How We Handle Anger Matters

 

An old Japanese tale goes,  a belligerent samurai once challenged a Zen master to explain the concept of heaven and hell.  But the monk replied with scorn, "you're nothing but a lout...I can't waste my time with the likes of you!"  His very honor attacked, the samurai flew into a rage and pulling his sword from it's scabbard, yelled, "I could kill you for your impertinence!"  That, the monk calmly replied, is hell. Startled at seeing the truth in what the master pointed out about the fury that had him in it's grip, the samurai calmed down, sheathed his sword, and bowed, thanking the monk for his insight.  And that, said the monk...is heaven.

Anger is a trap. When we allow ourselves to dissolve into fury, we do damage to our soul and spirit.  Anger can come upon you suddenly, like a flash.  And you are engaged because it is a trap. It is a trap of the sinister force, the forces of darkness and it is a trap we lay for ourselves because we don't deliver ourselves from the dweller-on-the-threshold.
(The dweller-on-the-threshold is a term used to designate the anti-self, the not-self, the anti-thesis of the real self.)

But the will and the determination, the surrender and the consciousness of wrestling with ourselves to get rid of those points of darkness, that's something only we can do.  Taming the wild horse of anger. We all remember times when we were angry or completely lost our temper.
At other times perhaps we were seething with anger, altho' we didn't express it directly.  Some of us believe our anger is a good thing, and furthermore, you may feel better after you've yelled it out.  Frankly it gives me a headache after I exert anger.

Perhaps you see nothing wrong with venting anger.  Yet when we understand how energy works, we realize that angry vibes(made even more powerful when we yell them) are explosive energy.  It's an emotional bomb that disrupts clear reasoning.  And the aftermath of negative vibes doesn't just go away.  It keeps us in a grumbly mood, pollutes the atmosphere and impacts people around us. 

Most people don't like those vibes one bit.  They usually forget the point we were trying to make midst the fury.  Think of one of those times in your life when you were seething with anger.  Then ask yourself, "What was I angry about?  How did I express it?"  Now remember a time that you wouldn't say you were angry but you felt irritated, disgusted, annoyed or frustrated.  When you look deeper, you'll discover that those feelings are simply variations of the theme, they all track back to anger.

Anger, even when it's just simmering or seething within us, actually creates emotional pollution in ourselves, our relationships, our home, our neighborhood, our work place and the planet.  What can we do about it?  Checking a runaway temper is like taming a wild horse.  If you have ever ridden high-spirited horses, you know not to let them just run, especially if they are jumpy or upset.  You use the reins to guide them, a soft toned voice to calm them.  We can do the same with anger.

We can bridle the beast.  If we have our mouths closed, we will not misuse our power verbally.  If we refuse to strike out with our fists or feet, whatever,  we will not misuse our power physically. Even when our anger isn't a reaction to people but what may be going on in daily life around us. Such as, terrorism, pollution from chemicals, trapping of dolphins in a tuna catch, the conditions of the world around us etc. All the causes we feel passionate about.
 

The principle of how we handle our feelings is exactly the same.  Whenever we are angry, we need to find a "constructive" way to approach the situation that is incensing us. We need to seek ways to take constructive action in our own sphere of influence.  Meditation i.e. Yoga, getting out and going for a pep-step walk or any form of exercise, can do wonders for anger (and stress). Anger is normal, every body has it, no one is exempt. 

But how we handle that powerful energy is our choice. We always have a choice.  If we adjust our perspective, we can take dominion over our passions.  When we bridle our temper, we begin to tame that wild horse of anger within us.  Now we can rein him in, turn him around and head off that display of human volatility.

 

 

 

 

Copyright 2017. How We Handle Anger Matters.Written by Sherrie Vitello. All Rights Reserved.

Milestones In Our Lives.



Milestones In Our Lives

As we collect the milestones in our lives, look to them as markers of experience and wisdom. However confusing, naive, or purposeful they have been, there will be more to come. Everyones journey is a stepping stone to learn from and utilize to your advantage. Our milestones in our lives mark points that can be special occasions, events or experiences that mean something to us. It can be wisdom gained that we can use to help others. Perhaps when we listen to those whom seem lost or confused, what we have learned along the way could be a light for them at the end of a dark tunnel they may be traveling. With an open heart of compassion we learn to walk amoung the hurdles of life with more detailed understanding. Without ego we are better able to make decisions that are more precise. Milestones help us grow emotionally as well.

