotions you experienced from reading these questions positive or negative? Immerse Yourself in the Full Healing Contemplation Here »

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Take a few moments to look at this example and write out the activities, people, and environment that will enable you to live your life with purpose.

This is Part 2 of this post. In Part 1, we talked about author Dawna Markova’s insight on Living with Purpose and looked at her “No Matter Whats” list which she developed as an example to help each of us write our own list of how to live lives with passion and purpose. If you did not read Part 1, please click here to read it.

Here is my “No Matter Whats” List:

What are the influences, activities, and people that cause me to live life with energy, fulfillment, and purpose?

No matter what, I need to be living and working in a spacious environment that encourages my creativity and visionary side.

No matter what, I need to be living and working in an environment with garden and ocean views that fill my body with pleasure, health, and energy.

No matter what, I need to live a lifestyle that provides times for prayer, meditation, healthy eating, exercise, relaxation, and friendship so that my mind, spirit, and body are all equally healthy.

No matter what, I need to work privately as an author, but also outwardly, impacting the world, so that all nations of the earth are blessed through me. (Gen.12:3) Immerse Yourself in the Full Healing Contemplation Here »

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Do you feel that you are living the purpose for which your life exists and enjoying achieving it with passion?   Or do you feel that you are powerless, caught in a habitual life that you do not want?

This past week my brother mentioned to me a book by Dawna Markova. He said she is known for encouraging people to surround themselves with the environment, people, and activities that bring energy into their lives, rather than drain energy from their lives. I have read articles by other authors on that topic, but none by Dawna, so I decided to Google her and find out more. Dawna Markova, Ph.D, is an internationally known speaker and author who encourages people to” learn from our wounds, find our gifts, celebrate our values, and live our dreams to live on purpose and with passion.” One of her most popular books is, “Wide Open: On Living With Purpose and Passion.” She has many other great sounding books, as well as a blog, which you can find at DawnaMarkova.com  .

I also came across an article of Ms. Markova’s called, “Landscape of the Soul.”  She has a great illustration of how one can be trapped in an unfulfilling life of habit. She tells of a science experiment in which baby fish were raised in a small glass tank that was inside a larger glass tank of adult fish. Once the baby fish were grown, the small tank was removed, but the baby fish still would not swim beyond the place where the walls of the small tank had once been. The habit was more real than reality, even though reality provided them with more freedom.

Are you living in a way that develops that best of who you are?

Ms Markova wisely instructs to give thought to the kind of environment you need to bring out the best of the person that you are so that, when you are in a needy, demanding environment, you will not lose your sense of self or purpose. Rather than accept the environment you have been given, or the habitual lifestyle you are in, contemplate and decide what environment, people, and activities you need so that you are living your life’s purpose and, thus, able to live life passionately because your life is purposeful. Immerse Yourself in the Full Healing Contemplation Here »

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How firmly do you hold to the vision of your destiny when circumstances appear to be working against you?

We each want a clear path to our destinies; do you succumb to discouragement and doubt when you are unable to see the full path, or when people and situations keep saying, “It won’t happen!”?

First, it is necessary to be clear about your destiny.

Know your life’s purpose. Along life’s journey to fulfill that destiny, you have a wide variety of needs or goals you desire to reach, such as better health, more successful relationships or communication, freedom from debt, or career changes. These goals are important steps in fulfilling your destiny and the person you are meant to be. To avoid being swayed by doubts or opposition, you must first “know that you know” in your heart what your purpose for being is.

Second, you must determine to believe in your destiny.

No one else can believe it for you – a spouse or a parent – if you are going to withstand disappointments or setbacks. If you believe that this certain path or accomplishment truly is your destiny, then keep in mind during setbacks or opposition that you will get there! It was meant to be; it was destined or planned before you were born. Immerse Yourself in the Full Healing Contemplation Here »