Re-decorating is one of my favorite creative activities and mind-cleansing techniques. It is also one of my personal forms of meditation, so, while in the process, I channeled some thoughts to share. As I grabbed a blade to clean out gunk from a tile slab that I couldn’t stand every time I looked at, I thought, “wait a minute – why did it take me so long to change this if it feels so good to do something about it?” As I brought it back to its original pristine state, I realized: There are so many little things that bother us, things that are under our control to modify – like remove an object we dislike or paint a table with a color that we like better – and we complain but don’t do anything about it. WHY? Read More…
When we were children, we spent loads of time playing. Our parents organized play dates for us and, if we weren’t eating or sleeping, we were, well, playing. During most of our day, we used our creativity, imagination, sense of humor and innate resourcefulness. Then, as we got older, playtime got shorter and shorter, and for some, it now nonexistent. Usually, this happens because we think we have no time for silly things like play. Some blame it on their demanding jobs. Others say (as if this line automatically excuses them from it): “I have kids”.
Depriving yourself of your daily dose of playtime generally seems to be a societal habit that was never questioned or thought about, so it was passed down through generations as an assumed requisite to being an adult. What we are forgetting is this: Playtime was healthy for us as children, and it is healthy for us as adults. It’s our birthright as creative beings and it is our responsibility as conscious adults to engage in it. Whether we are tired (probably due to malnourishment) or way too busy (remember, you designed your life), playtime is a must-have ingredient for a holistically healthy lifestyle. Read More…
When we think of the word active, we probably think “exercise”. Physical activity is a necessary and noble pursuit, but for 2010, we’re going to broaden our perspective.
-Mentally Active: To be mentally active is to be aware of, monitoring, and in control of your thoughts. Left to its own devices, the mind will take us places we don’t want to go – to a past that no longer exists, to mistakes we made that we cannot overcome and are stuck in, to automatic behaviors we adopt from advertisements, marketing or anything else in our environment, even though it may not serve us and may even hurt us. Our task this year is to be the Lord or Lady of our Mental Kingdom. To be in control of our thoughts, to determine which ones stay, which ones go, to generate the ones we would like to see grow. In short, to become, internally in our thoughts, the person we would like to be externally. Being mentally active is to stop being guided by a wild animal and to finally take the reigns of this powerful tool and create the reality you want for yourself and others. Read More…
Holidays are made of traditions new and old and, in a specific group of people, holiday traditions are generally kept and made by one driving force. In our family, that force of nature is called Mery Paz. Mery is our mother, and when it comes to Christmas, she may as well be Will Ferrell in Elf (cut to the scene where the store manager mentions that Santa is coming to the store the next day. Will Ferrell (as Buddy the Elf): “SAAAAAANTAAAAAA!!!!”) You get my point. Read More…
For those of you who have been missing from the planet and have spent the last 10 years in your own world, here is a list of good books that everyone should know about and read. Take this as you do a karaoke book: Go by the title but also check out the other material that the author has to offer. Like I said, this list is for people who have lived under a rock spiritually for the past 10 years, and many of these wonderful authors have written over 10 more books since. I originally wrote this for my friend Bill, whose rock is called “med school and surgery residency”, but who, before that, was the guy who introduced me to the wonderful Road Less Traveled, by M. Scott Peck. Read More…