When we are young we are so filled with the excitement of not knowing. We think we are the only one that circumstances fall upon. But we aren't. As much as everyone thinks they are so unique, altho' we maybe in some individual ways, we are also so much alike. Our emotions are constructed by the things we experience, especially when we are children. As we get older we learn to cope with or deal with the adversities that life throws into the mix for us, in our own ways. We realize that altho' things we were taught as children, whether positive or negative, are not necessarily the way we choose to see things as we get older. We grow, we change. With every experience we go through, we realize that we can take in the experience and commit it to a milestone.

As time goes on we've collected many milestones along the way. Some are huge and eventful mile stones while others are small but they still carry meaning. Wouldn't it be wonderful to be able to log our milestones into a computer file like a mini-movie? Then anytime we wanted to look back at them they would be right there for us to see again in full color. For now people use journals or diaries, take pictures or they record them into a computer notebook. Some people record them on video. Either way its human nature to record milestones in our lives because of the senitmental value, lessons learned or the memory it holds for us. I guess what some may classify as a milestone may be different than what others may classify it as. Its a personal thing. Something that means so much to each and everyone of us.

I believe milestones are a wonderful occasion because they are marked by certain circumstances or occurrences that take place in each of our lives. Milestones are constructed to provide reference points along the road in life as well. They are what gives each of us our individual lives. What makes our life experiences something to remember, look back on and cherish. Enjoy the day.

Copyright(c)2012.Milestones In Our Lives.Written by Sherrie Vitello.All Rights Reserved.     

Get Serious About Keeping A Healthy Weight - Change Your Mind Set.

When we begin our journey of making changes to better our lifestyle lets look at some ways to live healthier happier lives. Its important to create a blueprint of what you want to achieve. In doing so you can edit it whenever you wish. This will help you keep on top of all the things you want to achieve and need to do to reach your goals. Diet and body weight are related to our health status. Good nutrition is important to the growth and development of children and keeping all of us at our healthy best. A healthy diet and keeping to an exercise routine, from walk-running to yoga, also helps Americans reduce their risks for many health conditions, including:

• Overweight and Obesity
• Malnutrition
• Heart Disease
• High Blood Pressure
• Type 2 Diabetes
• Some Cancers
• Fatigue and Lacking Energy
• Inability to sleep well
• ...and many other health issues

Because weight is influenced by energy (calories) consumed and expended, interventions to improve weight can support changes in diet or physical activity. Doing some research about how you are caring for your body and the foods you ingest are a good way to assess your own bodies condition. This can help enhance and change individuals' knowledge and skills, reduce exposure to foods low in nutritional value and high in calories, or increase opportunities for physical activity.

One thing is for sure, when we become active and responsible about the health of our bodies we learn to fuel it with good calories, energy and lasting health. What people need to do is see themselves in a state of observance. Meaning instead of seeing yourself as a body with a soul, look at yourself as a soul with a body. Learn to appreciate and take care of your body and it will take care of you. Healthy mind and the body will follow. That saying: You are what you eat, is more valid than you may think it is. Its like filling up your vehicle with lousy gas and expecting it to run at its best. It will sputter, run slower, stall and cause you more headaches' than you should have in your life. Where as if you fill your vehicle with good, clean gas it will run smoother, longer and have less wear and tear on its engine. Well the body isn't much different when it comes to that principle. Feed it poorly and you'll get poor results. Feed it healthy and you'll get healthy stronger results.

