The Source by Woodson Merrell, M.D. with Kathleen Merrell

The Story of Stuff

Recently a friend brought an extraordinary video to my attention. It's called The Story of Stuff, by Annie Leonard. It has been up on the web at www.storyofstuff.com for only a few months and has had 4 million viewings already! Annie explains the chain of destruction that brings all of the stuff you buy into being, and she reminds us of how our collective urge to buy more stuff places our glorious planet in peril. This video has altered many people's perspective on the world. Watch it and see for yourself!

In Chapter three of THE SOURCE I explain how the environment, and chemicals in the environment, effect your health. I recommend that you deal with the problem largely by removing your exposure to toxins. I would include in this message just simply reducing consumption of stuff. Step away from your material concerns, and assess what is happening in your life on an emotional and spiritual level. As times get more difficult financially, emotional turmoil follows. And for many people the natural tendency is to counter this by shopping and buying more stuff to makes themselves feel better. We even have a catchphrase for this in our society, it's called Retail Therapy. It's important to get off the material merry-go-round.

Once you feel comfortable with who you are, and don't need a new pair of shoes to maintain your self worth, you will begin to feel released from the extraordinary pressures around you. Go ahead--resist material impulses today. And let me know what YOU think of The Story of Stuff.

Labels: annie leonard, environment, materialism, story of stuff

Go to Your Breath

I've been trying to raise your awareness of the things that set your off and begin to dissolve your energy and mood. But awareness is only the first step toward change. Awareness sets the stage, but in order for the play to begin, you have to take action. The morning breath work in THE SOURCE, and from the previous blog entry, is a good first step. But of course this won't provide balance and relaxation for the entire day.

Today I want you to add in a new practice from THE SOURCE: take hourly breath breaks. Every hour, no matter what you are doing--even (and especially) in the most stressful situations, go to your breath. Take a deep breath in to the count of four, pause for a count, then exhale slowly to the count of six. Pause, and repeat this four times. You will feel your nervous system beginning to calm (I explain how this happens in THE SOURCE), your heart rate will normalize, your shoulders and entire body will relax. With this breath exercise you can use your body to calm your mind. Try it. And let me know how this works for you!

Labels: abdominal breathing, breath, breathing exercise

Post-Vacation Affirmation

So you're back at work. The boss is bugging you again. You never seem to have the time to get to even the top four things on your to-do list. And now you're spending a good part of your day wondering if you will even have a job a few months down the line. Your kids are having problems. Your spouse is strained. The old headaches have returned. Your sleep is off. Your energy, never high, seems to be heading south.

You can't just check out--so what do you do with all of these burdens? First, acknowledge that life is suffering. We all have it most of the time--even enlightened monks suffer. It doesn't ever go away. It is part of the human condition. The key is to do practices, and evolve a frame of mind that limits your exposure to suffering. Even when stress slams you in the face, cultivating calm in your life through meditative practices or relaxation exercises such as those in THE SOURCE will stop the stress from getting to you, and from chewing you up inside.

Here's a new exercise for you today. When you first wake up, before you even sit up, do an affirmation--that is, offer up a silent prayer to yourself and the universe: First say thanks for being here, then ask for help in protecting you today. Sit up slowly, and before you get out of bed or turn on the light, stretch and straighten up your posture and do two minutes of slow, deep abdominal breathing. When thoughts come in let them go--focus just on your breath and your desire to start your day in a a peaceful place. Use these couple of minutes that set the intention that today will be good, even a great day for you. Notice how this small offering, sets off a positive vibration for you today.

Labels: affirmation, relaxation exercise, suffering

Keeping the Vacation

I'm just off the plane from the Esalen retreat, back home in New York City, and I must say I'm suffering culture shock. In the last blog I promised to help you learn to maintain the vibe of a rejuvenating trip when the vacation's over, but let me say up front that holding onto Esalen in the midst of New York is a formidable challenge! Just the trip from the airport into New York is deflating, let's be honest. The contrast from sitting in a hot tub on the cliffs of Big Sur to the dilapidation and neglect along the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway is inanely huge.

My first order of business is to take notice of my fresh perspective. Yes, New York seems crazily hectic after my retreat on the Pacific Coast, I notice how crowded it is everywhere, there are relatively tiny patches of nature (though Central Park is brimming with trees and birds and small animals), there's garbage piled on the sidewalks and seemingly more hideous buildings than when I left. I take note that I ignore these things in my daily existence, but can now see how they might drain me unknowingly. I pledge to remember to increase the presence of nature and silence and calm, even in my city life.

Then I turn to my accustomed perspective of seeing the glass half full. As the breathtaking skyline of New York comes into view I focus on the creative energy in New York, from the people who imagined the Empire State Building into existence, to all of the artists and musicians who come here to express themselves, and to the many achievements that have been made in this amazing city. I take a moment to stop and reflect on why I live in New York. I love the energy here, emanating from the vibrancy of its people. And, believe it or not, I cherish the struggle of living in this city, this struggle has been a wise teacher.

No matter the size of your community, coming from a break can be a shock to your system. How can you hold the gains of a vacation? First, take note as I did, of those things that stress you most in your daily life. And pledge to reduce the stress that constantly creeps up on you, sabotaging your energy and health. A cornerstone of stress management in THE SOURCE 21-Day Plan is keeping a stress log. Returning from vacation is a perfect time to start a stress log. Be aware of all of the things in the course of the first few days back that add to your total stress burden. It's so much easier to gain perspective on the stressors in your life when you are fresh from a break. Once you've catalogued the stress, make a plan for reducing or counteracting it.