The keys to maintaining optimal health are as follows. Individuals who eat the recommended 5 or more servings of fruit and vegetables per day are less likely to be overweight or obese and less likely to suffer chronic disease. Fruit and veggies are our bodies cleaners. They are vital to good health and preventing many diseases. Instead of reaching for those salty or sugary snacks, reach for those fruits and veggies. You can eat as much as you like of them so long as you don't add in abunch of unhealthy additives such as dressings, sauces, too much salt and sugar. Stop eating all those processed foods too. They may taste good but beware.. they aren't good for your body. Have you checked out the ingredients label on those processed foods. Its ridiculous! Due to all the chemicals, additives, preservatives, etc that these foods are made with, its no wonder you feel lethargic and fatigued. A key rule to rely on when looking for healthy foods to eat is: If you can't pronounce it don't eat it!  

A key point to remember. When buying fruits and veggies, try to buy organic fruits and veggies. They are cleaner foods and have none or much less pesticides and are never GMO - genetically modified organism foods. Its also very important to hydrate your body. I'm not talking about drinking soda, coffee, teas, artificially flavored drinks etc. I'm talking about the one main substance that is the elixir of life. Did you know that the majority of illnesses that lead to serious health issues are created by not being hydrated? That most people in our society and probably around the world are chronically dehydrated? According to healthgrades.com and other medical resources researched, the following information is vital as to the state of dehydration and why its so important to make it a habit of drinking more clean, filtered water as a daily routine. Dehydration is an abnormal condition in which the body's cells are deprived of an adequate amount of water.

                                                                                                                     

Water and fluids make up about 90% of fluids throughout the body. Its distributed throughout muscles, bones, organs, tissues, cells, spinal and cerebral-fluids and plasma throughout the body and is crucial to many of the body's processes. Dehydration negatively affects important bodily functions, including toxin elimination, delivery of nutrients and oxygen to the cells of the body, energy production, and joint lubrication. Severe dehydration affects every body system and can also impact the proper balance of vital electrolytes. Sodium and potassium are electrolytes essential to healthy functioning of the body and critical processes, such as muscle function and a normal heart rhythm. Complications of severe dehydration can be serious and life threatening and include shock, coma and death. Dehydration is categorized as mild, moderate or severe, based on the extent of the body’s fluid loss. Moderate and severe dehydration can be a life-threatening emergency.

Infants, children, athletes and the elderly are particularly prone to dehydration and severe complications, although dehydration can occur in any age group or population. You can learn to make your own electrolyte drink so there won't be all those chemicals in it. Or you can simply add a lemon slice to your water for more flavor. Get creative with the many ways you can drink water with flavors organically. Its really amazing all of the flavors you can create and enjoy which are truly healthy for your body. But you have to change your thinking about drinking more water. Its only because the manufacturers came up with all sorts of artificial flavored drinks with way too much sugar, that you may think you don't like water. Change your thinking, change your life.

And of course a BIG part of feeling our best is to exercise. Develop an exercise routine that works for you. You may have to experiment with different types of exercise routines before you find the one that works well for you. But either way.. get a routine going. The more you do this the more it will become habit, a good habit. People have a misconception and think that if they are on their feet throughout their workday that they don't need to exercise. This is far from truth. If you are some one who is on your feet all day you still need to "unwind" or "de-stress" after work. You may not have to do a routine that targets weightloss as much for someone who sits all day at work. But a routine that de-stresses the mind and body is key to better health. If you are someone who sits most of the time at work an exercise routine that will target weightloss is key for you to achieve better health. Whichever routine you choose, any one of them will benefit your body, mind and spirit. You just have to get started. Have courage and commit to a balanced way of living. Your journey of making changes to better your lifestyle is well within your reach. Some research information and excepts have be taken from www.healthgrades.com/conditions/dehydration . Enjoy the day.

Copyright(c)2014.Get Serious About Keeping A Healthy Weight-Change Your Mind Set.Written by Sherrie Vitello. All Rights Reserved.  

The Out Of Our Control Worry - How do we deal?

Along with everything else that all of us human beings have to worry about in our daily lives is the haunting yet very real fact that the world around us is going through some changes. I'm talking about what's going on with our planet. It's what I call 'Out of Our Control Worry.' The worry about things that we can only do very little or nothing to change or prevent from occurring. I look at the news every morning and there always seems to be some form of disaster that has taken place somewhere on our beautiful planet. Some caused by mankind, no doubt, but alot of these occurrences are created by nature. Tornadoes, Tsunamis, Earthquakes, Volcano erruptions, Floods(altho' this can be attributed to the altering of water ways with dams and dikes.)