Also take time to reflect, deeply and quietly, on what you like about your life. Then make sure to download the photos of your vacation, and look at them often!

Labels: 21 day plan, stress log, stress management, vacation

Esalen Institute

Last week I was lucky enough to be a guest at the Esalen Institute, the storied consciousness raising retreat and spa in Big Sur, California,for a conference on Consciousness and Transformation in Healthcare hosted by Esalen and the Institute of Noetic Sciences.You may have heard of Esalen, with it's legendary hot tubs perched atop the Sequoia-studded cliffs that tower over the breathtaking Pacific Ocean vista, it is an icon of the Sixties--amazingly still alive and thriving today.For thousands of years Esalen was a sacred Native American site for rejuvenation and healing.In the 1950s, visionary Michael Murphy rediscovered the site, long abandoned by native tribes, and he reimagined Esalen as a healing retreat center for anyone interested in embarking on a mind-bending journey.

My last night there, I participated in an extraordinary collective meditation whereby we relaxed in the hot tubs as a musician played the Didgeridoo, an aboriginal horn with a deep pitch that sounds like a cross between a water buffalo in heat and that Swiss horn in the Ricola commercials. Our muscles were loosened up by the heat of the tubs, our minds were set loose by the geological magnificence of the Big Sur environment and the Didgeridoo, which we experienced in surround-sound as he walked all around the tubs as he played, vibrated at a frequency that allowed all of us to reach a new level of meditative calm. Now this is a place where you can increase your energy!

What is most obvious from being at Esalen is the need to connect.In Chapter 6 of THE SOURCE I write about the importance of connection with each other, with nature, with God and the universal spirit that provides guidance to open hearts and minds. With all that's happened in the world over the past few weeks, in this time of extreme stress and turmoil, it is even more important that we recognize the incredible healing power of connecting to all the resources at our disposal. Taking vacations and breaks from routine are critically important to allow time to rejuvenate and to reconnect with parts of yourself and with the planet that you really don't have time for when you're on the daily work treadmill.

In the coming blog entries I will talk about how you can take the refreshed mind, body and spirit that you feel from a good vacation, and actually increase its presence in life after vacation with simple daily exercises. Here's to your continued energy and health!

Labels: big sur, connection, Esalen, michael murphy, noetic science

Share Your 21 Day Plan Experience With Us

Are you just starting, in the middle or finishing the 21 Day Plan? Would you share your story with others? We'd love to hear from you....about your successes and challenges with the plan. We've received lots of emails from people who've lost 10 - 15 pounds, regained their energy and got back their life. Now we'd like to hear your story. Publish a comment, ask a question, submit a tip of your own!

Labels: 21 day plan, breathing exercises, power food, stress log

A Daily Dose of Laughter

A new report published at the annual meeting of the American Physiological Society in San Diego suggests that not only is laughter good for you, but even the anticipation of laughter has beneficial effects. Researchers at Loma Linda University had a group of men watch funny videos. I was encouraged but not surprised to see that the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline decreased during--and as much as 30 minutes after--watching the videos. But I was surprised and delighted to see that stress hormones decreased before the videos started, while participants were waiting to watch funny video bits that they themselves had selected earlier. In fact, adrenaline decreased 70% while just waiting to be amused! A previous study by the same researchers demonstrated anticipation of laughter caused beneficial elevations in levels of the mood-elevating hormone, beta endorphin, and the immunity enhancing human growth hormone. All of this data gives new importance to getting a daily dose of the giggles.

In THE SOURCE, you will find a discussion of the healing properties of laughter in the chapter on mind-body medicine called Power Mind, Boundless Energy. I point out that one study conducted in Japan and published in a peer reviewed journal in the U.S. found that nursing mothers who laughed while watching the Charlie Chaplin movie, Modern Times, had higher levels of the beneficial hormone melatonin in their breast milk, which reduced their babies' previously diagnosed allergic skin reactions to latex and dust. This small study offers a wonderful window into the mysteries of human nature. It's clear to me that laughter is a built in healing mechanism.

Labels: adrenaline, cortisol, laughter, melatonin

Crisis Management

For most of us it's easier to sleep well, eat well and exercise when things are going great. In times of crisis, which we are experiencing these days on a national level, people often turn to unhealthy behaviors. The typical knee-jerk reaction is to compulsively eat calorie-dense comfort foods, drink too much alcohol, stay up late surfing the web, toss and turn in bed or generally act in a way that's ultimately counterproductive to stress reduction--even though such salves feel pretty good in the moment. In THE SOURCE, on Day Twenty of the Plan, you will find my Crisis Management First Aid Kit, which offers numerous healthy crisis remedies, including treating yourself to a small amount of real licorice sweetened with molasses (or chewing on licorice root) to support the adrenal glands, and having my Protein Shake once a day. There are many productive ways to deal with crisis, including putting your struggle into words by keeping a Stress Journal.

I would love for you to weigh in on your crisis management steps or missteps. Tell me what works for you, or just share your stories of struggle with unhealthy coping strategies. I'll be checking in regularly to help sort out healthy ways through times of crisis.

Labels: adrenal glands, comfort foods, crisis management, stress

The Source by Woodson Merrell

Sunday, October 19, 2008