Scientists are telling us due to our polluting of the atmosphere, that our ozone layer is breaking down. People are starving. War and rumors of war. Mankind continues to overpopulate parts of the world without having the means to care properly for their offspring. All of these things can weigh on our minds and even make us feel upset, stressed, sad or depressed. I'm not going to sugar coat this and tell you that it'll all be alright, no one really knows the outcome of our future, except this, if mankind doesn't get their act together with the planet, we will not survive the outcome. Sounds awful doesn't it? For those who are familiar with the writings of Revelations, these are all the signs of the times. The four horsemen are riding strong in a metaphoric sense.  

For more information on the planets most polluted places read it at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blacksmith_Institute#World.27s_Worst_Polluted_Places_ReportsList of the World's Worst Polluted Places. It's interesting reading.  

Now no one likes to hear or read about all of these awful things taking place on our planet, who has the time to worry about them? The thing is that even though alot of folks will not watch the news about all of these terrible events, the thought of knowing they exist still weighs on our minds. Whether we realize it or not. We just don't bring those thoughts and worries to the forefront of our conscience thinking. How does that effect our emotions, attitudes, outlook and thoughts? If we live by the saying 'Out of sight, Out of mind' then perhaps that gives us alittle reprieve. Which is a good thing for us. Afterall we all can't walk around moping and feeling awful right?

It stands to reason that if we continue about our lives with a positive outlook, things are better for us. No matter what may be going on around us. Of course if there is any way to help to preserve our lands, nature and the planet then we should always work towards that. I would like to grow old knowing that our children and their children and so on, will do all in their power to protect and preserve our planet. When everyone lends a hand in helping this cause, it can only help to sustain a better world. But we all have to contribute, even in the smallest ways. Whether it's recycling, converting water into energy, lowering green house effects, stopping the pollution of our skies etc. every little bit helps our planet. Remember..we only have one earth.

I once read a story a long time ago that has stuck in my mind forever and I still apply it especially today. Altho' there may be various but similar writings of it, the meaning is the same. It says; an angel came upon a man hoeing his garden and the man appeared happy in his work, the angel asked the man. "What would you do if the world was going to end tommorrow?" The man replied; "...continue hoeing my garden." Those are words to live by. And that's what I'll leave with you on how to deal with the out of our control worry. Enjoy the day!

Written by Sherrie Vitello





Copyright(c)2011.The Out Of Our Control Worry. By Sherrie Vitello. All Rights Reserved.

Greeting Pain with Mindfulness

Buddist teachings tell us to greet pain with mindfulness, to notice how the pain moves through many phases and to pay attention to the nuances of constrictions, pulsation, intensity and the diminishing of intensity. In mindfulness, we keep our attention focused on these changes even as we experience them.  We observe the flow of our thoughts, feelings and sensations. We become explorers of our inner world, and we learn a great deal about ourselves.

As we do so, we gain insight into the cause and core of our karmic condition, our spiritual initiations and the lessons we are meant to learn. We grow in humility, endurance and appreciation for little respites and moments of joy. We expand in courage and acceptance of life's ups and downs. When we open our hearts to living peacefully with ourselves and fellow encounters, we develop a calming effect on ourselves and others around us. And above all, we become acutely aware that our consciousness transcends the human condition.  

Whether we are dealing with physical pain, distressing feelings or both, we can train ourselves to repond with peaceful contemplation. We are told to embrace pain with courage. Yet that is a somewhat dismaying thought to many of us. It is a bit like wanting to embrace a porcupine. Who needs it? But it is very true, psychologically and spiritually, that pain opens our heart. Pain melts our hardness of heart, humbles us and quickens our awareness of our higher power(God). Actually, it is because of pain that many are on a spiritual path today. True happiness is when everything we think, say and do is in harmony. Enjoy the day.

Written by: Sherrie Vitello

Excerpts taken from the book: Emotions, Transforming Anger, Fear and Pain. Written by: Marilyn C Barrick, Ph.D.